2025 Alice Springs Town Council election

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2025 Alice Springs Town Council election
Flag of the Northern Territory.svg
  2021 23 August 2025 2029  

All 9 seats on Alice Springs Town Council
Registered17,020 [1] [2]
Mayor
Turnout55.2% (Decrease2.svg 9.8)
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Asta Hill.png
IND
IND
Candidate Asta Hill Eli MelkyLisa-Marie Burgoyne
Party Greens Independent Ind. Country Liberal
Primary  vote3,0052,8041,886
Percentage33.3%31.0%20.9%
SwingIncrease2.svg 33.3Increase2.svg 11.0Increase2.svg 20.9
TCP 50.3%49.7%
TCP swingIncrease2.svg 50.3Increase2.svg 49.7

Mayor before election

Matt Paterson
Independent

Elected Mayor

Asta Hill
Greens

Councillors

This shows results prior to the exclusion of Asta Hill. [3]
PartyVote %Seats+/–
Independents 39.63−4
Independent Country Liberal 31.63+2
Greens 20.81+1
Independent Labor 5.210
Independent UAP 2.800
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2025 Alice Springs Town Council election was held on 23 August 2025 to elect a mayor and eight councillors to the Town of Alice Springs. [4] [5] The election was part of the local government elections held throughout the Northern Territory. [6] [7]

Contents

Greens candidate Asta Hill was elected mayor with 50.3% of the two-candidate-preferred vote against Eli Melky, after first-term incumbent Matt Paterson chose not to seek re-election. [8] [9]

Background

Resignations

Three councillors resigned at separate points following the 2021 election. [10] [11] Jimmy Cocking resigned in August 2022 and was replaced by Gavin Morris following a by-election. [12] [13] Steve Brown resigned in March 2024 and – after the cancellation of a by-election – was replaced by Chris Daffy through appointment in November 2024. [14] [15]

In August 2024, Morris was charged with physically assaulting multiple young children. [16] He resigned in March 2025, with his seat left vacant because of the close proximity of the 2025 local elections. [17] [18]

Campaign

Several issues were part of the election campaign. [19] The prospective privatisation of community parks was opposed by the Greens and independent candidate Louis Miller. [5] [20]

In addition to this election, crime in Alice Springs was a significant campaign issue at the 2024 NT election and the 2025 federal election. [21] [22] The Greens proposed the establishment of "a youth hub on weekend evenings" as a crime prevention strategy. [5] [20]

The future of the Alice Springs Public Library was discussed during the campaign. [5] Eli Melky supported moving the library to a new location, while the Greens supported increasing its opening hours. [5] [20]

Greens candidate Aia Newport called for an audit of the council's investments "to ensure that there are no ties to Israel or the military industrial complex", as well as the exclusion of Pine Gap and United States military representatives from community events. [23] [24]

Retiring councillors

Independent

Candidates

The Greens endorsed two candidates: Aia Newport for councillor and Asta Hill for mayor and councillor. [24] The Territory Labor Party and Country Liberal Party do not endorse candidates for local elections, although several political party members ran without party endorsement. [29] [30]

A record number of 25 candidates contested the councillor election. [25] Only two incumbent council members sought re-election, with Allison Bitar running for the position of councillor and Eli Melky contesting the mayoral election. [26] [31]

Mayoral candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.

PartyCandidateNotes
  Independent Louis MillerElectrical and air conditioning technician [5]
  Greens Asta Hill Lawyer and candidate for Braitling at the 2024 NT election [32]
  Independent CLP Lisa-Marie BurgoyneEvents and marketing specialist [33] [34]
  Independent Eli MelkyCouncillor since 2011 and previous mayoral candidate [5]
  Independent Paul CatoAdvised people not to vote for him [5]
  Independent Michelle PettitDisability support worker and founder of Hello Alice [35]
  Independent Wayne WrightPrevious mayoral and councillor candidate [5]

Results

Mayoral results

2025 Northern Territory mayoral elections: Alice Springs [6] [36]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Greens Asta Hill 3,00533.3+33.3
Independent Eli Melky2,80431.0+11.0
Independent CLP Lisa-Marie Burgoyne1,88520.9+20.9
Independent Louis Miller5295.9+5.9
Independent Michelle Pettit3994.4+4.4
Independent Wayne Wright2432.7+2.1
Independent Paul Cato1661.8+1.8
Total formal votes9,03196.1+0.5
Informal votes3643.9–0.5
Turnout 9,39555.2–9.8
Two-candidate-preferred result
Greens Asta Hill 4,54450.3+50.3
Independent Eli Melky4,48849.7+49.7
Greens gain from Matt Paterson 

Councillor results

2025 Northern Territory local elections: Alice Springs (after Asta Hill exclusion) [6] [37] [38]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent CLP Sean Heenan (elected 1)1,28216.4+12.6
Independent CLP Damien Ryan (elected 2)91911.7
Independent Cherisse Buzzacott (elected 3)85610.9
Independent Larissa Ellis (elected 4)6378.1
Greens Aia Newport (elected 6)5907.5
Independent Labor Allison Bitar (elected 5)4105.2+1.0
Independent CLP Darren Burton (elected 8)3053.9+1.3
Independent Jonny Rowden2993.8
Independent Stuart McGifford2703.5
Independent Danial Rochford (elected 7)2593.3
Independent Mona Ulak2403.1
Independent Michelle Pettit2353.0
Independent Sophie Marriott1972.5
Independent UAP Gatkuoth S.D. Kueth1892.4
Independent Joshua Brown1841.4
Independent Louis Miller1802.3
Independent CLP Vanessa Mounsey1321.7
Independent Parveen Kumar1241.6
Independent Wayne Wright1111.5
Independent Labor Tom Brady951.2
Independent Jane Clark891.1
Independent Max Broadway811.0
Independent Masum Billah670.9
Independent Tia Roko660.8
Greens Asta Hill [a]
Total formal votes8,86394.4
Informal votes5275.6
Turnout 9,39055.2

Total formal and informal votes are based on results prior to the exclusion of Asta Hill. [3]

See also

Notes

  1. Because Asta Hill was elected mayor, her 1,726 votes (19.5%) in the councillor election were automatically distributed to other candidates based on the preferences allocated by voters.

