It's a Resounding YES to Same Sex Marriage

BY JESSICA ROUSE AND SARAH JAMES

Across the country the result of the same sex marriage postal survey is a resounding Yes.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced the results this morning which saw 61 per cent of voters vote Yes and 38 per cent vote No.

The Australian Capital Territory returned the highest majority of Yes votes with 74 percent, and New South Wales returned the least with 57.8 per cent.

133 electorates voted yes, 95 of those electorates had a majority of 60 per cent; of the 17 electorates who voted No, 6 of those electorates had a 60 percent majority of No votes.

YES Campaigners with Tiernan Brady in Newcastle earlier this year.

The statistics become more interesting the more you break them down, females were more likely to respond to the survey and those voters aged between 25 - 29 years old had the lowest participation rate compared to the 70 - 74 age group being the most likely to respond to the survey.

Now it's expected two private member's bills will be put before parliament. Both are from Liberal members including one from West Australian senator Dean Smith.

Some Conservatives want strong religious protections, but other MPs say the bill can't threaten anti-discrimination laws. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has endorsed a bill co-signed by Labor and the Greens which will leave religious protections to the mercy of the Senate.

How did Novocastrians vote?

The Newcastle electorate responded overwhelmingly in favour of same-sex marriage, with 74.8% of people voting Yes.

This meant Newcastle had the fifth-largest majority of Yes voters in the country.

Paterson, Shortland and Hunter returned similar results, with 65.5%, 67.7% and 64.4% voting yes respectively.

"What an exceptional result. It certainly demonstrates just how strongly the public believes in equality for all, and particularly here in Newcastle, how supportive our community is of the diversity of our region," said Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen.

Declan Clausen thanked the work of volunteers who campaigned for the Yes vote, ensuring people were enrolled and got their vote in.

"I was extremely pleased to see the huge number of volunteers that were out every day of the week and on weekends in the leadup to the closing of the survey, making sure people had the opportunity to return their vote and have a say," he said.

Fresh Faces, New Visions and Diversity in Hunter Councils

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle have a familiar face re-elected into the top job with Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes getting 42 per cent of the vote over at the weekend's council elections.

The big topics like the V8 Supercars race in November didn't appear to make any difference in council getting the votes - they in fact won every ballot box.

Labor Councillor Declan Clausen says it's because the city knows with Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes at the helm, the community will be looked after when it comes to the race.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes

"People understand the vision that Labor is bringing. They endorse that broader vision and understand that we are the best people on council to try and do something to mitigate those risks and make sure things run in a fair manner."

Labor's numbers in Newcastle Council are shaping up to be a majority with five Councillors plus the Lord Mayor.

Independent Kath Elliott only received half the votes of the Lord Mayor, but she still made it to council with three other Independents, and is determined to hold them to account during the three year term.

"We will be trying to hold Labor to account to make sure that they represent the interests of the community and make sure they're not representing the interests of party headquarters in Sussex Street in Sydney," said Councillor Elliott.

The Greens and the Liberals look set to claim one seat each in Newcastle.

Meanwhile in Port Stephens, Independent Ryan Palmer has claimed the top job with 35 per cent of the first vote preferences.

The 30-year-old father-of-two takes the reigns from Bruce Mackenzie who decided not to run in this year's election.

"He was a character, but he was a good servant to Port Stephens over a long period of time. He certainly did it his way but it's now time for port Stephens to look to the future and hopefully I can bring a strong, fresh approach to council and really work with the residents over the coming three years," said Mayor Palmer.

A Mayor is still yet to be confirmed in Maitland- the numbers are swinging towards Labor's Loretta Baker, followed closely by Independent Philip Penfold.

Loretta Baker

Labor's parking solution for Newcastle's CBD

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle Labor is promising to ease parking pressure in the CBD by partnering with businesses and land holders to free up space for car parks.

Labor's Nuatali Nelmes, the current Lord Mayor, announced their plan yesterday which will see them work collaboratively with businesses and land owners to open up space to create car parks. They say they're not ruling out creating financial incentives to get people on board.

