Media release
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne
Deputy Mayor Mat Howard
The newly elected Inner West councillors were sworn in at a ceremony last night with Councillor Darcy Byrne re-elected as Mayor and Councillor Mat Howard elected as Deputy Mayor for the first time.
Eight Labor councillors form an outright majority of the Council, for the second consecutive term, with 5 Greens councillors, 1 independent and 1 Liberal councillor making up the 15 councillors.
Deputy Mayor Mat Howard said, “I am honoured and thrilled to be elected Deputy Mayor of the Inner West.
“When my family immigrated back to Australia a decade ago, the Inner west welcomed us with open arms and gave us a home.
“I am so pleased to give back to the community I love through this important new role, whether it is better managing our waste, strengthening our local services or supporting our local LGBTQIA+ communities.”
Mayor Byrne said that building on the success of last term, the new Council has an expanded progressive policy agenda to deliver on and there isn’t a moment to waste.
“Through strong financial management we have been delivering a huge amount over the last 3 years but this new Council will go even further,” Byrne said.
“Expanding food recycling to every home, converting 7 town halls to free arts and cultural venues, opening the state’s first Pride Centre, and nearing completion of the Cooks River to Iron Cove Greenway were all important breakthroughs for the Inner West community.
“We have a vision of the Inner West as the engine room of progressive politics in Australia and we have a new program of ground-breaking reforms and world-class facilities to deliver now,” Byrne said.
Priorities for the new Labor-led Council will include:
- Strong financial management including no special rate rises for the next 4 years
- Delivering new planning controls to address the housing affordability and supply crisis
- Renovating iconic Leichhardt Oval
- Upgrading and rebuilding Leichhardt Pool
- Creating a state-of-the-art indoor sports centre at Tempe
- Opening new special entertainment precincts throughout the main streets of the Inner West
- Making White Bay Power Station a permanent, world class arts and cultural venue
