Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun.Steven SiewertThe byelection in Liverpool’s south ward comes after deputy mayor Betty Green,a Labor councillor before quitting the party,resigned in January citing health issues. The resignation came during a time of immenseturmoil for the council,which spent much of 2025 embroiled in a lengthy public inquiry into “serious breakdowns in council operations”.
Liverpool Council chief executive Jason Breton told a February meeting the cost of having the NSW Electoral Commission run the election would be “upwards of half a million dollars”.
Labor candidate Zeli Munjiza,who,if residents vote as they did in 2024,would be likely to win the election,said the byelection “should not have really happened”.
“It was a surprise,” said Munjiza,who is working as an electorate officer for former Liverpool councillor-turned-state MP Nathan Hagarty. “It’s been a very,very short campaign,not a lot of time to gather your thoughts.
“It is a lot of money. When you look around the area,and you can see that there’s a big lack of parks,open space,the grass isn’t cut,footpaths are either lacking or they’re in dire need of repair,[there’s] rubbish everywhere. That money could have been spent better on looking after of the LGA,as opposed to a council byelection.”
TheSydney Morning Herald has a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Emailparramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.