All votes are in and the tallies declared in the recent Victorian Local Government election, with diversity the clear winner across the state.
Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) figures released on Friday, show the state leads the country in terms of the proportion of female councillors, the total now reaching 43.8 percent of all councillors, a marked increase from Victoria’s own previous high of 38 percent.
MAV welcomes the election of six councillors who identify as having Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.
Aboriginal Victorians taking on leadership roles in their local communities is vital to building stronger connections and embedding their needs and aspirations into the critical work and functioning of local government.
This year, there are at least 28 openly LGBTIQ+ candidates elected to 20 local councils across the state – a positive and significant increase from the 11 candidates at the 2016 elections.
Around half of the successful candidates were newly elected.
MAV CEO, Kerry Thompson said that the election results show that communities around Victoria recognise the importance of having elected representatives that reflect the diversity of the communities they represent.
“In a challenging year, it is a credit to all Victorians that there is such a significant increase in the diversity of successful candidates.
“With around 50 percent of successful candidates new councillors and the other 50 percent re-elected, we should see a good balance of fresh ideas and steady hands.”
