2023 Mulgrave state by-election

The 2023 Mulgrave state by-election took place on 18 November 2023 to elect the next member for Mulgrave in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of Premier Daniel Andrews.^[1]

2023 Mulgrave state by-election

← 2022 18 November 2023 2026 →
Electoral district of Mulgrave in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Registered	47,142
Turnout	38,156 (80.94%)
First party Second party   ALP IND Candidate Eden Foster Ian Cook Party Labor Independent Popular vote 14,481 6,780 Percentage 40.18% 18.81% Swing 10.82 0.80 TCP 56.49% 43.51% TCP swing 4.34 4.34   Third party Fourth party   LIB GRN Candidate Courtney Mann Rhonda Garad Party Liberal Greens Popular vote 7,817 2,153 Percentage 21.69% 5.97% Swing 4.50 0.89
Results of the by-election by postcode
MP before election Daniel Andrews Labor Elected MP Eden Foster Labor

One of the ten polling places for the by-election

Background

Resignation of Daniel Andrews

At a media conference on 26 September 2023, Daniel Andrews announced his resignation as premier, leader of the Victorian Labor Party, and member for Mulgrave, to take effect the following day. The resignation came exactly 10 months into his four year elected term as member for Mulgrave. He cited thoughts of life following his premiership, which he felt meant "it is time to go".^[2][3]

Following the 2022 Victorian state election Daniel Andrews had committed to govern and remain in Parliament for a full four year term.^[4]

Seat details

Mulgrave has been represented in the Victorian Legislative Assembly on two separate occasions. Its first appearance as an electoral district was during the 1958 Victorian state election, when it was captured by Ray Wiltshire of the Victorian Liberal Party. At the time, Mulgrave was regarded as a secure stronghold for the Liberal Party as its two-party-preferred vote never reached below 60 per cent. Wiltshire continued to serve as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mulgrave until the 1967 Victorian state election, when the district was abolished. Subsequently, it was replaced by Syndal which Wiltshire represented until his retirement in 1976. The electorate was reestablished at the 2002 Victorian state election, replacing Dandenong North and won by Daniel Andrews who had held the seat up until his resignation in 2023.

Demographics

At the 2021 Australian census, Mulgrave had a median age of 40, slightly higher than the state and the rest of Australia. The electorate also boasts a significant population with Chinese ancestry comprising 17% of its residents, compared to the state where the rate is 6%. There are also large Vietnamese and Greek communities. Furthermore, 30% of Mulgrave's residents have attained a bachelor's degree or higher, and the median weekly personal income stands at $693.^[5]

Two-party-preferred vote in Mulgrave, 2002–2022

Election		2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022
	Labor	66.20%	65.60%	58.48%	54.50%	62.71%	60.20%
	Liberal	33.80%	35.40%	41.52%	45.50%	37.30%	39.80%
Government		ALP	ALP	L/NP	ALP	ALP	ALP

2022 results

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Victorian state election (Legislative Assembly) § Mulgrave.[edit]

2022 Victorian state election: Mulgrave^[6][7][8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Daniel Andrews	19,365	51.0	−8.5
	Independent	Ian Cook	6,838	18.0	+18.0
	Liberal	Michael Piastrino	6,528	17.2	−11.0
	Greens	Robert Lim	1,930	5.1	−1.3
	Freedom	Aidan McLindon	824	2.2	+2.2
	Family First	Jane Foreman	749	2.0	+2.0
	Animal Justice	David Mould	419	1.1	+0.9
	Democratic Labour	Maree Wood	327	0.9	−1.3
	Independent	Fotini Theodossopoulou	305	0.8	+0.8
	Independent	Andrew King	173	0.4	+0.4
	Ind. (PIBCI)	Joseph Toscano	155	0.4	+0.4
	Independent	Anne Moody	146	0.4	+0.4
	Independent	Howard Lee	120	0.3	+0.3
	Independent	Ezra J. D. Isma	92	0.2	+0.2
Total formal votes			37,924	91.2	−2.7
Informal votes			3,650	8.7	+2.7
Turnout			41,574	88.4	+3.3
Notional two-party-preferred count
	Labor	Daniel Andrews	22,976	60.2	−5.6
	Liberal	Michael Piastrino	15,191	39.8	+5.6
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Labor	Daniel Andrews	23,070	60.8	−5.0
	Independent	Ian Cook	14,854	39.2	+39.2
	Labor hold		Swing	−5.0

Candidates

 

Election poster for the Labor Party

Party		Candidate	Background
	Libertarian	Ethelyn King	Candidate for South-East Metro at the 2022 Victorian election.^[10]
	Sustainable Australia	Celeste Ackerly	Student^[11]
	Independent	Ian Cook	Former businessman and candidate for Mulgrave at the 2022 Victorian election.^[12]
	Family First	Jane Foreman	Candidate for Mulgrave at the 2022 Victorian election.^[13]
	Liberal	Courtney Mann	Political staffer, educator, and candidate for Mulgrave at the 2010 Victorian election.^[14]
	Victorian Socialists	Kelly Cvetkova	Retail worker, student and candidate for Thomastown at the 2022 Victorian election.^[15]
	Greens	Rhonda Garad	Greater Dandenong Councillor^[16]
	Labor	Eden Foster	Mayor of Greater Dandenong^[17]
	Independent	Tina Theodossopoulou	Landscaper and candidate for Mulgrave at the 2022 Victorian election.^[18]
	Animal Justice	Bronwyn Currie	Perennial candidate, HR consultant and activist.^[19]

