NSW local government elections: has western Sydney turned right?

Greens went backwards?

What about the Greens more generally? Again, there is little evidence that the Greens went backwards in Western Sydney.

These elections represented the first election outing of the Greens in many parts of Western Sydney. But even when compared to the 2011 state election result, it can be argued that in many places the Greens vote grew.

While in Blacktown they went backwards, the Greens' got there first councillor elected in Penrith, where their vote ranged from 3.97 per cent to 7.76 per cent across the three wards. This compared with 4.1 per cent in the one ward they contested last time.

In Parramatta, where the Greens stood for the first time and contested three of five  wards, it picked up between 8.7 per cent and 10.79 per cent of the vote - higher than the 8.5 per cent result it received last year in the state seat of Parramatta.

In Liverpool, it appears many of the voters that deserted Labor, voted Greens when they were given the option. The Greens candidate received 4.08 per cent of the vote for mayor, or 3,601 votes, which was greater than the number of votes Labor lost compared with 2008.

The Liverpool Greens candidates for council also received 5.54 per cent in the northward and 5.43 per cent in southward. This compares favorably with the 5.7 per cent and 3.9 per cent that Greens candidates received in the state seats that cover these areas.

The Greens were in with a fighting chance to pick up its first seat on Fairfield Council in the Parks ward. They polled 9.66 per cent and a preferences count was underway to decide the final outcome.

The Greens won 6.6 per cent in the state seat of Fairfield last year. In Auburn, the Greens lost about 130 votes in second ward compared with 2008, and failed to re-elect their sitting councillor. However, a candidate further to the left took the Greens' place on council: local activist and Communist Party of Australia member Tony Oldfield, whose vote rose by 500 to outpoll the Greens.

The need for a working class alternative

So what can we conclude from all this? First, that there is little evidence to back up the assertions that Western Sydney has swung to the right or turned on the Greens.

The rise in the Liberal vote can be largely attributed to its ability to coalesce the existing anti-Labor vote, winning over those that had previously voted for independents or centre/centre-right groups.