South Coast MP and Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock said she intends to defer September council elections until the risk of coronavirus subsides.
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Talking with ABC Illawarra on Wednesday morning, Ms Hancock said she will be in contact with the governor over the coming days to confirm the situation.
"It is my intention to defer local government elections until September 2021, or even an extra six months if necessary," she said.
"There will be some legalities to overcome and the governor will have to sign off on it."
The upcoming Shoalhaven City Council elections were set to take place this September.
Candidates have been compaigning since October 2019 but can no longer do so safely, with stricter social distancing methods implemented overnight.
The ability for candidates to campaign will be restricted to social media until social distancing measures loosen.
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Ms Hancock said she will also look into giving councillors the choice to conduct meetings via teleconference. This method is in-line with current social distancing techniques introduced across Australia.
"We can give the council the choice of having teleconferencing for council meetings so they call by phone or be there if they want to," she said.
"I think teleconferencing is going to be the way of the future but certainly government officials are out campaigning and they cannot do that anymore."