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2025 Prahran state by-election

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2025 Prahran state by-election
← 2022 8 February 2025 2026 →
Electoral district of Prahran in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Registered48,164[1]
Turnout68.28%
 
Liberal Placeholder.png
Angelica Di Camillo.png
Tony Lupton pictured in 2024.jpg
Candidate Rachel Westaway Angelica Di Camillo Tony Lupton
Party Liberal Greens Independent
Primary vote 11,443 11,442 4,021
Percentage 36.19% 36.19% 12.72%
2CP 51.35% 48.65%
2CP swing Increase 13.4 Decrease 13.4
MP before election

Sam Hibbins
Independent

Elected MP

Rachel Westaway
Liberal

The 2025 Prahran state by-election was held on 8 February 2025 to elect the member for Prahran in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of incumbent MP Sam Hibbins, who had held the seat for the Victorian Greens since the 2014 election. The poll took place on the same day as a by-election for Werribee.[2][3]

Hibbins resigned from the Greens on 1 November 2024, after it emerged that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with a staff member from his office, which he described as a "human mistake".[4][5] He moved to the crossbench and sat as an independent until delivering his resignation as a member of parliament on 23 November 2024.[3]

The by-election was won by Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway with a two-candidate-preferred vote swing of 13.6% against the Greens.[6] Greens leader Ellen Sandell conceded defeat the day after the by-election, blaming the loss on preference flows and the by-election's timing.[7]

Background

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Seat details

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Prahran is an electoral district in the inner-southern suburbs of Melbourne, encompassing the suburbs of South Yarra, Windsor, parts of St Kilda and St Kilda East. The seat has existed since 1889 and has experienced notable political shifts over the years. In 1951, the seat saw a by-election which was won by the Victorian Labor Party. Historically, the electorate has alternated between the Labor and Liberal parties. However, in 2014, the Greens made a significant breakthrough when Sam Hibbins won the seat, despite finishing third in the primary vote, by securing preferences from the two major parties. Before his resignation, Hibbins would go on to retain the seat for the Greens at the time, narrowly in 2018 and increasing the party's margin in 2022.[8]

Demographically, Prahran is one of Victoria's more affluent electorates. At the time of the 2021 Australian census, the seat had a median weekly personal income of $1,330, significantly higher than the state ($803) and national ($805) averages. More than half of residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (53.5%), and the median age of residents (35) is slightly younger than both the state and national rates (38).[9]

Electoral history

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Two-candidate preferred vote in Prahran, 1992–2022
Election 1992 1996 1999 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
  Liberal 57.80% 54.60% 54.00% 45.60% 46.40% 54.80% 49.63% 42.55% 38.00%
  Labor 42.20% 45.40% 46.00% 54.40% 53.60% 45.20% — — —
  Greens — — — — — — 50.37% 57.45% 62.00%
Government L/NP L/NP ALP ALP ALP L/NP ALP ALP ALP

2022 election results

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This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Victorian state election (Legislative Assembly) § Prahran.[edit]
2022 Victorian state election: Prahran[10][11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Greens Sam Hibbins 14,286 36.4 +8.1
Liberal Matthew Lucas 12,198 31.1 −1.6
Labor Wesa Chau 10,421 26.6 −3.9
Animal Justice Alice Le Huray 1,263 3.2 +0.9
Family First Ronald Emilsen 626 1.6 +1.6
Independent Alan Menadue 449 1.1 +0.8
Total formal votes 39,243 97.0 +2.1
Informal votes 1,223 3.0 −2.1
Turnout 40,466 82.7 −1.6
Notional two-party-preferred count
Labor Wesa Chau 23,966 61.1 +2.4
Liberal Matthew Lucas 15,277 38.9 –2.4
Two-candidate-preferred result
Greens Sam Hibbins 24,334 62.0 +3.0
Liberal Matthew Lucas 14,909 38.0 −3.0
Greens hold Swing +3.0

Key events

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Candidates

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Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.[13]

