2004 New South Wales local elections

2004 New South Wales local elections

← 1999 27 March 2004[1] 2008 →

← 2000 (deferred)

The 2004 New South Wales local elections were held on 27 March 2004 to elect the councils of the local government areas (LGAs) of New South Wales, Australia.^[2][3] Several councils also held mayoral elections.^[4][5]

Just one month before the elections, several councils were abolished and amalgamated.^[6][7][8]

One Nation contested at least five LGAs, although the party's incumbent Campbelltown councillor, Bob Thompson, left the party prior to the 2004 elections.^[9][10]

The Australian Jewish News observed that there was an "unprecedented number" of Jewish candidates contesting the elections.^[11]

Following the elections, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Shoalhaven Independents Group − which won a majority on Shoalhaven City Council − was "helped by thousands of dollars of developers' money that paid for a television, radio and print election campaign" larger than that of any other candidate.^[13][14] The donations to SIG for the 2004 election totalled $91,017.^[15][16]

In 2008, it was found that SIG's funding declaration failed to disclose four years' worth of political donations, including Watson's unsuccessful campaign for the electorate of South Coast at the 2003 state election.^[17][18][19]

• 2004 Sydney City Council election