NSW Liberals have dropped their threat to take legal action over the state Electoral Commission’s refusal to grant a deadline extension after the party’s failure to nominate dozens of candidates for local elections next month.
The “monumental debacle” means ratepayers in up to a dozen Sydney councils and some others across the state won’t have a Liberal candidate to vote for on September 14 and has cost NSW director Richard Shields his job.
In the wake of the stuff-up, the party called on the Electoral Commission to extend the deadline for nominations but it refused.
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At the weekend, the Liberals threatened legal action if it didn’t get its way but last night they backed down after consulting with lawyers.
“The NSW Liberal Party received advice from senior counsel in relation to the irregularities in the process for nomination of local government candidates conducted by the NSW Electoral Commission,” the party said, in a statement.
“Having given consideration to that advice the division will not be taking any legal proceedings.”
The “irregularity” was the publication of the formal election notice on the commission’s website five days before nominations closed rather than seven.
“The Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division is deeply concerned that the NSW Electoral Commission, which is entrusted with the integrity of our elections, would refuse to take the necessary steps to correct its own error,” the party said, on Saturday.
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“This is about more than just a date—it’s about the NSW Electoral Commission’s responsibility to ensure that the electoral process is conducted fairly and without avoidable complications.
“Should the NSW Electoral Commission fail to act, the Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division will be left with no other option but to pursue legal avenues to compel it to extend the nomination deadline.”
Acting commissioner Dr Matthew Phillips accepted the two-day difference but said it had widely publicised the nomination date on the website and through a “state-wide advertising via print and social media months in advance”.”The commission first published the nomination date on its website in October 2023,” Phillips said, on Sunday.
“The commissioner does not consider there could have been a realistic possibility that officials of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party of Australia, or persons proposing to run as candidates endorsed by that party, could have been unaware of the nomination day or of the processes by which nominations could be made.”
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman described the error as a “monumental debacle”.
Shields blamed a lack of “secretariat resources”.
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