On Monday March 23, a spokesman for Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock told NewsLocal no decision has been made on the postponement of elections, however by Tuesday special legislation was being introduced to delay elections.
This isn’t the first time local government elections have been delayed, with the government deferring elections in 2016 for the forced amalgamation process.
A LGNSW spokesman said the minister can only postpone an election for up to 12 months in specific circumstances, “on a council-by-council basis”.
“These specific circumstances are limited to cases in which the council is subject of an investigation, a public enquiry, or if its boundaries are being considered by the Boundaries Commission,” he said.
“To date, the immediate focus of all levels of government has been on preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus while continuing the day-to-day delivery of services to the community.
“NSW’s upcoming local government elections are definitely part of forward planning, but the complexities involved in both holding or postponing them in this rapidly-evolving situation are still being unpacked.”
