2016 City of Melbourne election

Elections to the City of Melbourne were held via postal ballot in 2016 to elect 9 councillors to the council, as well as the direct election of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Independent Robert Doyle was re-elected as Lord Mayor for a third term.

2016 City of Melbourne election

22 October 2016 (2016-10-22)
Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne All 9 seats on the City of Melbourne
Registered	133,801
Turnout	73,795 4.79%
Candidate Robert Doyle Olivia Ball Phil Cleary Deputy candidate Arron Wood Roxane Ingleton Junxi Su Voting ticket Independent Greens Independent First round 31,743 15,131 7,745 First round (%) 44.62% 21.72% 10.89% Final round 36,974 18,481 15,682 Final round (%) 51.98% 25.98% 22.04%
Lord Mayor of Melbourne before election Robert Doyle Independent Elected Lord Mayor Robert Doyle Independent

Following the resignation of councillor-elect Brooke Wandin, a full recount of councillor ballots was ordered by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 14 March 2017.[1]

Results

Mayoral election

2016 City of Melbourne mayoral election[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Robert Doyle Arron Wood	31,743	44.62	+3.86
	Greens	Olivia Ball Roxane Ingleton	15,131	21.27	+6.48
	Independent	Phil Cleary Junxi Su	7,745	10.89	+10.89
	Independent	Ken Ong Sue Morphet	7,391	10.39	+10.39
	Independent	Gary Morgan Michael O'Brien	4,830	6.79	−4.53
	Independent	Ron Hunt Doone Clifton	2,548	3.58	+3.58
	Independent	Anthony van der Craats Yunli Han	1,749	2.46	+2.46
Total formal votes			71,137	96.40	+0.75
Informal votes			2,658	3.60	−0.75
Turnout			73,795	55.15	−4.79
After distribution of preferences
	Independent	Robert Doyle Arron Wood	36,974	51.98	−0.44
	Greens	Olivia Ball Roxane Ingleton	18,481	25.98	+0.91
	Independent	Phil Cleary Junxi Su	15,682	22.04	+22.04
	Independent hold		Swing	N/A

The VEC distributed preliminary preferences until an electoral ticket exceeded 50 per cent of the vote, in this case Independent candidates Robert Doyle and Arron Wood.[2]

Councillor election

#	Councillor	Party
1	Kevin Louey		Independent
2	Rohan Leppert		Greens
3	Nicholas Reece		Independent
4	Cathy Oke		Greens
5	Tessa Sullivan		Independent
6	Philip Le Liu		Independent
7	Jackie Watts		Independent
8	Nicolas Frances Gilley		Independent
9	Susan Riley		Independent

2016 City of Melbourne councillor election[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Quota			7,240
	Independent	1. Kevin Louey (elected 1) 2. Nicholas Reece (elected 3) 3. Tessa Sullivan (elected 5) 4. Susan Riley (elected 9) 5. Beverley Pinder-Mortimer 6. Sue Stanley 7. Hope Wei	27,116	37.45	−0.03
	Greens	1. Rohan Leppert (elected 2) 2. Cathy Oke (elected 4) 3. Apsara Sabaratnam 4. Jenny Pitts 5. Ben Curnow	14,593	20.16	+4.54
	Independent	1. Philip Le Liu (elected 6) 2. Tony Penna 3. Barbara Yerondais 4. Alice Poon	6,578	9.09	+9.09
	Independent	1. Michael Caiafa 2. Suzanne Vale 3. Sebastian Saggio	5,667	7.83	+7.83
	Independent	1. Stephen Mayne 2. Johanna Maxwell	3,666	5.06	−0.95
	Independent	1. Jackie Watts (elected 7) 2. Michael Kennedy 3. Farida Fleming	3,557	4.91	−4.69
	Independent	1. Robin Matthews 2. Wesa Chau 3. Roger Smith	1,905	2.63	+2.63
	Animal Justice	1. Bruce Poon 2. Fiona Creedy	1,770	2.44	+2.44
	Independent	1. Richard Foster 2. Bridie Walsh	1,718	2.37	+2.37
	Independent	1. Brooke Wandin 2. Nicolas Frances Gilley (elected 8)	1,534	2.12	+2.12
	Independent	1. Marcus Fielding 2. Sallyann Wilson	1,519	2.10	+2.10
	Independent	1. Jim Ward 2. Sergey Sizenko	960	1.33	+1.33
	Independent	1. Adam Munro Ford 2. Luke Downing	816	1.13	+1.13
	Independent	1. Joseph Sarraf 2. Miroslav Zverina	808	1.12	+1.12
	Ungrouped	Luke James Neil Pringle Jing Li	191	0.26	−0.13
Total formal votes			72,398	98.04	+0.2
Informal votes			1,451	1.96	−0.2
Turnout			73,849	55.19	−4.82

Aftermath

On 8 November, councillor-elect Brooke Wandin stood down from her position amid an investigation by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate into her eligibility.[3] Wandin and former councillor Richard Foster were later charged with electoral fraud, with prosecutors alleging Wandin did not live at the Kensington address she had nominated when registering for election.[4] Both parties plead guilty to charges of electoral fraud; Foster received a 12-month good behaviour bond, while Wandin was placed onto a diversion program.[5]

As a result of Wandin standing down from the council, on 5 December 2016 the Municipal Electoral Tribunal ordered a countback of votes cast. The Victorian Electoral Commission appealed this decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, seeking a full recount. On 14 March 2017, the Tribunal ruled in the Commission's favour.[1] A full recount elected Nicolas Frances Gilley and Susan Riley as the eighth and ninth councilors respectively, displacing Michael Caiafa who would have been retained in a vote countback.[1] Gilley and Riley were sworn into council on 21 March 2017.

References

1. Scanlan, Shane (22 March 2017). "Caiafa booted off council. Riley back". CBD News. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
2. "Melbourne City Council election results 2016". Victorian Electoral Commission.
3. "Indigenous Melbourne City Councillor Brooke Wandin stands down amid questions about eligibility". ABC News. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
4. "Melbourne Council candidates Brooke Wandin, Richard Foster charged with electoral fraud". ABC News. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
5. Younger, Emma (19 April 2018). "Former Melbourne councillor avoids conviction over illegal nomination". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2020.