Mapping the ‘fringe’ in Australian local politics: fringe political actors in the 2024 NSW and VIC local government elections

Abstract

Local government in Australia has become a frontline for ‘fringe’ politics. Once confined to protest and disruption, far-right, anti-government, and conspiratorial actors are now contesting and winning council seats. This article offers the first systematic study of this phenomenon by mapping fringe candidates in the 2024 New South Wales and Victorian local elections. We identify 252 candidates across the two states (3.83% in NSW; 4.70% in VIC), with almost one-in-four elected and a concentration in metropolitan councils. These actors can be grouped into four sub-types: political party candidates, freedom movement activists, community groups, and unaligned individuals. While party-based mobilisation dominated in NSW, post-lockdown ‘freedom’ activism was more influential in Victoria. Despite diverse origins, campaigns converged around recurring themes, above all the rhetoric of going ‘Back to Basics’. We argue this ostensibly pragmatic language masks reactionary agendas, blurring mainstream–fringe boundaries and reshaping local democracy from within.