# 2016 Norfolk Island local election

The 2016 Norfolk Island local election was held on 28 May 2016 to elect the Norfolk Island Regional Council, the local government body of Norfolk Island.
This was the first election for the council since the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was abolished in 2015 as part of the removal of Norfolk Island's semi-self-governing status.
Following the election, Robin Adams was elected mayor through a vote of councillors at the formal establishment of the council on 1 July 2016.

## Background

Norfolk Island Regional Council is subject to the state-level legislation of New South Wales. Unlike most local government bodies in Australia, the council delivers many Commonwealth services to residents in addition to local-level services such as land planning and emergency management.
The council has five members, down from the eight members that the Assembly had.
The election was conducted by the Australian Election Company and results were finalised on 31 May 2016. Unlike the previous Assembly elections, a quota was used, replacing a variation of cumulative voting known as "weighted first past the post".

## Results

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 158 | |
| | Independent | Rod Buffett (elected 1) | 190 | 20.17 |
| | Independent | Lisle Snell (elected 2) | 149 | 15.81 |
| | Liberal | Dave Porter (elected 3) | 147 | 15.61 |
| | Independent | Robin Adams (elected 5) | 107 | 11.36 |
| | Independent | John McCoy (elected 4) | 97 | 10.30 |
| | Independent | David Buffett | 90 | 9.55 |
| | Independent | Lyle Tavener | 66 | 7.01 |
| | Independent | Tim Brown | 38 | 4.03 |
| | Independent | Kim Davies | 29 | 3.08 |
| | Independent | Graham White | 29 | 3.08 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 942 | 100.0 |

### Count progression

2016 Norfolk Island local election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Independent | Rod Buffett | 20.17 | 190 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Lisle Snell | 15.82 | 149 | 151 | 161 | | | |
| | Liberal | Dave Porter | 15.61 | 147 | 155 | 156 | 164 | | |
| | Independent | Robin Adams | 11.36 | 107 | 109 | 113 | 119 | 133 | 137 |
| | Independent | John McCoy | 10.30 | 97 | 101 | 105 | 111 | 123 | 144 |
| | Independent | David Buffett | 9.55 | 90 | 93 | 96 | 100 | 106 | 124 |
| | Independent | Lyle Tavener | 7.01 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 80 | 87 | |
| | Independent | Tim Brown | 4.03 | 38 | 40 | 41 | 44 | | |
| | Independent | Graham White | 3.08 | 29 | 31 | 36 | | | |
| | Independent | Kim Davies | 3.08 | 29 | 30 | | | | |
| | | Exhausted votes | | | | | 5 | 10 | 54 |
| Quota: 158 ||||||||||

## Aftermath

Three of the five councillors elected said they supported the work of Norfolk Island People for Democracy, which supports political self-determination for the territory. Former Chief Minister David Buffett was among the unsuccessful candidates at the election.
On 4 February 2021, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories Nola Marino suspended the council and appointed Mike Colreavy as an Interim Administrator, following the postponement of the 2020 election. On 6 December 2021, the council was formally dismissed and Colreavy became Administrator for a period of three years, with the next election scheduled to be held in 2024.