The 2020 Australian Capital Territory election was held on 17 October 2020 to elect all 25 members of the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly.
The incumbent Labor-Greens coalition government, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, defeated the opposition Liberal Party. On the night of the election Barr claimed victory and confirmed Labor would again seek to enter into an arrangement with the Greens to form government, whilst Liberal leader Alistair Coe conceded the election and acknowledged the party would retain opposition status in the Assembly. The result meant that the Labor Party, which had been in office for 19 years at this election, won a sixth consecutive term of government in the Territory. Despite the victory, Labor's representation in the Assembly dropped to ten seats, whilst the Liberals also suffered a decline in their vote and fell to nine seats. The Greens retained the balance of power and picked up the seats lost by the two larger parties to claim six seats, its largest representation in the Assembly in the party's history. Following the election, Labor and the Greens signed an agreement on 2 November to support a Labor-led Government with three ministers from the Greens.
The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission, using the proportional Hare-Clark system. At the preliminary close of rolls, there were 302,630 people enrolled to vote, representing a 6% increase on the 2016 election. Legislative changes in the Australian Capital Territory allowed for people to enrol during polling, with a further 3,370 electors enrolling before polling finished on 17 October.
Background The incumbent Labor Party led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr was attempting to win re-election for a sixth term in the 25-member unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly. Labor formed a minority coalition government with the Greens after the 2016 election, with the Greens holding the balance of power; Labor 12 seats, Liberal 11 seats, Greens 2 seats. Greens member Shane Rattenbury remained in the cabinet for a second term. Leader of the Opposition and Liberals leader Jeremy Hanson was replaced by Alistair Coe following the election.
All members of the unicameral Assembly faced re-election, with members being elected by the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation. The Assembly was divided into five electorates with five members each: Brindabella – contains the district of Tuggeranong (except part of the suburb of Kambah east of Drakeford Drive), as well as the southern village of Tharwa and farms. Ginninderra – contains the district of Belconnen (except the suburbs of Giralang and Kaleen). Kurrajong – contains the districts of Canberra Central (excluding Deakin and Yarralumla), Jerrabomberra, Kowen and Majura. Murrumbidgee – contains the districts of the Woden Valley, Weston Creek, Molonglo Valley, the South Canberra suburbs of Deakin and Yarralumla and the western part of the Tuggeranong suburb of Kambah. Yerrabi – contains the districts of Gungahlin, Hall and the Belconnen suburbs of Giralang and Kaleen.
Key dates
Last day to lodge applications for party register: 30 June 2020 Party registration closed: 10 September 2020 Pre-election period commenced and nominations opened: 11 September 2020 Rolls close: 18 September 2020 (8pm) Nominations close: 23 September 2020 (12pm) Nominations declared and ballot paper order determined: 24 September 2020 Pre-poll voting commences: 28 September 2020 Polling day: 17 October 2020 Last day for receipt of postal votes: 23 October 2020
Redistribution A redistribution of electoral boundaries for the ACT took place in 2019 for the 2020 election. The redistribution committee was appointed on 26 October 2018, and its final report was tabled on 13 August 2019.
Changes were as follows: Brindabella: gained Kambah West from Murrumbidgee. Ginninderra: gained Belconnen District 2, Evatt, Lawson and McKellar from Yerrabi. Kurrajong: lost Deakin and Yarralumla to Murrumbidgee. Murrumbidgee: gained Deakin and Yarralumla from Kurrajong; lost Kambah West to Brindabella. Yerrabi: lost Belconnen District 2, Evatt, Lawson and McKellar to Ginninderra.
Retiring members
Liberal
Vicki Dunne (Ginninderra)
Greens
Caroline Le Couteur (Murrumbidgee)
Candidates
137 candidates were formally declared for 2020 ACT Election on 24 September, with the total number of candidates down four from 2016's total. Of the 137 candidates, 129 were registered to political parties and eight were independents.
As part of the formal declaration, the candidates' names and any political party affiliation were announced, followed by a 'double randomisation' draw for each electorate to determine the order in which each party will appear on the ballot paper. A further draw then took place determining the starting order for the Robson rotations in each column. Under the Robson rotation system, 60 different versions of the ballot papers were printed for each electorate.
Sitting members are in bold. Successful candidates are identified with an asterisk.
Brindabella Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats.
