Greek voice silenced in Canterbury as George Houssos’ council ballot victory overturned

There will be no Greek representation in the local Canterbury-Bankstown Council elections in September after a Greek candidate’s preselection ballot victory was overturned.

According to The Greek Herald‘s sources, a ballot to preselect the Labor Candidate for Canterbury Ward was held on Saturday, May 11.

Local Earlwood man George Houssos won the ballot against Canterbury-Bankstown Councillor Clare Raffan 43 to 28 (31 after preferences).

Despite 14 “challenged” ballots being counted on Tuesday, August 6, Mr Houssos still won 47 to 39 over Ms Raffan. The final ballot ended with six men and three women in winnable positions.

According to the Australian Labor Party’s Affirmative Action rules, 45 per cent of the entire candidates in winnable positions on the ballot must be women. Across the Canterbury-Bankstown Council area, nine positions have been deemed winnable so there must be four women. This criteria was not met by the final ballot.

As a result, late on Thursday, August 8, Mr Houssos’ victory was overturned by the New South Wales Labor Party.

Mr Houssos told The Greek Herald there were other possible solutions to ensure the quota was met whilst also upholding his victory. He gave an example of Bankstown Ward where two men were pre-selected, and suggested only the first pick on the ballot should have retained his position, making way for a female in the second spot.

“It’s disappointing to see a local ballot overturned. This has denied the Greek community the opportunity to have someone who can connect with them and represent their needs,” Mr Houssos said.

Mr Houssos added that since the forced amalgamation, many residents have felt Canterbury-Bankstown Council has neglected the Canterbury area and its Greek community, particularly in Earlwood. 

“While the Greek community is fortunate to have good representation at a State level and a very strong supporter in Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it would have been good to see that at a local government level, considering the local members had made their decision clear,” he said.

*The Greek Herald has contacted the NSW Labor Party for comment. At the time of publication, there was no response.