Party Candidate Background
  Independent Nathan Chisholm Principal of Prahran High School
  Liberal Rachel Westaway Administrative Appeals Tribunal member and New South Wales Legislative Council candidate in 2003[14]
  Independent Janine Hendry 2021 March 4 Justice organiser[15][16]
  Family First Geneviève Gilbert Founder of Pink Cross Foundation Australia
  Independent Alan Menadue Retired RAAF supply manager, candidate for Prahran in 2014, 2018, and 2022[17]
  Independent Tony Lupton Former Labor MP for Prahran (2002–2010)[18]
  Libertarian Mark Dessau
  Greens Angelica Di Camillo Environmental engineer and 2023 Aston by-election candidate
  Sustainable Australia Dennis Bilic
  Independent Buzz Billman Train driver, actor, former Labor member and former Greens candidate
  Animal Justice Faith Fuhrer Candidate for Hawthorn in 2022[19][20]

Greens

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On 2 December 2024, the Victorian Greens announced their candidate [21]as environmental engineer Angelica Di Camillo. Di Camillo was the Greens candidate at the 2023 Aston by-election, and was also preselected by the party to contest the electorate of Higgins at the 2025 federal election prior to the seat's abolition.[22]

Liberal

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Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto announced on 25 November 2024 that the party would contest Prahran, having last held the seat with Clem Newton-Brown from 2010 to 2014. Rachel Westaway, a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and previously an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for the New South Wales Legislative Council at the 2003 state election, was preselected as the party's candidate[23] on 15 December 2024.[14]

Labor

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On 27 November 2024, state premier and Labor leader Jacinta Allan announced that the party would not field a candidate at the by-election.[24] The party last held Prahran from 2002 to 2010 with Tony Lupton and was narrowly defeated by Hibbins at the 2014 Victorian state election.[25][26] This was the first election in Prahran history, not to have a Labor candidate running. However, Lupton himself recontested the seat as an independent, citing community support for his candidacy.[27]

How-to-vote cards

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Candidates can provide how-to-vote cards with recommendations for voters on how to preference other parties.[28] Nathan Chisholm, Alan Menadue and the Sustainable Australia Party did not recommend any preferences.[29] Additionally, conservative lobby group Advance registered a how-to-vote card, calling for Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo to be preferenced last.[30]

Candidate How-to-vote card (read column top down)
Chi. LIB Hen. FFP Men. Lup. LBT GRN SAP Bil. AJP
  Nathan Chisholm (Ind.)[31] 1 3 9 7 5 4 4 9 5
  Rachel Westaway (LIB)[32] 1 10 4 2 6 9 10 9
  Janine Hendry (Ind.)[33] 6 1 9 3 8 3 2 3
  Geneviève Gilbert (FFP)[34] 5 11 1 10 2 11 11 11
  Alan Menadue (Ind.)[35] 7 5 3 1 6 5 6 3 10
  Tony Lupton (Ind.)[36] 2 4 5 1 3 7 8 7
  Mark Dessau (LBT)[37] 4 8 2 7 1 10 7 8
  Angelica Di Camillo (GRN)[38] 11 7 11 11 11 1 6 2
  Dennis Bilic (SAP)[39] 9 6 6 9 7 8 1 5 6
  Buzz Billman (Ind.)[40] 8 2 8 4 10 5 1 4
  Faith Fuhrer (AJP)[41] 10 3 10 8 9 2 4 1