Labor candidatesLiberal candidatesGreens candidatesAJP candidatesLDP candidates Joy Burch* Cathy Day Brendan Forde Mick Gentleman* Taimus Werner-GibbingsJames Daniels Jane Hiatt Nicole Lawder* Mark Parton* Andrew WallJohnathan Davis* Sue Ellerman Laura NuttallJannah Fahiz Robyn SoxsmithJacob Gowor Matthew KnightSustainable candidatesSFF candidatesFederation candidates Andrew Clapham Bruce WillettGreg Baynham Adrian OlleyJason Potter Scott Sandford
Ginninderra Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. Labor candidatesLiberal candidatesGreens candidatesBelco Party candidatesAJP candidatesLDP candidates Yvette Berry* Tara Cheyne* Sue Ducker Greg Lloyd Gordon RamsayPeter Cain* Robert Gunning Elizabeth Kikkert* Kacey Lam Ignatius RozarioJo Clay* Tim Liersch Katt MillnerVijay Dubey Chic Henry Angela Lount Bill Stefaniak Alan TuttCarolyne Drew Lara DrewDominic De Luca Guy JakemanSustainable candidatesSFF candidatesDLP candidatesCCJ candidatesUngrouped candidates Paul Gabriel Mark O'ConnorMatthew Ogilvie Oliver SmithHelen McClure Ian McClureOksana Demetrios Sok Kheng Ngep Jonathan StavridisMignonne Cullen (Ind)
Kurrajong Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Greens were defending one seat. Labor candidatesLiberal candidatesGreens candidatesProgressives candidatesAJP candidates Judy Anderson Andrew Barr* Jacob Ingram Maddy Northam Rachel Stephen-Smith*Candice Burch Rattesh Gumber Robert Johnson Elizabeth Lee* Patrick PentonyAdriana Boisen Michael Brewer Shane Rattenbury* Rebecca Vassarotti*Tim Bohm Peta Anne Bryant Therese FaulknerSerrin Rutledge-Prior Julie SmithSustainable candidatesCCJ candidatesCommunity candidatesUngrouped candidates Joy Angel John HaydonSophia Forner Petar Johnson Alix O'HaraAlvin Hopper Robyn WilliamsMarilena Damiano (Ind) Bruce Paine (Ind)
Murrumbidgee Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Greens were defending one seat. Labor candidatesLiberal candidatesGreens candidatesProgressives candidatesCCJ candidates Bec Cody Tim Dobson Brendan Long Marisa Paterson* Chris Steel*Ed Cocks Jeremy Hanson* Giulia Jones* Amardeep Singh Sarah SuineTerry Baker Emma Davidson* Tjanara Goreng GorengRobert Knight Stephen LinRohan Byrnes Andrew Demetrios Richard Forner Jackson Hillman Peter VeenstraAJP candidatesSustainable candidatesSFF candidatesUngrouped candidates Yana del Valle Edmund HandbyGeoff Buckmaster Jill MailMark Gilmayer Gordon YeatmanFiona Carrick (Ind) Lee Perren-Leveridge (Ind) Brendan Whyte (Ind)
Yerrabi Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. Labor candidatesLiberal candidatesGreens candidatesProgressives candidatesAJP candidates Tom Fischer Deepak-Raj Gupta Suzanne Orr* Michael Pettersson* Georgia PhillipsLeanne Castley* Alistair Coe* James Milligan Krishna Nadimpalli Jacob VadakkedathuAndrew Braddock* Mainul HaqueMike Stelzig Bethany WilliamsBernie Brennan Francine HorneSustainable candidatesDLP candidatesPollard candidatesUngrouped candidates John Kearsley Scott YoungOlivia Helmore Bernie StrangDavid Pollard Stephanie PollardMohammad Munir Hussain (AFP) Helen Cross (Ind) Fuxin Li (Ind)
Campaign Controversies Liberal candidate for Kurrajong, Robert Johnson, was alleged to have been the director of the ACT branch of the Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, an organisation belonging to the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, which is an umbrella organisation connected to the Chinese Communist Party, according to a 9 October 2020 article from the Canberra Times, which claims that his appointment to the position was reported on the parent organisation's official website.Dan Jervis-Bardy, Daniella White. 9 October 2020. ACT election 2020: Liberal candidate served as director of CCP-linked group: report. The Canberra Times. Dominic Giannini. 12 October 2020. Coe won’t say whether he knew about candidate’s alleged Communist Party links. The RiotACT. An earlier Canberra Times article from 2 October 2020 also reported that Robert Johnson had featured in a China Central Television documentary which claimed that he served in the Australian Army in Afghanistan.Dan Jervis-Bardy, Daniella White. 2 October 2020. ACT Liberal candidate Robert Johnson in false Chinese media articles. The Canberra Times. In 2014, he was a standing committee member of the Jiangsu Overseas Exchange Association, within the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Government.. jiangsu.gov.cn ACT Liberals leader Alistair Coe denies allegations that Robert Johnson, who is also known as Jiang Jialiang (江嘉梁), has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.Dan Jervis-Bardy. 6 October 2020. ACT election 2020: Coe stands by candidate over false Chinese media articles claims. The Canberra Times.Dan Jervis-Bardy, Daniella White. 9 October 2020. ACT election 2020: Coe stands by candidate amid reported links to CCP. The Canberra Times.
Results
+Seats changing handsNew MLAElectoratePredecessorRef.GreenJohnathan DavisBrindabellaLiberalAndrew WallGreenJo ClayGinninderraLaborGordon RamsayLiberalPeter CainGinninderraLiberalVicki Dunne (retired)GreenRebecca VassarottiKurrajongLiberalCandice BurchLaborMarisa PatersonMurrumbidgeeLaborBec CodyGreenEmma DavidsonMurrumbidgeeGreenCaroline Le Couteur (retired)GreenAndrew BraddockYerrabiLaborDeepak-Raj GuptaLiberalLeanne CastleyYerrabiLiberalJames Milligan
Primary vote by electorate Brindabella Ginninderra Kurrajong Murrumbidgee Yerrabi ACT Labor 40.7% 40.0% 38.0% 36.1% 34.2% Canberra Liberals 38.4% 26.7% 27.6% 35.6% 40.6% ACT Greens 10.8% 12.5% 23.0% 11.7% 10.2% Progressives 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 2.7% 2.7% Animal Justice 2.2% 1.7% 1.6% 2.0% 1.3% Other 7.8% 19.1% 4.8% 11.9% 11.1%
Distribution of seats Electorate Seats held Brindabella Ginninderra Kurrajong Murrumbidgee Yerrabi Labor Liberal Green
Labor won 43% of the three-party vote, the Liberals won 39% and the Greens won 18%.
Opinion polling Voting intention DateFirm Samplesize Political parties 17 Oct 2020 2020 election 37.8% 33.8% 13.5% 14.9% 29 Sep 2020 ClubsACT 1,320 36.1% 38.6% 9.6% 15.7% 9 Aug 2020 uComms 1,049 37.6% 38.2% 14.6% 9.3% 15 Oct 2016 2016 election 38.4% 36.7% 10.3% 14.6%
See also Labor–Greens coalition Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, 2016–2020
References
List of Candidates. ACT Electoral Commission