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All 25 seats of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly 13 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winning party seats by division for the Legislative Assembly. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A general election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 15 October 2016. [1]
The 15-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, won a fifth term over the main opposition Liberal Party, led by opposition leader Jeremy Hanson. On election night, ABC analyst Antony Green predicted that Labor would once again form a minority government with the support of the Greens, with Liberal leader Hanson saying in a speech it would be very difficult for the Liberals to win government. [2] On 22 October, the final list of elected candidates was confirmed; the Labor Party winning 12 seats, the Liberal Party 11 seats and the Greens 2 seats. [3] Labor and the Greens subsequently signed off on a formal Parliamentary Agreement, which outlined shared policy priorities and allowed Greens leader Shane Rattenbury to retain a seat in the Cabinet whilst mandating that the Greens not move or support any motion of no confidence in the Labor Government, except in instances of gross misconduct or corruption. [4] [5]
The Australian Labor Party , commonly known as ACT Labor, is the ACT branch of the Australian Labor Party. It is one of two major parties in the unicameral Parliament of the Australian Capital Territory.
The Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party with the largest representation of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role. Unlike other states and territories, the Chief Minister of the ACT is not nominally appointed by an administrator or viceroy, but elected directly by the Assembly. Since there are no local governments in the territory, the Chief Minister's role is not only roughly equivalent to that of the Premiers of the states of Australia, but also that of the mayor of a local council.
Andrew James Barr is an Australian politician and Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. He has been a Labor Party member for the seat of Molonglo in the ACT Legislative Assembly since 5 April 2006, after being elected on a countback to replace former Treasurer Ted Quinlan, who resigned mid-term. Barr was immediately promoted to Cabinet upon his election. As one of only five Ministers in the Territory government, he held a number of portfolios: Treasurer, Economic Development, Community Services, Tourism, Sport and Recreation, and Tourism and Events. On 11 December 2014 he was elected as Chief Minister after his predecessor, Katy Gallagher, resigned and announced her intention to run for the Senate.
Prior to this election, candidates were elected to fill all 17 Legislative Assembly seats in the unicameral parliament which consisted of three multi-member electorates, Brindabella (five seats), Ginninderra (five seats) and Molonglo (seven seats), using a proportional representation single transferable vote method known as the Hare-Clark system. On 5 August 2014, the Assembly voted to increase the size of the Assembly to 25 members, elected from five electorates of five seats each. The Hare-Clark system continued. [6]
The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square, close to the centre of the city of Canberra.
The Brindabella electorate is one of the five electorates for the unicameral 25-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It elects five members, and is the largest of the electorates in geographic area.
The Ginninderra electorate is one of the five electorates for the unicameral 25-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It elects five members, and is the smallest of the electorates in geographic area.
Of the 25 elected members, 13 were women, representing the first female parliamentary majority in Australian history. [7]
Australian Capital Territory general election, 15 October 2016 [8] [9] | ||||||
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Enrolled voters | 283,162 | |||||
Votes cast | 249,840 | Turnout | 88.2% | −1.2 | ||
Informal votes | 5,768 | Informal | 2.3% | −1.2 | ||
Summary of votes by party | ||||||
Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
Labor | 93,770 | 38.4 | −0.5 | 12 | +4 | |
Liberal | 89,576 | 36.7 | −2.2 | 11 | +3 | |
Greens | 25,109 | 10.3 | −0.5 | 2 | +1 | |
Sex Party | 7,478 | 3.1 | +3.1 | 0 | 0 | |
Liberal Democrats | 5,029 | 2.1 | +1.0 | 0 | 0 | |
Sustainable Australia | 3,839 | 1.6 | +1.6 | 0 | 0 | |
Animal Justice | 3,680 | 1.5 | +1.5 | 0 | 0 | |
Like Canberra | 2,636 | 1.1 | +1.1 | 0 | 0 | |
Canberra Community Voters | 1,711 | 0.7 | +0.7 | 0 | 0 | |
Community Alliance | 415 | 0.2 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | |
Ungrouped | 10,829 | 4.4 | +2.6 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 244,072 | 25 | ||||
Brindabella | Ginninderra | Kurrajong | Murrumbidgee | Yerrabi | |
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ACT Labor | 33.6% | 41.3% | 38.5% | 34.5% | 43.9% |
Liberal Party | 41.9% | 32.0% | 31.0% | 42.8% | 35.8% |
ACT Greens | 5.1% | 9.7% | 18.8% | 10.6% | 7.1% |
Sex Party | 7.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.5% | 4.0% |
Liberal Democrats | 2.5% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 2.7% |
Other | 6.6% | 14.8% | 8.4% | 4.8% | 5.6% |
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The electoral roll is a list of persons who are eligible to vote in a particular electoral district and who are registered to vote, if required in a particular jurisdiction. An electoral roll has a number of functions, especially to streamline voting on election day. Voter registration is also used to combat electoral fraud by enabling authorities to verify an applicant's identity and entitlement to a vote, and to ensure a person doesn't vote multiple times. In jurisdictions where voting is compulsory, the electoral roll is used to indicate who has failed to vote. Most jurisdictions maintain permanent electoral rolls while some jurisdictions compile new electoral rolls before each election. In some jurisdictions, people to be selected for jury or other civil duties are chosen from an electoral roll.
