Climate Matters: Hills Shire

  First preference votes don’t tell the whole story of an election but they are sometimes a better indication of voter intent than the final outcome. In the Hills Shire Council elections of September 14, the first preference count tells a sorry tale.  There’s little doubt that campaigning for significant change in the Hills has been ineffective or not reached sufficient voters and there are lessons to be learned. Liberal’s share of first preference (FP) votes across all contests (Mayoral and four ward elections) increased by 4.4% over the 2021 result ( Table 1 ). The result is a superficially unchanged council - the Liberals hold the mayoralty and 8 of 12 councillors, Labor 3 councillors and Greens 1 - exactly the same numbers as before, even if some faces have changed. Table 1: First preference votes across all five Hills Shire contests Byrne bounce and reduced mayoral field The 4.4% increase in the Liberal’s vote is attributable mainly to the Mayoral contest. This may be explained