2023 NSW Heathcote Election Results

The 2023 NSW State election results for Heathcote are in with Labor candidate Maryanne Stuart elected after her third election attempt.

What Was the Election For?

The NSW State election took place on Saturday 25 March 2023. Bundeena Maianbar residents were voting for a NSW Legislative Assembly representative for the district of Heathcote. Additionally, votes were cast for representatives for the NSW Legislative Council.

The NSW Legislative Assembly, also referred to as the lower house, is made up of 93 electoral districts which represent all the areas of the state of NSW. To form a majority government one party must win at least 47 districts. If no party wins this number of districts then two or more parties can combine their districts to reach 47 or more to form a minority government.

The NSW Legislative Council, also referred to as the upper house is made up of 42 members with 21 members up for election at this poll with the remaining 21 members up for election at the next poll in 2027. Members are elected on a state wide basis (vs district) based on votes from all registered voters in NSW.

Who Was Running in the Heathcote Election?

There were 6 candidates vying to represent the district of Heathcote in the NSW Legislative Assembly. All of the candidates belonged to registered political parties including the three major parties of Liberal, Labor and The Greens along with three minor parties of the Animal Justice Party, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers and the Sustainable Australia Party.

Bundeena Election Debate Candidates — Lee Evans, Cooper Riach, Mark Da Silva, Marryanne Stuart at Bundeena Candidates Debate

Pre-election, the current representative for Heathcote was Lee Evans of the Liberal Party. He was joined by Maryanne Stuart of the Labor Party and Cooper Riach of The Greens at a candidates debate held in Bundeena in late January. Of local note Cooper Riach is a resident of Bundeena.

Heathcote Election Results

Over 58,000 people were eligible to vote for the district of Heathcote. The initial count, which does not include Absent, Enrolment or Provisional votes, of over 36,000 formal first preference votes gave the following results:

First Preference Vote Summary
(Initial Count Heathcote)
Party	% of Formal Votes
Labor	44.00%
Liberal	34.69%
The Greens	12.30%
Sustainable Australia Party	2.64%
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers	3.68%
Animal Justice Party	2.70%

For the Bundeena polling station the initial count of 1122 formal first preference votes gave the following results:

First Preference Vote Summary
(Initial Count Bundeena)
Party	% of Formal Votes
Labor	34.94%
Liberal	24.33%
The Greens	32.00%
Sustainable Australia Party	1.78%
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers	4.37%
Animal Justice Party	2.58%

The Two Candidate Preferred results for all Heathcote polling stations gave the following results:

Two Candidate Preferred Vote Summary
(Initial Count Heathcote)
Party	% of Formal Votes
Labor	59.44%
Liberal	40.56%

The Two Candidate Preferred results for the Bundeena polling station gave the following results:

Two Candidate Preferred Vote Summary
(Initial Count Bundeena)
Party	% of Formal Votes
Labor	66.80%
Liberal	33.20%

Bundeena Polling Concerns

The Bundeena voting centre was based at it’s traditional location at the Bundeena Community Centre unlike the 2022 Federal election which was held at Bundeena Public School.

As expected on the day there were representatives from the various parties handing out how to vote cards. As well various posters were on display highlighting the various candidates.

However, one poster on a A-frame stand stood out declaring “OVER 430 TREES TO BE CLEARED” from the Spring Gully area of the Royal National Park. The sign recommended to “Vote 1 for The GREENS or LABOR” and “Vote 2 for the second candidate of your choice.” The poster further stated that “The GREENS have committed to acquisition of the land for addition to the Royal National Park”.

A local resident who read the poster queried a Greens representative at the voting centre if the sign was theirs and if the Greens were committed to acquiring Spring Gully. The representative confirmed the sign was not theirs but was not able to confirm if it was their policy to acquire Spring Gully. The NSW Greens do have a detailed policy on National Parks on their website but there is no reference to Spring Gully or the Royal National Park.

The resident concerned about the possible misleading claim of the poster approached the Voting Centre manager for it’s removal. The resident also noted a similar flyer had been distributed to Bundeena households in the lead up to the election date. The Voting Centre manager said they would need to consult with their supervisor. The resident left and was unable to confirm if poster had been removed.

Since the election date the resident has contacted the NSW Election Commission (NSWEC) to investigate the possible breach of electoral material laws. The NSWEC have acknowledged receiving the complaint but noted it does not have the authority to disclose the details or outcome of any investigation as well as whether any investigation is being pursued.

What Was the Election For?

Who Was Running in the Heathcote Election?

Heathcote Election Results

First Preference Vote Summary (Initial Count Heathcote)

First Preference Vote Summary (Initial Count Bundeena)

Two Candidate Preferred Vote Summary (Initial Count Heathcote)

Two Candidate Preferred Vote Summary (Initial Count Bundeena)

Bundeena Polling Concerns

Related Articles

First Preference Vote Summary
(Initial Count Heathcote)

First Preference Vote Summary
(Initial Count Bundeena)

Two Candidate Preferred Vote Summary
(Initial Count Heathcote)

Two Candidate Preferred Vote Summary
(Initial Count Bundeena)