Early local government history

Establishment of Bayside Council

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Botany Bay amalgamate with the City of Rockdale to form a new council with an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 153,000.^[18]

There was significant community opposition to the merger from within both communities. In Botany Bay, residents were given the chance to have their say in a community poll which was held on 27 February 2016.^[19] Ultimately 97.8 per cent of Botany Bay residents voted 'no' when asked the question 'Do you agree that the City of Botany Bay should merge with Rockdale City Council?'.^[20] Rockdale City Council indicated their preference to merge with the City of Kogarah and the City of Hurstville, forming a single "St George Council".^[21][22] Botany Bay also attempted to seek a compromise by proposing to merge with the City of Randwick and parts of the City of Sydney.^[23][24]

With the proclamation of the majority of council amalgamations on 12 May 2016, the City of Botany Bay Council appealed the decision in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, thereby delaying the proposed amalgamation until a decision was made by the Court. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in early September 2016, and the Minister for Local Government, Paul Toole, moved quickly to proclaim the formation of Bayside Council on 9 September 2016, with the former administrator of Central Darling Shire, Greg Wright, appointed as the Administrator.^{[5][25][26][27]} On 9 September 2017, the first council consisting of fifteen councillors across 5 wards was elected, and the former mayor of Rockdale, Bill Saravinovski, was elected as the first mayor on 27 September.^[28][29]

The early period of the council was punctuated by revelations of the extent of issues inherited from the former Botany Bay Council, including an antiquated vehicle fleet costing millions of dollars to replace, and the legacy of ICAC investigations that uncovered the significant misappropriation of funds and fraud by former Botany Bay Council employees, which had led to 12 individuals being recommended for prosecution.^[30][31] The first mayor of Bayside Council, Bill Saravinovski, in particular noted that, "The legacy of the misappropriations and costs of remediation result[ed] in a net fund deficit of $17 million, placing Bayside Council at a significant disadvantage".^[32][33][34]

Current composition

The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, by order of election, is as follows:

2021 election results

More information Party, Votes ...

2021 New South Wales local elections: Bayside^[50]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		37,157	45.7	−0.3	7
	Independent		22,563	27.8	+7.8	4	1
	Independent Liberal		7,564	9.3	−17.9[lower-alpha 1]	2	5[lower-alpha 1]
	Peaceful Bayside		3,015	3.7		1	1
	Greens		10,969	13.5	+6.8	1	1
Formal votes			81,268

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Ward names

Owing to a perceived confusion over the ward names, particularly from members of the public not able to distinguish between their ward and their suburb, at its meeting on 14 November 2018, Bayside Council voted to exhibit changes to the ward names: "Port Botany Ward" to Ward 1, "Mascot Ward" to Ward 2, "Rockdale Ward" to Ward 3, "Bexley Ward" to Ward 4, and "Botany Bay Ward" to Ward 5.^[52] At the subsequent meeting on 13 February 2019, Bayside Council voted to adopt these changes, despite the public consultation resulting in 69% of 83 submissions not supporting the change of ward names to numbers.^[53]