The Tally Room

Late last week the Electoral District Boundaries Commission of South Australia released draft boundaries for the next South Australian state election in March 2014. Antony Green has covered the changes and their significance in more depth, including margins for every seat and a description of...

Despite my plans to stop posting on the website, I have now also posted a guide to the upcoming ACT election in October. This includes profiles of the three electorates, maps and an overall summary of the ACT political situation. This doesn't mean I will necessarily...

I have just posted two new guides for two by-elections expected in the next few months. A by-election will be held soon in the state seat of Melbourne following the resignation of Labor MP Bronwyn Pike. The race is expected to be a head-to-head contest...

Voters across the United Kingdom will be voting today in local elections, for local councillors and Mayors. The system varies wildly - with some areas not voting, and with many parts of England covered by two different levels of local government. Scottish voters will be...

Brisbane City Council stands out from all other local government in Australia. Unlike all other capital cities, Brisbane is governed by a single local government, one that covers approximately one million people. Brisbane elections are more like state elections than most local council elections, particularly...

In my previous posts I examined the results of the Queensland 2012 election and what it means for the ALP to be so decisively defeated. The defeat of Labor by such a massive margin raises other questions about how well Queensland's electoral system represents the...

As of this morning, the result is Liberal National Party on 76 seats, the Labor Party on 6, Katter's Australian Party on 2, and two independents. This leaves three seats too close to call: Bulimba, Mackay and Yeerongpilly. At the moment the ALP is...

This was no ordinary election defeat. This was no ordinary landslide defeat. It is quite possibly the worst defeat of a major party at any state election in modern Australian political history. When you look at the voting figures, it is terrible, but not unprecedented....

As is tradition on this blog, I've put together my prediction of the results. I never put much stock in these - it's always very difficult to judge what will happen in individual seats. However I do consult the polls, the pendulum and try...

Last Wednesday, the ALP's sole City of Sydney councillor, Meredith Burgmann, announced a plan for the party to use an open primary to choose their candidate for Lord Mayor of Sydney. The following day, the Greens preselected Cr Irene Doutney as the party's lead candidate...