The Greens were the major beneficiaries of the swing to the left in many councils across NSW at the September 13 elections, probably taking their representation to more than 70 for the first time. Independents and other progressive tickets, including the Socialist Alliance, also made gains.
The 10% swing against Labor in inner-city electorates indicates that, if sustained, the Greens would be the beneficiaries at the next state elections. Despite a swing to independent candidates and some to the Liberals, Labor is likely to retain control of many councils across Sydney's western suburbs.
Annie Nielsen, who headed an independent ticket in the Caroline Chisholm ward of Parramatta council, received 12% of the vote, but may miss out on a council seat due to the ALP's refusal to direct preferences.
Nielsen, an organiser of the Parramatta Walk Against Warming in 2006 and 2007, and a founding member of the Parramatta Climate Action Network, told Green Left Weekly that her campaign aimed to make people more aware of climate change and the need for action at a local level.
In Auburn, in Sydney's west, refugee rights campaigner Jamal Daoud received 3% of the vote as an independent. Communist Party of Australia member Tony Oldfield received 7% of the vote running as an independent on a "No Dump" ticket.
The Shire Watch Independents in Sutherland, who have held a council position for 10 years, polled strongly again on local environmental issues and opposition to the desalination plant at Port Botany.
The Socialist Alliance, with the only openly socialist candidates contesting the elections, increased its vote in Newcastle and Marrickville from 2004. In Marrickville, it won 4.6%, while in Newcastle it won 3.3%.
In Blacktown council, which the Socialist Alliance had not previously contested, it polled more than 2%. "The vote makes me optimistic that we can win more people and establish a new branch of the Socialist Alliance in the Blacktown area", Soubhi Iskander, a candidate for Blacktown, told GLW.
Iskander and Hassan Elnour Abaid, who also stood on the Socialist Alliance ticket, are members of the Sudanese Communist Party. The campaign strengthened ongoing collaboration between the Sudanese community and the Socialist Alliance, Iskander said.
"The results for the Socialist Alliance show that people are starting to understand that the major parties will not use their power to make a better world", Iskander argued. "People are starting to understand that the major parties are just an instrument in the hands of the corporations."
"The swing towards the Greens is a swing to the left", Pip Hinman, a Socialist Alliance candidate in Marrickville, told GLW. "Now, in some councils, the Greens have a chance to break from the 'politics as usual' approach of the major parties. The climate change emergency by itself means we cannot afford 'business as usual'."