Series
Victorian council elections
Victorians have voted in council elections. Find out the results in your area and what the make-up of the local council means for you.
- Exclusive
- Nick Reece
Lord mayor faces potential conflict of interest over Queen Vic Market trader’s donation
Nick Reece has already been facing scrutiny over his campaign donations, after accepting tens of thousands of dollars from donors with property interests in the City of Melbourne.
- Cara Waters
Donation revelations prompt fears Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece could be ‘mired in conflicts of interest’
Reece accepted tens of thousands of dollars from donors with property interests in the City of Melbourne despite pledging he would not allow developers to bankroll his mayoral campaign. See the full list of donors.
- Cara Waters, Adam Carey and Sarah Danckert
- Exclusive
- For subscribers
Kouta’s $449,000 cash splash on failed lord mayoral campaign
The campaign to elect the former AFL star as Melbourne lord mayor spent a hefty amount with limited success. One of his supporters has called for electoral reform.
- Cara Waters
Reece sworn in as lord mayor amid doubt over multimillion-dollar campaign promises
Nick Reece’s priorities are safety and cleanliness, but questions remain about how he can fulfil other promises given the council’s struggling budget.
- Cara Waters
Where Labor got ‘slaughtered’, regions lurch right, a teal wave: Deciphering Victoria’s council results
After weeks of voting and more weeks of counting, Victoria now has a fresh set of newly elected councils. Digging into the data reveals some surprising outcomes.
- Tom Cowie and Rachael Dexter
‘The risk of an election failure is now real’: Electoral Commissioner’s early warning
The Victorian Electoral Commission’s annual report says it faces budget pressures with difficulty recruiting and retaining staff for events and a continued rise in the cost of services.
- Cara Waters and Broede Carmody
Victorian council election results 2024 LIVE updates: Suspected postal vote tampering in council elections
All the updates on the results in Victoria’s local government elections.
- Rachael Dexter, Tom Cowie, Adam Carey, Sophie Aubrey, Benjamin Preiss, Patrick Hatch and Cara Waters
‘Far too long’: Fears it will take years to resolve Melbourne council vote scandal
The state’s electoral commissioner said there had been suspected postal-vote tampering in two wards – one in Knox council and the other in Whittlesea – with some voters lodging multiple ballots by mail.
- Rachael Dexter, Tom Cowie and Rachel Eddie
Votes have been counted in local elections. Here are your councillors
Use our interactive to find out who was elected in each ward of your council across Greater Melbourne.
- Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie
- Exclusive
It’s curtains for lord mayor’s plan to sell the Regent Theatre
Nick Reece’s election pledge to sell the 95-year-old venue to fund the arts is likely to be blocked by the new council.
- Cara Waters
- Analysis
Down and out in Yarra, but Greens offset heartland losses
This year’s council elections were always going to cast a spotlight on the Greens’ performance. The results show something of a mixed bag for the progressive party.
- Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie
- Exclusive
Fake legal letter makes dirty demand of council candidate
A would-be councillor was panicked to receive an unusual legal letter as part of a bogus criminal investigation into the disappearance of several election posters in Melbourne’s south-east last month.
- Cameron Houston
- Updated
‘The best days of the city are ahead’: Nick Reece wins race to be Melbourne lord mayor
Reece recorded 61.5 per cent of the vote after the distribution of preferences, comfortably beating Greens candidate Roxane Ingleton with 38.5 per cent.
- Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie
Greens lag in progressive heartlands; Liberals are ‘teal-washed’ out of Boroondara
In early counts of votes in the local government elections, there has already been clear political shifts in some key Melbourne councils.
- Rachael Dexter
- Analysis
Koutoufides and Reece lord mayor battle could drag on for days
Preferences will play a key role in who takes the keys to town hall in the neck-and-neck battle between Nick Reece and Anthony Koutoufides.
- Cara Waters
We surveyed your local election candidates. See what they really think
Use our interactive to find out which key issues candidates across 31 councils in Greater Melbourne say they will back if elected.
- Cara Waters, Rachael Dexter and Nathanael Scott
- Updated
Koutoufides trails Reece in mayoral race – but maybe not for long
Vote counting indicates incumbent Nick Reece leads the mayoral race in the City of Melbourne, but a strong showing for the Liberals means Anthony Koutoufides is also in with a chance.