Results

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2025 Prahran state by-election[42]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rachel Westaway 11,443 36.19 +5.1
Greens Angelica Di Camillo 11,442 36.19 −0.2
Independent Tony Lupton 4,021 12.72 +12.7
Independent Nathan Chisholm 1,672 5.29 +5.3
Animal Justice Faith Fuhrer 879 2.78 −0.4
Independent Janine Hendry 505 1.60 +1.6
Independent Buzz Billman 465 1.47 +1.5
Sustainable Australia Dennis Bilic 430 1.36 +1.4
Family First Geneviève Gilbert 340 1.08 −0.5
Libertarian Mark Dessau 292 0.92 +0.9
Independent Alan Menadue 126 0.40 −0.7
Total formal votes 31,615 96.1 −0.8
Informal votes 1,271 3.86 +0.8
Turnout 32,886 68.28 −14.4
Two-candidate-preferred result
Liberal Rachel Westaway 16,234 51.35 +13.4
Greens Angelica Di Camillo 15,381 48.65 −13.4
Liberal gain from Greens Swing +13.4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Over 48,000 enrolled in Prahran District before by-election". Victorian Electoral Commission. 6 January 2025. Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  2. ^ Yu, Andy (23 November 2024). "Prahran MP Sam Hibbins announces he is quitting parliament". ABC News.
  3. ^ a b The Speaker (26 November 2024). "Members: Member for Prahran: Resignation". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Parliament of Victoria: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  4. ^ Smethurst, Annika; Carmody, Broede (1 November 2024). "'I am angry': Greens leader says co-deputy never welcome back after staffer affair revelation". The Age. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Victorian Greens leader condemns behaviour of MP who resigned over relationship with staffer". ABC News. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  6. ^ "State opposition gains Prahran seat from Greens in tight by-election race". ABC News. 8 February 2025. Archived from the original on 8 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  7. ^ Hales, Holly; Ward, Rachael; Bannister, Maeve (9 February 2025). "Greens concede Prahran as Werribee hangs in the balance". Yahoo! News. AAP. Archived from the original on 9 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  8. ^ "Prahran by-election, 2025". The Tally Room. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  9. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Prahran (Southern Metropolitan)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 November 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^ Green, Antony (11 January 2023). "VIC22 – 2-Party Preferred Results and Swings by District". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  11. ^ VIC 2021 Final Redistribution, ABC News. [Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  12. ^ Prahran District results, Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Find Prahran District by-election candidates". Victorian Electoral Commission. 17 January 2025. Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  14. ^ a b Ward, Roy (15 December 2024). "J.K. Rowling congratulates Deeming as Pesutto says he wants to work with Groth". The Age. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  15. ^ "About Janine". janinehendry.com.au. 5 December 2024. Archived from the original on 1 January 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  16. ^ Snape, Jack (15 March 2021). "Michael McCormack and March 4 Justice organiser Janine Hendry in Parliament corridor showdown". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  17. ^ "Warrandyte by-election 2023". ABC News. 26 August 2023. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  18. ^ Lupton, Tony (11 October 2024). "After a lifetime of Labor membership I find the party no longer represents my values". The Australian. Archived from the original on 11 October 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Faith Fuhrer for Prahran". Animal Justice Party Victoria. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  20. ^ Lucas, Clay (11 November 2022). "Ballot draw favours Labor's John Kennedy ahead of key rivals in Hawthorn". The Age. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  21. ^ "Angelica Di Camillo for Prahran". Angelica Di Camillo for Prahran. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  22. ^ "New Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo set to square off against Liberals in upcoming Prahran by-election". ABC News. 2 December 2024.
  23. ^ "Rachel Westaway". vic.liberal.org.au. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  24. ^ "Labor opts against running a candidate in Prahran by-election triggered by resignation of former Greens MP Sam Hibbins". Sky News Australia. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  25. ^ Kolovos, Benita (24 November 2024). "Victorian Labor considering push to retake Prahran after surprise resignation of former Greens MP". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Following a shock resignation, a three-way political battle has begun in this affluent Melbourne electorate". ABC News. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Ex-Labor MP brands his old party 'cowardly' as he seeks re-election". The Age. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  28. ^ "How-to-vote card guidelines". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  29. ^ "Prahran District by-election how-to-vote cards". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  30. ^ "THE GREENS ARE NOT WHO THEY USED TO BE" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  31. ^ "VOTE 1 NATHAN CHISHOLM" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  32. ^ "How to vote for Rachel Westaway" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  33. ^ "Our Community, Our Vote" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  34. ^ "How to vote FAMILY FIRST" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  35. ^ "Vote 1 ALAN MENADUE" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  36. ^ "HOW TO VOTE FOR TONY LUPTON IN PRAHRAN" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  37. ^ "Mark DESSAU" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  38. ^ "VOTE 1 ANGELICA DI CAMILLO FOR PRAHRAN" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  39. ^ "How to vote 1 Sustainable Australia Party" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  40. ^ "VOTE 1 BUZZ BILLMAN" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  41. ^ "How to vote for the Animal Justice Party" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  42. ^ "Prahran District Results". Prahran District by-election. Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
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