Legislative Council: Northern Metropolitan

Northern Metropolitan encompasses the Greens heartland seats of Melbourne, Richmond, Brunswick and Northcote at the southern end, from which it extends northwards through safe Labor territory as far as Criagieburn and Epping. Labor holds all 11 of the region’s seats and has been strengthened still further by the redistribution, which adds the very safe lower house electorates of Pascoe Vale and Yuroke and removes the marginal seats of Ivanhoe and Yan Yean. The result in 2010 was two seats each for Labor and Liberal and one for the Greens, with the Liberals gaining the third seat Labor had won in 2006. The boundary changes will make it difficult for the Liberals to defend their second seat, particularly if there is a swing against them of any size.

The top of the Liberal ticket at the 2006 and 2010 elections was occupied by Planning Minister Matthew Guy, who was the only Liberal elected on the former occasion and was joined by Craig Ondarchie on the latter. Guy will now contest the lower house seat of Bulleen, with Ondarchie moving to the top of the ticket. Ondarchie was described by VexNews following his 2010 preselection as “socially conservative”, at least in comparison with rival candidate Tom McFeely, a gay community leader who ended up having to settle for lower house preselection in Richmond. Ondarchie won a promotion to parliamentary secretary to the Premier following Denis Napthine’s ascension to the leadership in April 2013.

Second on the Liberal ticket is Gladys Liu, a Chinese-born speech pathologist and preselection candidate as far back as 2005, who even then was being described as a “party veteran”.

The top two positions on the Labor ticket are unchanged from 2010. In first position is Jenny Mikakos, who entered parliament in 1999 as member for the upper house province of Jika Jika after defeating incumbent Pat Power for preselection. Mikakos was at that time a member of the hard left Pledge faction, but would soon join the Socialist Left. She had been a Northcote councillor and taxation lawyer before entering parlament, and appeared set to win federal preselection for Batman when Brian Howe retired at the 1996 election, only to be trumped by a national executive intervention that installed Martin Ferguson. With the Legislative Council reforms of 2006, Mikakos took the second position on the Labor ticket at the 2006 election, with first place occupied by Theo Theophanous. With Theophanous having retired in March 2010, Mikakos assumed top position at the election held the following November, while the occupant of Theophanous’s casual vacancy, Nathan Murphy, failed to win re-election from number three. Mikakos was promoted to parliamentary secretary after the 2002 election, and to shadow cabinet after the 2010 election defeat. Her shadow portfolios have consistently included seniors and ageing and various permutations of a children and young adults porfolio, and she also held youth justice until December 2013, and the more senior community services portfolio thereafter.

Labor’s number two candidate is Nazih Elasmar, who was elected from number three in 2006 and promoted to second in 2010. Elasmar is a figurehead of the Lebanese community, who before entering parliament was mayor of Darebin and an electorate officer to Theo Theophanous. His factional alignment followed Theophanous in progressing from his Labor Renewal Alliance to Labor Unity (the Right). Seeking election from number three is Burhan Yigit, a Hume councillor, former mayor and Turkish community leader. Birgit was a candidate for the Broadmeadows preselection to replace John Brumby in the aftermath of the 2010 election, in which he had the support of unions that had been frozen out of the “stability pact” then operating between the Bill Shorten-Stephen Conroy forces of the Right and the Socialist Left, including the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, National Union of Workers and Health Services Union on the Right, and the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union on the Left. However, the party’s administrative committee intervened to fast-track the preselection of Frank McGuire, which his supporters argued was necessary as Yigit had acquired his local influence through branch-stacking.

The Greens incumbent in Northern Metropolitan is the party’s official parliamentary leader, Greg Barber. He was elected to Yarra City Council in 2002, and because the first Greens mayor in Australia the following year. With the Legislative Council reforms of 2006, he secured the top position on the ticket in the party’s strongest region of Northern Metropolitan, and together with Sue Penniciuk in Southern Metropolitan and Colleen Hartland in Western Metropolitan became the party’s first members of state parliament. He became the party’s leader when it first chose one after the 2010 election, having not created such a position in the previous term.

Simplified preference tickets

Excluded from consideration: the top two Labor and first Liberal candidates.

Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll: Sex Party; Peter Allan; Greens; Animal Justice; Voice For The West; Family First; Cyclists; Labor; Voluntary Euthanasia; Liberal Democratic; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Australian Christians; Palmer United; People Power; Country Alliance; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers; DLP; Liberal.
Shooters And Fishers: Sex Party; People Power; Family First; Rise Up Australia; DLP; Cyclists; Australian Christians; Liberal Democratic; Country Alliance; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voluntary Euthanasia; Palmer United; Peter Allan; Liberal; Labor; Animal Justice; Voice For The West; Greens.
Liberal: Family First; Australian Christians; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; People Power; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Palmer United; Sex Party; Liberal Democratic; DLP; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Cyclists; Voice For The West; Voluntary Euthanasia; Labor; Animal Justice; Rise Up Australia; Peter Allan; Greens.
Cyclists: People Power; Animal Justice; Sex Party; Peter Allan; Voluntary Euthanasia; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voice For The West; Greens; Liberal Democratic; DLP; Family First; Labor; Liberal; Palmer United; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance.
Australian Christians: People Power; Family First; Liberal; DLP; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Country Alliance; Voice For The West; Labor; Peter Allan; Palmer United; Liberal Democratic; Cyclists; Animal Justice; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Greens; Voluntary Euthanasia; Sex Party.
Rise Up Australia: Family First; People Power; DLP; Australian Christians; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Liberal; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Liberal Democratic; Voice For The West; Peter Allan; Labor; Animal Justice; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voluntary Euthanasia; Palmer United; Sex Party; Cyclists; Greens.
Animal Justice: Peter Allan; People Power; Voice For The West; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voluntary Euthanasia; Sex Party; Cyclists; Greens; Family First; Labor; Country Alliance; Liberal; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Liberal Democratic; Palmer United; Australian Christians; DLP; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers.
Family First: Peter Allan; People Power; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Voice For The West; DLP; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Animal Justice; Liberal Democratic; Palmer United; Cyclists; Liberal; Labor; Greens; Voluntary Euthanasia; Sex Party.
DLP: People Power; Family First; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Liberal Democratic; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Voice For The West; Labor; Liberal; Palmer United; Peter Allan; Cyclists; Animal Justice; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voluntary Euthanasia; Greens; Sex Party.
Vote 1 Local Jobs: Family First; DLP; Country Alliance; Peter Allan; Sex Party; Voice For The West; People Power; Shooters And Fishers; Rise Up Australia; Australian Christians; Voluntary Euthanasia; Liberal Democratic; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Cyclists; Palmer United; Animal Justice; Liberal; Labor; Greens.
Country Alliance: Family First; People Power; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Voice For The West; Sex Party; DLP; Liberal Democratic; Peter Allan; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voluntary Euthanasia; Liberal; Cyclists; Labor; Animal Justice; Palmer United; Greens.
Liberal Democratic: Sex Party; People Power; Family First; Voice For The West; Shooters And Fishers; DLP; Voluntary Euthanasia; Country Alliance; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Peter Allan; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Cyclists; Labor; Liberal; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Palmer United; Greens; Animal Justice.
Greens: Sex Party; Animal Justice; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Peter Allan; Cyclists; Voice For The West; Voluntary Euthanasia; Labor; Palmer United; People Power; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Liberal; Liberal Democratic; Family First; DLP; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia.
Peter Allan: Animal Justice; People Power; Voice For The West; Sex Party; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Greens; Cyclists; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Labor; DLP; Voluntary Euthanasia; Country Alliance; Family First; Australian Christians; Liberal; Palmer United; Liberal Democratic; Shooters And Fishers; Rise Up Australia.
Palmer United: Family First; Shooters And Fishers; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Cyclists; Liberal; Greens; Labor; Voice For The West; People Power; Country Alliance; Rise Up Australia; Peter Allan; Animal Justice; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Liberal Democratic; Sex Party; DLP; Voluntary Euthanasia; Australian Christians.
People Power: Peter Allan; Animal Justice; Family First; Voice For The West; DLP; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Country Alliance; Australian Christians; Cyclists; Shooters And Fishers; Liberal Democratic; Rise Up Australia; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Voluntary Euthanasia; Liberal; Greens; Labor; Palmer United; Sex Party.
Voice For The West: Peter Allan; People Power; Animal Justice; Family First; Voluntary Euthanasia; DLP; Country Alliance; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Shooters And Fishers; Australian Christians; Liberal Democratic; Cyclists; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Rise Up Australia; Palmer United; Sex Party; Greens; Labor; Liberal.
Voluntary Euthanasia: Sex Party; Liberal Democratic; Animal Justice; Voice For The West; Greens; Peter Allan; Palmer United; Labor; People Power; Country Alliance; Rise Up Australia; Family First; DLP; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Shooters And Fishers; Liberal; Cyclists; Australian Christians.
Sex Party: Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Peter Allan; Voluntary Euthanasia; Animal Justice; Greens; People Power; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Cyclists; Voice For The West; Liberal Democratic; Labor; Palmer United; Liberal; Country Alliance; Shooters And Fishers; Australian Christians; DLP; Rise Up Australia; Family First
Labor: Sex Party; People Power; Voice For The West; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Greens; Country Alliance; DLP; Animal Justice; Basics Rock ‘N’ Roll; Cyclists; Family First; Palmer United; Liberal Democratic; Peter Allan; Voluntary Euthanasia; Shooters And Fishers; Liberal; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia.