New South Wales Council Elections, 4 December 2021

Drought, wildfires, Covid-19  

From July 2019 to March 2020, Australia experienced a severe bushfire event, as they faced its driest and hottest year on record in 2019. An extended period of heatwaves over much of Australia began in early December 2018 and continued in January 2019. Rainfall values in New South Wales (NSW) and southern Queensland were recording near or below previous record low values in 2019. More than 24 million hectares of land across Australia was affected, directly causing 33 deaths, almost 450 more deaths as a result of smoke inhalation and destroyed over 3,000 homes (Filkov, et al. 2020; Cook, et al. 2021). 

Following the 2019-2020 bushfires, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s State of the Climate report blamed carbon emissions for the increase in extreme heat. Australia’s climate is expected to become hotter and drier, increasing the risk of drought and extreme weather events like bushfires (Al Jazeera 2020). 

As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Australia declared that a human biosecurity emergency exists and placed a travel ban on all non-residents and non-Australian citizens coming to Australia (Maclean & Elphick 2020). In addition, Australia placed restrictions and lockdowns to control the spread of Covid-19 (Australian Human Rights Commission 2021).  

November 2021 was the wettest November for NSW, which contributed to substantial flooding, particularly in inland NSW. Warnings were given out during the two-week voting period, which covered the areas of the State from the borders of Queensland and Victoria (NSW Electoral Commission 2022). 

IMPACT ON ELECTORAL PROCESS  

While New South Wales had originally planned to hold its Council elections on 12 September 2020, it was postponed for one year due to the combined impacts of drought, bushfires and the Covid-19 pandemic. This postponement would allow the councils more time to prepare for the elections and deal with the challenges brought on by the multiple crises (The National Tribune 2020).  It was postponed again after consultation with and advice from the NSW Electoral Commission and NSW Health from 4 September to 4 December 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic (NSW Electoral Commission 2022). 

Due to the floods, 12 local government areas were impacted, as they caused road closures and limited movement in and around some council areas. Some election venues closed or had to change due to the flooding, and due to some of the voting locations were remote it was not always possible for voters to find an alternative polling station (NSW Electoral Commission 2022). 

CHANGES IN LEGAL FRAMEWORK/PROCEDURES  

Elections were postponed twice. While it was scheduled to be held September 2020, it was rescheduled to be held in September 2021, and then was postponed again to December 2021.  

As a result of the flooding, some voters impacted by closure of polling stations as a result of the floodings were directed to other voting channels where possible. In some councils, such as Narrabri, additional staff were recruited who resided within the levee banks as the town was isolated by floodwaters. As a result, the venue was able to open for all days of early voting (NSW Electoral Commission 2022). 

VOTER TURNOUT  

The voter turnout in NSW for the was 83.56%, which was higher than the turnout in 2017 of 80.28% (NSW Electoral Commission 2022).