WHY are the Residents and Ratepayers of Liverpool having a private company imposed upon us to run the Liverpool Council Elections without any Community Consultation?

MANY QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED BEFORE THIS PROCEEDS.

LIVERPOOL COUNCIL should overturn the decision made on the 1st March 2023 and return to using the NSW Electoral Commission which is tried and proven over decades and is used by the vast majority of Councils.

On the 1st March 2023 in a closed, confidential session of the Council meeting the Mayor of Liverpool Ned Mannoun and 5 of the 10 Councillors voted to dump using the NSW Electoral Commission and engage a private company to run the  Council elections without any prior Community Consultation.

Currently 125 out of 128 Councils in NSW use the Electoral Commission to run their Local Government Elections and have done so without any problems or issues for decades.

QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED 

Why did 6 Councillors of Liverpool Council, in a Confidential and closed door meeting, decide to opt out of using the NSW Electoral Commission with a proven track record and engage a private company to run the Local Government elections ?

Is this decision really in the best interests of the Residents and Ratepayers, to have an unproven company run the Council Elections?

Can a private company provide the same level as service as the NSW  Electoral Commission as the same cost ? IE At least the same number of Staff, the same number of polling booths in the same locations?

Cutting costs usually means cutting staff or services and the Electoral Commission has connections with the Department of Education to use School Halls - Can a private company secure those facilities? 

This petition is to urge the Minister for Local Government, the Mayor and Councillors of Liverpool Council to overturn the decision made on the 1st March 2023 and to reinstate the use of the NSW Electoral Commission to oversee the Liverpool Council Election in order to maintain and ensure voter confidence and provide full transparency and accountability in the election process.

The NSW Electoral Commission has been running both the State and Local Government Elections for decades and is a trusted organisation to run the Elections in a fair, open and transparent manner using public schools as polling booths and providing sufficient staff at the polling booths.

This decision needs to be overturned and the NSW Electoral Commission reinstated as the manager of Liverpool Council Elections.