Labor led by Jon Stanhope came to power as a minority government at the 2001 election with the support of the Greens and Democrats who held the balance of power. The 2004 election resulted in a historic majority government for Labor, the first time the ACT elected a parliamentary majority. Labor again formed a minority government after the 2008 election resulted in a Green balance of power – Labor seven seats, Liberal six seats, Greens four seats. Stanhope resigned as Chief Minister and Labor leader on 12 May 2011, and was replaced by his deputy, Katy Gallagher.
Jonathan Donald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He is the only ACT Chief Minister to have governed with a majority in the ACT Assembly. From 2012 to 2014 Stanhope was Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories, which consists of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
A minority government, or minority cabinet or minority parliament, is a cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament. It is sworn into office, with or without the formal support of other parties, to enable a government to be formed. Under such a government, legislation can only be passed with the support of enough other members of the legislature to provide a majority, encouraging multi-partisanship. In bicameral parliaments, the term relates to the situation in chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial to the continuance in office of the government.
The 1989 election saw the start of self-governance in the ACT. Elections see all members of the unicameral Assembly face re-election, with members being elected by the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation. The Assembly was previously divided into three electorates: five-member Brindabella (including Tuggeranong and parts of the Woden Valley) and Ginninderra (including Belconnen and suburbs) and seven-member Molonglo (including North Canberra, South Canberra, Gungahlin, Weston Creek, and the remainder of the Woden Valley). These electorates, were redistributed following the increase in the size of the Assembly.
At the end of May 2015, the following electorates were announced:
Election dates are set in statute with four-year fixed terms, to be held on the third Saturday of October every four years.
Twelve parties were registered with the ACT Electoral Office as eligible for the October 2016 election, ten of which nominated candidates for the election. [11]
Five seats were up for election.
Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Greens candidates | Animal Justice candidates | Liberal Democrats candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Joy Burch * | Ed Cocks | Johnathan Davis | Sarah O'Brien | Matt Donnelly |
Like Canberra candidates | Sex Party candidates | Sustainable candidates | Ungrouped candidates | |
Timothy Friel | Steven Bailey | Claude Hastir | Andrew Holt (Ind) |
Five seats were up for election.
Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Greens candidates | CCV candidates | Liberal Democrats candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yvette Berry * | Vicki Dunne * | Jason Chappel | Beth Gooch | Naomi Gowor |
Like Canberra candidates | Sustainable candidates | Ungrouped candidates | ||
Richard Harriss | Geoff Buckmaster | Bernie Brennan (AJP) |
Five seats were up for election.
Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Greens candidates | CCV candidates | Liberal Democrats candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew Barr * | Candice Burch | Shane Rattenbury * | Richard Farmer | Mark Ellis |
Like Canberra candidates | Sustainable candidates | Ungrouped candidates | ||
Chris Bucknell | John Haydon | Jeff Isaacs (AJP) |
Five seats were up for election.
Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Greens candidates | Animal Justice candidates | Community Alliance candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bec Cody* | Jessica Adelan-Langford | Emma Davidson | Deborah Field | Michael Lindfield |
Liberal Democrats candidates | Like Canberra candidates | Sustainable candidates | Ungrouped candidates | |
Fergus Brown | Shelley Dickerson | Jill Mail | Robbie Swan (Sex) |
Five seats were up for election.
Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Greens candidates | Liberal Democrats candidates | Like Canberra |
---|---|---|---|---|
Meegan Fitzharris * | Alistair Coe * | Andrew Braddock | Dave Green | Tim Bohm |
Sex Party candidates | Sustainable candidates | Ungrouped candidates | ||
Andrew Dewson | Paul Gabriel | Mandy Cottingham (AJP) |
Newspaper | Endorsement | |
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The Canberra Times | Liberal [12] |
The District of Belconnen is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 25 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconnen lies entirely within the bounds of the city of Canberra, the capital city of Australia.
Brendan Michael Smyth is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Brindabella for the Liberal Party from 1998 until 2016. From 2002 to 2006 Smyth was the ACT Leader of the Opposition and served briefly as the Deputy Chief Minister during 2000 and 2001. He has held the ACT portfolios Urban Services, Business, Tourism and the Arts, and Police and Emergency Services.
Gilmore is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Tuggeranong. The postcode is 2905. The suburb is named after the poet and journalist, Dame Mary Gilmore. It was gazetted on 5 August 1975. Streets are named after journalists, particularly female journalists.
Emu Ridge is a housing estate in the suburb of Belconnen, located in the district of Belconnen, in Canberra, within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) of Australia. Emu Ridge is bounded by Benjamin Way, College Street, Eastern Valley Way and Belconnen Way; Hennessy Street and Condell Street are the two main thoroughfares, with many cul-de-sacs off these.
From 2016, the 25-member unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is elected from five multi-member electorates, with five seats per electorate.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 February 1995. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Kate Carnell. For the first time, candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method, known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was another hung parliament. However the Liberals, with the largest representation in the 17-member unicameral Assembly, formed Government with the support of Michael Moore and Paul Osborne. Carnell was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the third Assembly on 9 March 1995.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 20 October 2001. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Gary Humphries, was challenged by the Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method, known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was another hung parliament. However Labor, with the largest representation in the 17-member unicameral Assembly, formed Government with the support of the ACT Greens and Democrats. Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the fifth Assembly on 12 November 2001. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission and was the first time in Australia's history that an electronic voting and counting system was used for some, but not all, polling places.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 16 October 2004. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Brendan Smyth. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method, known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was a clear majority of nine seats in the 17-member unicameral Assembly for Labor. It marked the first and so far only time in the history of ACT self-government that one party was able to win a majority in its own right. Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the sixth Assembly on 4 November 2004. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission and was the second time in Australia's history that an electronic voting and counting system was used for some, but not all, polling places, expanding on the initial trial of the system at the 2001 ACT election.
The Molonglo electorate was one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly between 1995 and 2016. It had seven seats, and was the largest of the three electorates in terms of population.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method, known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was another hung parliament with Labor winning seven seats, the Liberals six seats and the Greens finishing with four seats, giving the Greens the balance of power in the 17-member unicameral Assembly. On 31 October 2008, after almost two weeks of deliberations, the Greens chose to support a Labor minority government. Consequently, Labor was re-elected to a third consecutive term of government in the ACT. Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the seventh Assembly on 5 November 2008.
Zdenko Matthew "Zed" Seselja is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory since 2013, representing the Liberal Party. He was previously a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2013, and served as leader of the Canberra Liberals and Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2013.
Mary Edith Porter is a former Labor member of the ACT Assembly. She was first elected to the Assembly in October 2004. Immediately prior to that, she was CEO of Volunteering ACT from 1993 until October 2004
Shane Stephen Rattenbury, Australian politician and former Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly, is a member of the multi-member unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Molonglo for the ACT Greens since 2008. He was the first Speaker in any Parliament in the world representing a Green political party.
Amanda Bresnan is an Australian politician and a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. Bresnan was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Brindabella for the ACT Greens at the 2008 election and defeated at the 2012 election
Meredith Hunter, Australian politician, is a former member of the multi-member unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Ginninderra for the ACT Greens from 2008 to 2012. She was also the Parliamentary Convenor of the ACT Greens.
Caroline Le Couteur is an Australian politician. She was elected to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Molonglo for the ACT Greens at the 2008 election and defeated at the 2012 election In October 2016, she was re-elected to the assembly representing the new electorate of Murrumbidgee.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly occurred on Saturday, 20 October 2012. The 11-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, won a fourth term over the main opposition Liberal Party, led by opposition leader Zed Seselja.