Extraordinary election called by the Shire of East Pilbara as no one nominates for the East Ward

An extraordinary election has been called after no nominations were received for the Shire of East Pilbara’s East Ward. The absence of a nomination comes after the East Ward received a second council position earlier this year when the Shire’s electoral divisions were redrawn. The vast East Ward extends to the Northern Territory and encompasses the Parnngurr, Punmu, and Kunawarritji communities. Shire of East Pilbara chief executive Steven Harding said the Shire would work with the West Australian Electoral Commission to determine an appropriate date for the extraordinary election. “We need to make sure the date doesn’t appear on a long weekend and that people are available,” he said. “It’s certainly something we can bring back to council (with) some suggested dates. But we just wanted to flag that one, we didn’t get someone to nominate; two, we are going back to the electoral commission to get them to run the process. “They can’t do it until March, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, it gives time for things to cool down and a proper approach to get some people to put their hands up.” The Shire’s division redraw cut the number of wards from six to three, with four wards amalgamated to create a new North Ward. Shire documents showed that some of the abolished wards represented as few as 10 residents and while the redraw saw the number of councillors cut from eleven to nine. In May, Shire president Anthony Middleton said the change would increase representation. “There’s more representation per councillor . . . we’ve put our reforms forward to make it more fair and equitable,” Cr Middleton said. At the time of the redraw Cr Middleton emphasised that because the East Ward received an extra councillor, the new boundaries would allow for more Indigenous representation. “We feel that we need more representation from First Nations people out there, because it is a large, vast area,” Cr Middleton said. Three candidates nominated for two positions in both the North and South Ward and two nominations were received for Shire president. The West Australian Electoral Commission has stated the earliest date an extraordinary election could take place is March 1, 2024.