By Cara Waters
Anthony Koutoufides’ failed campaign to become lord mayor cost $449,000 and only secured his “Team Kouta” one councillor spot on the Melbourne City Council.
Koutoufides’ running mate for deputy mayor, Intaj Khan, said the team’s hefty spend – a possible election record for the council – showed the electoral system needed reform.
Anthony Koutoufides (seocnd from left) and his Team Kouta ticket members (from left) Intaj Khan, Gladys Liu and Zaim Ramani in August.Credit: Penny Stephens
The amount spent by the former Carlton AFL great surpassed the $316,000 Sally Capp spent on her 2020 election in the Melbourne mayoral race, when she defeated Arron Wood, who spent $237,000 that election, and Jennifer Yang, who spent $254,288.
Koutoufides came fourth in this year’s primary vote with 11,345 votes, well behind winner Nick Reece, who received 20,523 votes and is now lord mayor.
The four-person Team Kouta ticket had only one candidate from its ballot paper elected to the council, in former federal MP and fitness trainer Gladys Liu.
Koutoufides’ main financial backers were his running mates, led by property developer Khan, who contributed $325,280 to the campaign; Liu, who put in $51,774; and property developer Zaim Ramani, who contributed $45,000.
In comparison, Koutoufides only contributed $1500 to his electoral campaign.
Khan said the high cost of contesting the City of Melbourne lord mayoral election was problematic, and the electoral system needed to be reformed.
“We were fortunate enough to afford a significant amount and fund it,” he said. “The system has not been reformed, it’s [an] old system.”
Koutoufides’ team spent most of the money it raised on three postal mail-outs to voters, which cost about $120,000 each.
The former AFL great, pictured in August, was unsuccessful in his bid to be elected as Melbourne lord mayor.Credit: Penny Stephens
Khan said candidates should be provided with voters’ email addresses so they could contact them electronically rather than by post, which would be more cost-effective.
During the campaign, Koutoufides declined to provide details of how many donations his campaign received and from whom. Khan, a former City of Wyndham councillor, was Team Kouta’s main financial backer and had pledged to find cost savings for the council if he was elected.
“That will allow a lot of talented candidates to come forward, such as Derryn Hinch, who just missed out because he could not afford the funding,” Khan said in calling for the electoral reform.
Hinch, the former broadcaster and senator, announced he was running for lord mayor and then pulled out in March because of the costs of running a campaign. Hinch had estimated his campaign would cost between $250,000 and $500,000.
“Money I don’t have and wouldn’t expect to raise. The Justice Party cost me a lot. Would have loved to have given it a shot. Sorry,” he posted on X in March.
“This is a sad practical post. I am withdrawing as a candidate for Lord Mayor of Melbourne.”
Khan said the price of stamps for the mail-out was only going to increase, which made the cost of running in the 2028 lord mayoral election even more prohibitive.
“Having that electronic communication with the voters will allow the same level playing field for everybody,” he said.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece at his swearing-in ceremony last month.Credit: Justin McManus
“It’s the modern way to do the marketing campaign and also reduce the significant cost because then you don’t have to rely on massive funding or a massive campaign budget.”
Candidates have 40 days from the date of election to submit election donation disclosure forms, a deadline that passed last week, but the City of Melbourne has not yet published the donation returns.
Until these returns are published the amount spent on the campaign by Reece and rivals Wood, Mariam Riza, Phil Reed and Gary Morgan is unknown.
Roxane Ingleton disclosed donations totalling $31,053 to her campaign before the election on the Greens Victoria website.
Independent Jamal Hakim has disclosed about $73,000 in donations on his website.
When the election results were formally announced last month, Ingleton urged Reece and the other newly elected councillors to lobby the state government for reforms to the City of Melbourne Act to remove double voting rights for businesses and require real-time donation disclosure.
Reece, who refused to declare his donations before the election, said at the time the legislation “needs a refresh”.
Koutoufides and Liu did not respond to requests for comment.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.