- Cara Waters
‘Absolute debacle’: Council election chaos for last-minute voters
Voting booths were inundated as hundreds queued to cast council election votes in person before the 6pm cut-off.
- Rachael Dexter
- Analysis
No democracy sausage, no sizzle in council elections
Many Victorians are about to be fined $99 for not voting in local council elections, and while it’s easy to blame apathy, the postal process might be the problem.
- Cara Waters
Who’s behind ‘Greens Info’, the attack ad linked to a state-owned house?
Mystery surrounds a cashed-up anti-Greens attack outfit called “Greens Info” which lists its address in a most unexpected place.
- Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie
Cheaper power promised under renewable energy bulk-buy schemes
Residents and small business owners would get cheaper power bills under a proposed renewable energy bulk-buying scheme covering at least four inner Melbourne councils.
- Tom Cowie
The Greenline ‘albatross’, protests and e-scooters: Lord mayoral candidates debate
Ballots close in just a few days, but fewer than 40 per cent of City of Melbourne residents have voted as lord mayoral candidates battled it out in a last-minute pitch in a live debate on Tuesday.
- Cara Waters and Rachael Dexter
As it happened: Melbourne lord mayoral debate
Melbourne lord mayoral candidates Nick Reece, Arron Wood, Roxane Ingleton and Anthony Koutoufides debate their policies ahead of the election.
- Cara Waters and Rachael Dexter
Whodunnit solved: Election sign-thrower unmasked as Kingston councillor
It turns out the identity of the sign-thrower wasn’t such a mystery to the good burghers of Melbourne’s south-east.
- Tom Cowie and Rachael Dexter
Melbourne Fashion Week becomes unlikely battleground for lord mayoral candidates
A candidate is hatching a plan to add another top-flight fashion festival to Melbourne – by stealing it from Sydney.
- Cara Waters
The hidden barrier: Why Roxane Ingleton’s mayoral dream hangs by a thread
The Greens candidate would likely be elected Melbourne’s lord mayor next week if the city operated on a standard electoral system of one vote for every voter.
- Cara Waters
‘Yes, I’m young’: The gutsy teenage candidates in Victoria’s council elections
They might not have the life experience of most other candidates, but these plucky teens reckon they’ve got plenty to offer as city councillors.
- Sophie Aubrey
- Editorial
Who’s best for Melbourne? The Age cannot endorse mayoral candidates
It’s not only donation reform that is required, but better transparency around who candidates are, what they really stand for, and their political affiliations.
- The Age's View
- Exclusive
Businesses get double voting power in City of Melbourne elections. Now they want more
Melbourne is the only capital city in Australia where businesses get two votes in the council election, while residents only get one.
- Rachael Dexter
Going postal: Council ballot papers stolen in Australia Post van theft
There’s bad news for City of Monash voters who may have to cast their ballots again after an opportunistic thief made off with an Australia Post van.
- Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie
Promises, promises. But can Melbourne’s lord mayoral candidates actually deliver?
There are plans to expand the free tram zone, turn office buildings into apartments, provide free coffees and slash myki fares, but only some are feasible.
- Cara Waters
‘Slum lord’ tag sticks like mould on Birkenstocks to Greens mayoral candidate
A Greens lord mayoral candidate campaigning as a renter has been outed as a former landlord with tenants who complained about an apartment filled with mould.
- Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie
The ‘witches’ brew’ of preference deals and how they’ll swing City of Melbourne elections
Backroom wheeling and dealing and the complex science of preference flows could result in an unexpected lord mayor.
- Cara Waters
The plane truth: Melbourne’s most polarising tree stirs spring controversy again
The City of Melbourne has a plan to reduce the dominance of plane trees, but some lord mayoral candidates say it is not going far nor fast enough.
- Sophie Aubrey
- Exclusive
‘Something is deeply wrong’: Elizabeth Street under election spotlight
More CCTV cameras and security officers are among the pledges made by City of Melbourne lord mayoral candidate Arron Wood and his opponent, incumbent Nick Reece.
- Cara Waters
Sausage breakfast? Lord mayor debate an all-bloke affair
There were three notable absentees at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event this week when six male lord mayor hopefuls took to the stage.
- Tom Cowie and Rachael Dexter
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