Party how to vote Cards

Preferences as listed on each parties how to vote card

Party		LBT	SAP	Ian C.	FFV	LIB	VS	GRN	ALP	T.T.	AJ
	Libertarian	1		2	4	2	10	7	5	3	6
	Sustainable Australia	6	1	3	6	6	5	5	6	6	4
	Ian Cook	2		1	3	3	9	8	7	4	9
	Family First	3		4	1	4	8	10	8	5	10
	Liberal	4		5	5	1	6	6	9	2	7
	Victorian Socialists	10		8	9	10	1	3	3	10	2
	Greens	8		9	10	9	2	1	2	9	3
	Labor	7		10	7	8	4	4	1	8	5
	Tina Theodossopoulou	5		6	2	5	7	9	10	1	8
	Animal Justice	9		7	8	7	3	2	4	7	1

^[20]

Results

2023 Mulgrave state by-election^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Eden Foster	14,481	40.18	−10.82
	Liberal	Courtney Mann	7,817	21.69	+4.50
	Independent	Ian Cook	6,780	18.81	+0.80
	Greens	Rhonda Garad	2,153	5.97	+0.89
	Victorian Socialists	Kelly Cvetkova	1,315	3.65	+3.65
	Family First	Jane Foreman	1,111	3.08	+1.11
	Libertarian	Ethelyn King	1,046	2.90	+2.90
	Independent	Tina Theodossopoulou	662	1.84	+1.04
	Animal Justice	Bronwyn Currie	403	1.12	+1.12
	Sustainable Australia	Celeste Ackerly	276	0.77	+0.77
Total formal votes			36,044	94.46	+3.13
Informal votes			2,112	5.54	−3.13
Turnout			38,156	80.94	−7.46
Notional two-party-preferred count
	Labor	Eden Foster	19,704	54.67	−5.53
	Liberal	Courtney Mann	16,340	45.33	+5.53
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Labor	Eden Foster	20,363	56.49	−4.34
	Independent	Ian Cook	15,681	43.51	+4.34
	Labor hold		Swing	−4.34

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Mulgrave (Victoria)
• 2023 Victorian Labor Party leadership election
• List of Victorian state by-elections

References

1. Eddie, Rachel; Carmody, Broede (26 September 2023). "Daniel Andrews to stand down as Victorian premier immediately". The Age. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
2. Ore, Adeshola (26 September 2023). "Daniel Andrews resignation: Anthony Albanese 'surprised' by announcement". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
3. Bennett, Emily (26 September 2023). "How Australians reacted to the resignation of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews". Nine News. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
4. Durkin, Patrick; McCubbing, Gus (27 November 2022). "Emboldened Andrews promises to lead progressive march with PM". from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023. Mr Andrews said he was committed to govern for a full, four-year term after securing a clear majority in the Victorian state election, despite suffering a statewide swing of almost 6 per cent against Labor.
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mulgrave (South-Eastern Metropolitan)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 September 2023.  
6. Green, Antony (11 January 2023). "VIC22 – 2-Party Preferred Results and Swings by District". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
7. VIC 2021 Final Redistribution, ABC News. [Retrieved 1 January 2023.
8. Mulgrave District results, Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
9. Full preference distributions – 2022 State election, Victorian Electoral Commission. [Retrieved 17 June 2023.
10. Limbrick, David [@_davidlimbrick] (17 October 2023). "I'm proud to announce that Ethelyn King is the very first Libertarian Party candidate, running for the seat of Mulgrave" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 November 2023 – via Twitter.
11. "2023 Mulgrave by-election - 18 November 2023". Sustainable Australia Party (Press release). from the original on 17 November 2023.
12. "I Cook Foods boss says 'the people of Mulgrave have been neglected by the Premier for years'". Herald Sun.
13. Shelton, Lyle (24 October 2023). "Media release: Cost of living, protecting kids is Family First's focus in Mulgrave". Family First Party Australia (Press release). from the original on 17 November 2023.
14. Hevesi, Bryant (26 October 2023). "Mulgrave by-election: Former candidate and John Pesutto staffer Courtney Mann wins preselection for the Liberal Party". Sky News Australia. from the original on 17 November 2023.
15. "Announcing our candidate for the Mulgrave by-election". Victorian Socialists (Press release). 29 September 2023. from the original on 17 November 2023.
16. "Local Councillor Rhonda Garad Announced As Greens' Mulgrave Candidate, The Real Opposition This Election". Australian Greens Victoria (Press release). 19 October 2023. from the original on 17 November 2023.
17. Lucadou-Wells, Cam (6 October 2023). "Mayor running for Mulgrave". Dandenong Star Journal. from the original on 17 November 2023.
18. "Tina Theodossopoulou, one of ten independents in the Mulgrave by-election". Neos Kosmos. 12 November 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023.
19. "Announcing Bronwyn Currie for Mulgrave!". Animal Justice Party (Press release). 2 November 2023. from the original on 17 November 2023.
20. VEC. "Mulgrave District by-election how-to-vote card archive". www.vec.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
21. "Results - Mulgrave by-election 2023". ABC News.
22. "Mulgrave District by-election results". Victorian Electoral Commission.