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
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. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020.
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.

External links

• Melbourne City Council election results 2016 - Victorian Electoral Commission at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 June 2020)