SYDNEY—The Greens are emerging as a stronger political force in NSW following local government elections, the NSW Local Government Association says.
Association President Genia McCaffery today said Greens councillors and independents had won, or were close to claiming, a swag of council seats as the counting of preferences from the weekend polls began today.
The process of determining the final make-up of the state's 148 councils will be completed over the next two weeks.
Ms McCaffery said the swing against Labor was not as damaging as initially feared.
"I'm getting some feedback that some Labor councils have done quite well and quite a lot of Labor mayors have been returned," Ms McCaffery told AAP.
"So it's not a consistent pattern, though there is no doubt there has been a swing to the Greens and independents."
On the state's mid-north coast, the Greens appear to be on the verge of creating NSW political history by installing mayors in neighbouring councils for the first time.
Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham is set to be returned for a second term while Tweed Shire Greens candidate Katie Milne has topped the council's popular vote.
Ms McCaffery put this down to residents lodging a vote against excessive development in the prime tourist and holiday region, and also the NSW Labor Government's controversial planning reforms.
"There has been a high reaction to the way the State Government railroaded through those planning changes ... (overriding) the rights of people in their own community to set the kind of built environment that the local community wants," she said.
The Greens also recorded voter gains in the traditional Labor heartlands of Marrickville and Leichhardt, in Sydney's inner-west.
An estimated four million people, two thirds of NSW's population, went to the polls on Saturday.
The voting was to determine the make-up of 152 councils across NSW - minus four councils which are currently under administration.
There were also 27 mayoral elections while some councils also held referendums, taking the total number of separate elections held on the day to more than 300.
Ms McCaffery said while it appeared many NSW residents used the local government elections to lodge a protest vote against the state Labor Government, many also voted on local issues.
"The electorate is much better informed than a lot of people think and ... when they go to the polls for Local Government they vote on local issues."
