Queensland government backflips on compulsory preferences for councils
The Queensland government has dropped the key piece of its council reform package, by abandoning plans to change the council voting system, a change that would have likely boosted Labor’s chances of...
View ArticleQLD council elections 2020 – ward redistributions
I’ve posted a few times recently about the Brisbane City Council ward redistribution, but it’s not the only Queensland council redrawing its electoral boundaries. A total of 17 councils are undergoing...
View ArticleGuide to Brisbane City Council 2020 – now up
I have just finished my first full seat guide since the federal election, and it covers the Brisbane City Council election, due on March 28. Brisbane City is the largest council in Australia by quite a...
View ArticlePodcast #31 – Introduction to Brisbane City Council
This episode is all about the March 2020 election for Brisbane City Council, the most populous council in Australia. Ben is joined by Alexis Pink from 4ZZZ’s Pineapple Rebellion to discuss the context...
View ArticleNSW 2020: new ward boundaries finalised
Local councils in New South Wales will go to the polls in September this year to elect new councillors for the next four years. I have just finished putting together my map of ward boundaries for those...
View ArticleNSW council elections – estimated votes in new wards
I’ve previously posted about the new boundaries for wards in 18 NSW councils. I have now finished redistributing the vote totals between wards in these councils – or at least those where partisan...
View ArticleWill Victoria abandon proportional representation?
Victoria’s Legislative Council is today considering legislation which would significantly worsen Victorian council elections by changing the voting system. The bill, amongst other reforms, would...
View ArticleSome thoughts on the single transferable vote
The single transferable vote (STV) is used widely in Australian elections, under a variety of names. Sometimes it’s called Hare-Clark, but it’s often just referred to as “proportional representation”,...
View ArticleVictorian council wards – how they have changed
I blogged the other day about Victoria’s system of independent reviews of each council’s electoral structure (the number of wards and the number of councillors elected per ward). This system has...
View ArticleGuide to Brisbane City Council 2020 – now up
I have just finished my first full seat guide since the federal election, and it covers the Brisbane City Council election, due on March 28. Brisbane City is the largest council in Australia by quite a...
View ArticlePodcast #31 – Introduction to Brisbane City Council
This episode is all about the March 2020 election for Brisbane City Council, the most populous council in Australia. Ben is joined by Alexis Pink from 4ZZZ’s Pineapple Rebellion to discuss the context...
View ArticleNSW 2020: new ward boundaries finalised
Local councils in New South Wales will go to the polls in September this year to elect new councillors for the next four years. I have just finished putting together my map of ward boundaries for those...
View ArticleNSW council elections – estimated votes in new wards
I’ve previously posted about the new boundaries for wards in 18 NSW councils. I have now finished redistributing the vote totals between wards in these councils – or at least those where partisan...
View ArticleWill Victoria abandon proportional representation?
Victoria’s Legislative Council is today considering legislation which would significantly worsen Victorian council elections by changing the voting system. The bill, amongst other reforms, would...
View ArticleSome thoughts on the single transferable vote
The single transferable vote (STV) is used widely in Australian elections, under a variety of names. Sometimes it’s called Hare-Clark, but it’s often just referred to as “proportional representation”,...
View ArticleVictorian council wards – how they have changed
I blogged the other day about Victoria’s system of independent reviews of each council’s electoral structure (the number of wards and the number of councillors elected per ward). This system has...
View ArticleHow do you run for election under stage 4 lockdown?
Victorians will soon be voting in local council elections amidst an extended lockdown. While the number of new Covid-19 cases has been dropping, Melburnians will still face a stage 4 lockdown for six...
View ArticleVictorian councils 2020 – the impact of the Somyurek changes
Nominations closed yesterday for Victoria’s local government elections. Ballot papers will be sent out by mail in early October, with the votes being counted from October 24. I’m not across the...
View ArticleVictorian council elections – mapping federal results to wards
I haven’t seriously attempted to wrap my head around who is running in the Victorian council elections, which councils are dominated by one faction or the other, and which seats are in play.This is...
View ArticlePre-poll boom expected for NSW council elections
The NSW Electoral Commission has now released it’s planned booths for both pre-poll and election day for the December 4 elections (check out “step five” on this page). It’s interesting to see which...
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