Moonee Valley council election, 2024

The City of Moonee Valley covers parts of the inner west of Melbourne, including Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Ascot Vale, Avondale Heights, Strathmore, Airport West, Niddrie and parts of Keilor East and Flemington.

The council had a population of 121,851 as of the 2021 census.

• Wards
• Redistribution
• Incumbent councillors
• History
• Council control
• Candidate summary
• Assessment
• Voting trends by ward

Wards
The City of Moonee Valley is divided into nine single-member wards as of 2024:

• Airport – in the north, covering Essendon Fields, Essendon North, Strathmore and Strathmore Heights.
• Buckley – in the centre, covering Aberfeldie and parts of Essendon.
• Canning – in the south-west, covering Avondale Heights, Essendon West and parts of Keilor East.
• Fairbairn – in the south-east, covering parts of Ascot Vale.
• Milleara – in the west, covering most of Keilor East.
• Myrnong – in the south-east, covering Travancore and parts of Ascot Vale, Flemington and Moonee Ponds.
• Queens Park – in the east, covering parts of Essendon and Moonee Ponds.
• Steele Creek – in the north-west, covering Niddrie and Airport West.
• Woodlands – in the east, covering parts of Essendon and Moonee Ponds.

Redistribution
The council previously consisted of three wards, electing nine councillors. Each ward elected three councillors.

The Buckley ward covered the north-east of the council area, covering the new Airport and Buckley wards and parts of the new Queens Park and Woodlands wards.

The Myrnong ward covered the south-east of the council area, covering the new Fairbairn and Myrnong wards and parts of the new Queens Park and Woodlands wards.

The Rose Hill ward covered the west of the council area, covering the new Canning, Milleara and Steele Creek wards.

Incumbent councillors

¹Jacob Bettio was elected as a Greens councillor but has since left the party.
²Jessica O’Neil replaced Cam Nation following a countback in 2024.

History
The City of Moonee Valley was created in 1994 as an amalgamation of the City of Essendon and parts of the City of Keilor.

Moonee Valley’s council consisted of seven single-member wards until a review in 2008. The council has consisted of three three-member wards from 2008 until the current election.

Council control
Labor councillor Pierce Tyson has held the mayoralty since 2020.

Candidate summary
Sitting councillor Katrina Hodgson is not running for re-election.

Labor is running endorsed candidates in seven wards (including formerly-independent Rose Iser). The Greens are running three candidates, and the Libertarians and Victorian Socialists are each running two. The remaining 29 candidates are unendorsed by any party.

Assessment
The Greens poll very strongly in the south-eastern corner of the council and in two of those wards they will be facing off against incumbents who used to be Greens members. It will be interesting to see how the Greens do here.

Voting trends by ward
In order to understand the relative political position of each ward, I have estimated the results of the 2022 federal election in each ward.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Labor won in all nine wards, ranging from 57% in Steele Creek to 72% in Myrnong. The Labor two-party-preferred vote tends to be higher in the south-east.

There is less variation on the Labor primary vote, because Labor’s two-party-preferred vote is boosted by a high Greens vote in the south-east. The Greens vote ranges from 12% in the north-west to 24% in Myrnong.

Candidates – Airport Ward

• Simon Shamoon
• Mark Harris
• Jan Chantry (Labor)
• David Wright
• Hamish Jones (Independent Liberal)

Candidates – Buckley Ward

• Sean O’Neill
• Madeline Curkovic (Victorian Socialists)
• John Barnes
• Cr Narelle Sharpe
• Megan Stapleton
• Christian Martinu (Independent Liberal)

Candidates – Canning Ward

• Jacob Hvezda
• Armando Pianese
• Paula Theocharides (Labor)

Candidates – Fairbairn Ward

• Phil Burn (Labor)
• Declan McGinness (Greens)

Candidates – Milleara Ward

• Cr Jessica O’Neil
• Cr John Sipek
• Joe Cerritelli (Labor)

Candidates – Myrnong Ward

• Cr Rose Iser (Labor)
• Cameron Smith (Libertarian)
• Juno Robertson
• James Gallagher (Victorian Socialists)
• Jodie Kinnersley (Greens)

Candidates – Queens Park Ward

• Cr Ava Adams
• Owen Parris (Greens)
• Spencer Kassimir
• Cr Jacob Bettio
• Peter Vasilogiannacopoulos
• David Garotti
• David Bartl

Candidates – Steele Creek Ward

• Tania Piccolo
• Stefano Emodi
• David Liistro (Libertarian)
• Cr Samantha Byrne
• Cr Pierce Tyson (Labor)

Candidates – Woodlands Ward

• Fran Cosgriff (Labor)
• Abby McCurdy
• Mark A. Errichiello
• Jason Stuart Bryant
• Tommy Le Deux (Independent Liberal)
• Lachlan Taylor
• Nino Piscitelli

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