2025 Prahran state by-election
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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]
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8 February 2025
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Electoral district of Prahran in the Victorian Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 48,164[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 68.28% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_2022.svg) Location of the electoral district of Prahran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
Seat details
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
| 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% | N/a | N/a | N/a | |
| Greens | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 50.37% | 57.45% | 62.00% | |
| Government | L/NP | L/NP | ALP | ALP | ALP | L/NP | ALP | ALP | ALP | |
2022 election results
| 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
- 23 November 2024 − Sam Hibbins resigns
- 27 December 2024 − Close of electoral roll
- 29 January 2025 − Early voting begins
- 8 February 2025 − Polling day
Candidates
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[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
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
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
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
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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Rachel Westaway | 11,443 | 36.19 | +5.11 | |
| Greens | Angelica Di Camillo | 11,442 | 36.19 | −0.21 | |
| Independent | Tony Lupton | 4,021 | 12.72 | +12.72 | |
| Independent | Nathan Chisholm | 1,672 | 5.29 | +5.29 | |
| Animal Justice | Faith Fuhrer | 879 | 2.78 | −0.44 | |
| Independent | Janine Hendry | 505 | 1.60 | +1.60 | |
| Independent | Buzz Billman | 465 | 1.47 | +1.47 | |
| Sustainable Australia | Dennis Bilic | 430 | 1.36 | +1.36 | |
| Family First | Geneviève Gilbert | 340 | 1.08 | −0.52 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Dessau | 292 | 0.92 | +0.92 | |
| Independent | Alan Menadue | 126 | 0.40 | −0.74 | |
| Total formal votes | 31,615 | 96.14 | −0.84 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,271 | 3.86 | +0.84 | ||
| Turnout | 32,886 | 68.28 | −14.42 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Rachel Westaway | 16,234 | 51.35 | +13.36 | |
| Greens | Angelica Di Camillo | 15,381 | 48.65 | −13.36 | |
| Liberal gain from Greens | Swing | +13.36 | |||
