Save North Sydney

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has announced a draft plan to abolish our federal seat of North Sydney. Under this plan, voters in our community will be absorbed by the electorates of Warringah, Bradfield or Bennelong in the next election.

Given the overwhelming interest from our community in saving North Sydney, I invite you to join me in calling for North Sydney to be retained as a federal seat.

My team are investigating alternative options which would retain the seat of North Sydney with adjusted boundaries to accommodate changes in overall numbers of electors in NSW. You can help by asking the AEC to consider my proposal.

The people assessing our submissions at the AEC don't live in North Sydney. We do. As such, it is up to us to show the AEC why each of us feels a connection to the community of North Sydney, and why we believe our interests are best served by retaining our federal seat's independent existence i.e. we stand alone and together, not absorbed into the three surrounding seats. 

Ultimately, the AEC wants to know what it means for you to be a part of North Sydney.

Are you involved in community groups, religious groups, sporting groups, or other organisations that have a strong North Sydney identity? Where do you usually do your shopping and catch public transport? Where do you spend most of your time, day to day? What do you think of as your surroundings? If you were meeting someone for the first time, how would you explain / describe the community you belong to?

My team and I are objecting to the AEC's proposal for several key reasons.

1. Population growth
The population right across our electorate is growing rapidly but the AEC's proposal does not account for this growth. For example, the NSW State Government plans to see 5,900 new homes built in the North Sydney LGA alone by 2029. If that growth is replicated across the four LGAs currently contained in the federal seat that would see more than 24,000 new homes built across our community.

In addition to this, North Sydney Council is expecting 19,500 new residents to move into the area by 2036. This is a 27% increase in just one of the four LGAs that currently make up the seat of North Sydney and indicates that it is highly likely that to proceed with abolishing our seat now would be completely counterproductive, as arguably the case to re-establish it come 2029 will be more than obvious.

2. Our business community
As home to the third-largest business centre in the country, we also believe that North Sydney's businesses and industrial zones deserve the focus of a dedicated local member.

North Sydney has a total of 28,000 small to medium size businesses whose needs do not overlap entirely with those of the newly proposed areas of Bradfield, Bennelong or Warringah

3. North Sydney is a cohesive and engaged community
North Sydney is home to several environmental, humanitarian, religious and social groups all working together towards a better Australia.

It is telling that we were one of the first electorates to stand up for independent representation in 2022, and one of the few to vote for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the 2023 referendum.

We respect and value our cultural diversity, with half of our population born overseas and a third speaking a language other than English at home.

And we are home to several active and competitive sports teams, including two of the largest community-based sporting organisations in the state.

4. 123 years of history
The historical significance of the federal seat of North Sydney is part of our community's identity. North Sydney is one of the 75 original federation divisions contested in Australia’s first federal election 123 years ago.

Many families have lived in the area for several generations, and are proud to have been represented by a prime minister, a treasurer and independent trailblazer Ted Mack.