References

  1. "Enrolment statistics". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 19 August 2025. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  2. "Results". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 23 August 2025. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Alice Springs - Councillor (Votes by voting centre)" (PDF). Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 23 August 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  4. Bensted, Mark (15 August 2025). "Aia Newport candidate for ASTC election". 8CCC Radio. Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Who are the candidates to be the next Alice Springs Town Council mayor, and what do they stand for?". ABC News. 18 August 2025. Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Kazakov, Gera (21 August 2025). "Full breakdown: Everyone vying for your vote in the 2025 Alice Springs local government elections". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  7. Kazakov, Gera (23 August 2025). "NT local government elections 2025: Alice Springs votes for new council, Mayor". Gold Coast Bulletin. NT News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  8. Fitzgerald, Roxanne (27 June 2025). "Alice Springs' youngest mayor, Matt Paterson, to step down to spend more time with family". ABC News. Archived from the original on 27 June 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  9. "Asta Hill is the Mayor of Alice Springs". Alice Springs News. 5 September 2025. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  10. "Cr Cocking resigns". ASTC Council Connects August 2022. August 2022. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. Geary, Charles (25 April 2024). "Town council to go to by-election". The Centralian Today. Archived from the original on 19 May 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  12. Allison, Charmayne; Brash, Stewart; Barwick, Alex (27 October 2022). "Alice Springs Town Council candidates run in by-election". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  13. "Alice Springs Town Council by-election: Declaration of election result". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 19 April 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  14. Treacy, Alex (22 July 2024). "Alice Springs Town Council forced into by-election backflip after NT government gives dud legal advice". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  15. Kazakov, Gera (4 November 2024). "Chris Daffy appointed to Alice Springs Town Council to fill position left by Steve Brown's resignation". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  16. Mendes, Liam (13 August 2024). "Alice Springs principal Gavin Morris denies allegations of assaulting multiple children as he faces court for the first time". The Australian. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  17. Wilcox, Hannah; Mendes, Liam (25 March 2025). "Gavin Morris: Alice Springs principal charged with assault steps down from local council". The Australian. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  18. Pillarisetty, Anisha (25 March 2025). "Former Alice Springs principal Gavin Morris resigns from council amid child assault charges". ABC News. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  19. "Alice Springs Mayoral debate". ABC Listen. ABC Alice Springs. 20 August 2025. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 "Our plan for Alice Springs Town Council". NT Greens. 17 August 2025. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  21. Houlbrook-Walk, Myles (13 August 2024). "Crime dominates Northern Territory political debate as election looms". ABC News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  22. Bowles, Annabel; Allison, Charmayne; Bardon, Jane (13 December 2025). "Alice Springs residents, leaders vent anger and frustration over violent crime". ABC News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  23. Kazakov, Gera (14 August 2025). "Greens-backed Alice council candidate Aia Newport makes election pitch in front of Pine Gap". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Greens council hopefuls push to ban Pine Gap from Alice Springs community events". ABC News. 18 August 2025. Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Nelson, Alex (9 August 2025). "Mass exodus from council". Alice Springs News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  26. 1 2 3 Walsh, Fia (22 July 2025). "Upcoming election heralds mass exodus of Alice Springs Town Council members". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  27. "This morning on ABC Alice Springs radio Mayor Matt Paterson announced he would not be standing for re-election". Facebook. Joshua Burgoyne MLA. 11 June 2025. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  28. McLean, Thomas (12 June 2025). "Alice Springs Town Council Mayor Matt Paterson drops 2025 re-election bid to put 'family first'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  29. "Alice council to meet over party endorsements row". ABC News. 25 February 2008. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  30. Chlanda, Erwin (7 August 2025). "Lisa-Marie Burgoyne: Making Alice more liveable". Alice Springs News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  31. Kazakov, Gera (19 June 2025). "Alice Springs Mayoral race begins early ahead of 2025 local government elections". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  32. Chlanda, Erwin (4 August 2025). "Mayor candidate Asta Hill says Alice needs a new story". Alice Springs News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  33. "Hi I'm Lisa-Marie Burgoyne!". Lisa-Marie Burgoyne for Mayor!. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  34. Kazakov, Gera (21 July 2025). "Lisa-Marie Burgoyne, wife of CLP Minister Josh Burgoyne, in Alice Springs mayoral run". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  35. "Meet the Maker". helloalice.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  36. "Alice Springs - Mayor (Distribution of preferences)" (PDF). Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 23 August 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  37. "Statement of Results Report (Alice Springs - Councillor)" (PDF). Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 6 September 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  38. "Results Showing Candidates in Ballot Order (Alice Springs - Councillor)". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 6 September 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.