Should they be elected on September 9, they say the plan would work hand-in-hand with a parking app as a part of the Smarter City Strategy which will allow drivers to see what parks are available where.

There are reportedly around 11,300 car spaces in the city, and council estimates around 2,500 are vacant between midday and 2pm - council says it's because they're long term car parks.

Labor Councillor Declan Clausen says the aim is to address the imbalance between long and short term parking throughout the city and prioritise short term parking.

"If you're popping into the city just to go shopping or something like that you need to know the car parks aren't all taken up by people there for long stays or all day workers in the city and conversely it's about making sure that long term parking is also accessible and convenient and making sure there are options for people to get into and out of the city."

But Independent Mayoral candidate Kath Elliot is slamming the proposal and says the council has had a number of years to come up with a viable solution and it's laughable this is all they've come up with.

"I think we should have wifi in the city for businesses, for people, not so that we can find out when someone has overstayed their parking spot and fining them. This is a revenue raising exercise, it's not well thought out and there's no wfi to deliver it."

The Newcastle Independents believe the plan will be detrimental to the city, rather than beneficial.

"Mrs Nelmes has been in council for eight years, I find it very surprising that in the week before the election all of a sudden she has solutions to parking problems." 

Newcastle councillors want to take a page out of London's book

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle's Labor councillors are keen to follow in London's footsteps and introduce a high-performance electric vehicle race to the city during the Newcastle 500 event.

A motion to host a 'Supercars E' event will be put forward at tonight's Newcastle City Council meeting calling on council and Supercars to explore the idea of hosting an electric vehicle race.

The motion stems from London's move to host the Formula E (high-performance zero-emission electric Formula 1 vehicles) in the city centre with the introduction of the ePrix.

"It's a motion that's been brought because of the transition that's underway across Newcastle. The work that we're doing to establish ourselves as a smart city and an energy centre in particular and the role that electric vehicles are going to play in the future of Newcastle" said Labor Councillor Declan Clausen.

Councillors say electric cars could be the way of the future in Newcastle, with the city already a leader in scientific research and smart energy.

Declan Clausen says there are already high-performance vehicles being manufactured in the Hunter, so why not take the opportunity to show them off.

"It's an exciting opportunity and something we need to explore, plus there are some pretty impressive high-performance electric vehicles that are being manufactured here in the Hunter and I think it'd be great to see some of those highlighted and showcased as a part of an event like this."

For the first V8 supercars race in November, 150, 000 spectators are expected to converge on the city and another race making use of the track and associated spectator facilities can only be of benefit to Newcastle.

Ideally, councillors would like the event to kick off from this year, but if not, there's still time.

"We've got a five year contract with supercars and the Newcastle 500 is going to be with us for the next five years at least, so I think it's certainly something that would be great to see in future years."

Newcastle Councillor in the U.S. Campaigning for Clinton

BY JARROD MELMETH

As vote tallies begin to flood in the US, Newcastle councilor Declan Clausen is hoping his contribution to the Clinton campaign has made a difference.

The 23-year-old jetted off to the US last month in a bid to help the Democratic nominee secure victory in the district of Aurora, Colorado.

Declan Clausen says, campaigning foreigners help American voters realize the global significance of the election.

"Voters are particularly interested and intrigued by a foreign accent and are interested in having a chat. Also, I think come to a realization of the broader global significance of the presidential election, it's not just the future of America that depends on the result of today's polls but also has implications right across the world."

Cr. Clausen has been door knocking and phone calling, something which he says is a small role in the scheme of things but in a battleground district like Colorado it is important.

He believes this is to be an important election particularly given the competition between Clinton and Trump.

"Some of the issues we see in America are things I'm particularly passionate about there are very stark positions here between Trump and Clinton. Unfortunately, Australia has a habit of adopting the poor policy outcomes that are seen in the U.S. It's a really important election for Australia as well because it sets a precedent by which our policy could follow."

Polls close at 3pm AESDT. With the winner announced once, either candidate reaches 270 wins.

Newcastle Councillor, Declan Clausen