# Antony Green

Antony John Green AO (born 2 March 1960) is an Australian psephologist and commentator. He is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's chief election analyst.

## Early years and background

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in northern England, Green immigrated to Australia with his family in 1964. He attended James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, graduating in 1977. Green graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computing, and a Bachelor of Economics with honours in politics from the University of Sydney. He worked initially as a data analyst in the computing industry and for a polling company before joining the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1989. Green recalls he saw an ad for a six-month position as an ABC election researcher and applied, along with 150 other applicants. His experience and his “slightly bubbly personality” helped him get the position. ABC producer Ian Carroll and journalist Kerry O’Brien recommended he stay on and he remains with the ABC until today.

## Career

Green first appeared on the ABC's election-night television coverage in the 1991 New South Wales election, following with the federal election in 1993.
As of 2024, he had analysed over 70 Australian elections at the territory, state and federal level for the ABC, starting with the 1989 Queensland state election to the 2024 Queensland state election. He designed the computer system that he uses to display and predict election results based on automated result feeds from Australia's electoral commissions.
Green has also worked on elections from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for the ABC.
As the ABC's Chief Election Analyst, Green is responsible for the content of its election website. He also has editorial responsibility for its data analysis and for their election-night results service. He is considered "the face of election night coverage".
In time for the 2013 federal election campaign, Green helped introduce the voter engagement tool Vote Compass to the ABC website. It enables voters to gauge how their views align with candidates based on parties' statements on issues and also provides Green and other analysts a dataset larger than traditional opinion polls. Green also writes a comprehensive blog on electoral matters.
Green has said that he tends not to do campaign commentary and that he,
   prefers to go into an election night with no preconceived view on the outcome and to just concentrate on understanding the data as it comes in [...].
In a 2015 interview, he explained that some of the work in preparation for his election night coverage can start years earlier—including building up the database with candidates, polling places and past results and calculating the impact of redistributions. He also recounted the realisation of his recurring nightmare of the power outage during the on air coverage of the 2010 Victorian state election.
In addition to analysing and commenting on elections for the ABC, Green writes election analysis for third-party media outlets such as The Sydney Morning Herald and Crikey and has appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Australian Parliament urging reform of the ticket voting system used in Australian Senate elections.
In February 2025, Green announced he would retire from broadcasting following the federal election later that year. Stating that he would be 68 by the time the next federal election would be expected, Green said he did not feel "as sharp and quick as I was", and that he would prefer to retire than stay "too long". In March 2025, he covered the 2025 Western Australian state election, which was his final state election.

## Honours

In 2014, the University of Sydney recognised Green with an Honorary Doctor of Letters. This was followed in 2015 by appointment as an adjunct professor in Sydney University's Department of Government and International Relations, recognising Green's work in the study of elections. In the Australian 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Green was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
   for distinguished service to the broadcast media as an analyst and commentator for state and federal elections, and to the community as a key interpreter of Australian democracy.

## Personal life

Green is an avid cyclist, taking long-distance biking trips mostly in Australia and Europe. He is also an ambassador for the Sydney Swans football club, a team in the AFL.

## In popular culture

Green's contribution to political analysis was celebrated in the song "Antony Green" in the musical Keating!, where he was represented as an animated character.