2004 Victorian local elections

2004 Victorian local elections

←  2003 26 November 2004 2005  →
Registered	800,000+
Turnout	71.1%
First party Second party Third party   IND Leader N/A N/A No leader Party Independents Labor Greens Last election [a] [a] 4 [a] Seats before 4 Seats won 159 22 6 Seats after 10 Seat change 2 Popular vote 606,598 78,241 21,995 Percentage 76.92% 9.92% 2.79%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   SA DLP Leader N/A No leader No leader Party Liberal Socialist Alliance Democratic Labour Last election 8 [a] 0 0 Seats before 0 0 Seats won 9 0 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 21,686 5,512 4,378 Percentage 2.75% 0.70% 0.56%   Seventh party   SOC Leader No leader Party Socialist Last election 0 Seats before 0 Seats won 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 1,359 Percentage 0.17% Swing 0.02

The 2004 Victorian local elections were held on 26 November 2004 to elect the councils of 22 of the 79 local government areas in Victoria, Australia. ^[1]

Until 2008, local elections in Victoria were conducted periodically, meaning 54 councils were not up for election in 2004. An additional three LGAs that were scheduled to vote in 2004 also did not have elections. ^[2]

A shift away from single-member wards in favour of multi-member wards began in 2004, in particular in the Greater Melbourne area. ^[3]

The election in Yarra saw the first-ever victory for the Socialist Party, with Stephen Jolly elected in Langridge Ward. ^[4] He was reportedly the first elected socialist councillor in Melbourne "since the Second World War". ^[5]

In Melbourne, Labor Party members ran on a ticket called 'Active Local Progressive' (ALP), led by Raymond Collins. ^[6]

Party changes before elections

A number of councillors joined or left parties before the 2004 elections.

Council	Ward	Councillor	Former party		New party		Date
Melbourne	Unsubdivided	Kevin Chamberlin		Labor		Independent	7 November 2002
Melbourne	Unsubdivided	Kevin Chamberlin		Independent		Kevin Chamberlin For Melbourne	2004

Results

Main article: Results of the 2004 Victorian local elections

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independents		606,598	76.92		159
	Labor		78,241	9.92		22
	Greens		21,995	2.79		6	2
	Liberal		21,686	2.75		9
	Melbourne Living		18,155	2.30		3
	Socialist Alliance		5,512	0.70		0
	Democratic Labour		4,378	0.56		1	1
	Independent Labor		4,637	0.59		1
	Kevin Chamberlin For Melbourne		3,297	0.42		0
	Melbourne Civic Group		3,018	0.38		1
	Advance Melbourne		2,742	0.35		1
	Serving Melbourne		2,335	0.30		1
	Residents First - Stop The Rates Ripoff		2,210	0.28		0
	Melbourne First		1,454	0.18		0
	Active Local Progressive		1,441	0.18		0
	Campaign for a Better City		1,375	0.17		0
	Socialist Left-Wing Team		1,359	0.17		1	1
	Melbourne: Building An Even Better City		1,261	0.16		0
	Melbourne At Work		904	0.12		0
	Melbourne Matters		860	0.11		0
	Sue Chambers Act Local Team		822	0.11		0
	Growing Melbourne		777	0.10		0
	Melbourne Arts Fashion Design Innovation		777	0.10		0
	Transparency And Accountability		724	0.09		0
	!ST@ND UP 4 MELBOURNE!		555	0.07		0
	Strengthen Melbourne		493	0.06		0
	Evolving Melbourne		394	0.05		0
	Save Our Streets		332	0.04		0
	Sustainable City		231	0.03		0
Total			788,563	100.0		204
Informal votes
Turnout

Council control

Party		Councils
		Number	Change
	Independent	17
	No overall control	2
	Labor	2
	Melbourne Living	1

Notes

1. This only includes the 22 councils up for election in 2004, not councillors in the remaining 57 councils.

References

1. "Local council election results timeline". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 2017-03-03.
2. "VOTING METHOD FOR THE 2008 COUNCIL ELECTIONS" (PDF). City of Melbourne. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-11-02.
3. "Victorian councils 2020 – the impact of the Somyurek changes". The Tally Room.
4. "Yarra City Council election results 2004 – Victorian Electoral Commission". www.vec.vic.gov.au.
5. "Monument still damns bad choices". The Age.
6. "AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY MEMBERS FOR MELBOURNE". Trove. Active Local Progressive.