# 2017 Northcote state by-election

A by-election for the seat of Northcote in the Victorian Legislative Assembly was held on 18 November 2017. The by-election was triggered by the death of Labor Party MP Fiona Richardson on 23 August 2017. While the seat historically has firmly been in the Labor Party's hands since its inception in 1927, environmental issues, rising house prices and demographic trends have resulted in a stronger Greens vote at recent elections. The Liberal Party elected not to field a candidate.
The seat was won by the Greens on a swing of more than 11.5%. ABC election expert Antony Green called the seat for the Greens at 8.30 pm on the night of the count. Greens candidate Lidia Thorpe became the first female Aboriginal MP in the Victorian Parliament as a result of the victory and the Greens increased their representation in the Legislative Assembly to three MPs.

## Background

The by-election was called following the death of former Labor member for the district and Minister for Women, Fiona Richardson. Having taken medical leave from Parliament on 7 August 2017, she died in office on 23 August. This triggered a vacancy in the seat, with writs for election being issued by the Assembly Speaker, Colin Brooks.

## Candidates

A total of 12 candidates were declared nominated by the VEC. The Liberal Party decided against fielding a candidate.
12 candidates in ballot paper order :
| Party | Candidate | Background |
| Independent | Russell Hayward | Preston resident and executive-level manager in welfare and disability sectors. |
| Independent | Brian Sanaghan | Former Northcote Councillor in 1970s, later expelled for refusing to take oath to Queen. |
| Greens | Lidia Thorpe | Gunnai-Gunditjmara businesswoman. |
| Animal Justice | Nina Lenk | Animal activist and party Northern Metropolitan Manager. |
| Independent | Laura Chipp | Daughter of Don Chipp, former leader of the Australian Democrats. Endorsed by the unregistered Reason Party (formerly known as the Australian Sex Party). |
| Independent | Philip Cooper | Yorta Yorta elder with 40 years' experience in Aboriginal community affairs. |
| Liberal Democrats | Dean Rossiter | Student at La Trobe University. |
| Labor | Clare Burns | Speech pathologist and union official. |
| Independent | Joseph Toscano | Medical practitioner, broadcaster and anarchist activist. |
| Independent | Bryony Edwards | Previously worked in human services policy making and community development. |
| Independent | Nevena Spirovska | Freelance writer. |
| Independent | Vince Fontana | Former Darebin councillor and mayor. |

## Results

Northcote state by-election, 2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Greens | Lidia Thorpe | 16,319 | 45.2 | +8.9 |
| | Labor | Clare Burns | 12,779 | 35.4 | −5.6 |
| | Independent | Vince Fontana | 1,864 | 5.2 | +5.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dean Rossiter | 1,497 | 4.1 | +4.1 |
| | Independent Reason | Laura Chipp | 1,152 | 3.2 | +3.2 |
| | Animal Justice | Nina Lenk | 773 | 2.1 | +0.4 |
| | Independent | Philip Cooper | 436 | 1.2 | +1.2 |
| | Independent | Russell Hayward | 360 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| | Independent | Joseph Toscano | 331 | 0.9 | +0.9 |
| | Independent | Nevena Spirovska | 215 | 0.6 | +0.6 |
| | Independent | Brian Sanaghan | 208 | 0.6 | +0.6 |
| | Save The Planet | Bryony Edwards | 54 | 0.4 | −0.4 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 36,088 | 94.9 | −0.9 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,940 | 5.1 | +0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,028 | 79.0 | −12.6 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Greens | Lidia Thorpe | 20,137 | 55.6 | +11.6 |
| | Labor | Clare Burns | 16,080 | 44.4 | −11.6 |
| After distribution of preferences ||||||
| | Greens | Lidia Thorpe | 18,380 | 50.9 | N/A |
| | Labor | Clare Burns | 14,410 | 39.9 | N/A |
| | Independent | Vince Fontana | 3,298 | 9.1 | N/A |
| | Greens gain from Labor | Greens gain from Labor | Swing | +11.6 | |
The VEC stops distributing preferences when a candidate reaches over 50 per cent of the vote. An indicative two-candidate-preferred count had Lidia Thorpe (Greens) on 20,137 votes (55.6%) to Clare Burns (Labor) on 16,080 votes (44.4%)—a swing of 11.6 percentage points to the Greens.