Antony Green

AO
Born
Antony John Green

(1960-03-02) 2 March 1960 (age 64)
Warrington, Lancashire, United Kingdom
NationalityAustralian
EducationJames Ruse Agricultural High School
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationElection analyst for Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Years active1986–present
WebsitePersonal Website

Antony John Green AO (born 2 March 1960[1]) is an Australian psephologist and commentator. He is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's chief election analyst.

Early years and background

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in northern England,[2][3] Green emigrated to Australia with his family in 1964.[4] He attended James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, graduating in 1977.[5] Green graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computing, and a Bachelor of Economics with honours in politics from the University of Sydney.[6] He worked initially as a data analyst in the computing industry and for a polling company before joining the ABC in 1989.[6] Green recalls he saw an ad for a six-month position as an ABC election researcher and applied, along with 150 other applicants. His experience and his “slightly bubbly personality” helped him get the position.[citation needed] ABC producer Ian Carroll and journalist Kerry O’Brien recommended he stay on and he remains with the ABC until today.[7]

Career

Green first appeared on the ABC's election-night television coverage in the 1991 New South Wales election,[4][8] following with the federal election in 1993.[6]

As of 2023, he had analysed over 70 Australian elections at the territory, state and federal level for the ABC, starting with the 1989 Queensland state election to the 2023 New South Wales state election.[9] He designed the computer system that he uses to display and predict election results based on automated result feeds from Australia's electoral commissions.[6][10]

Green has also worked on elections from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for the ABC.[9]

As the ABC's Chief Election Analyst, Green is responsible for the content of its election website. He also has editorial responsibility for its data analysis and for their election-night results service. He is considered "the face of election night coverage".[9][10]

In time for the 2013 federal election campaign, Green helped introduce the voter engagement tool Vote Compass to the ABC website. It enables voters to gauge how their views align with candidates based on parties' statements on issues and also provides Green and other analysts a dataset larger than traditional opinion polls.[11][12] Green also writes a comprehensive blog on electoral matters.[10]

Green has said that he tends not to do campaign commentary and that he "prefers to go into an election night with no preconceived view on the outcome and to just concentrate on understanding the data as it comes in".[13]

In a 2015 interview, he explained that some of the work in preparation for his election night coverage can start years earlier—including building up the database with candidates, polling places and past results and calculating the impact of redistributions. He also recounted the realisation of his recurring nightmare of the power outage during the on air coverage of the 2010 Victorian state election.[14]

In addition to analysing and commenting on elections for the ABC, Green writes election analysis for third-party media outlets such as The Sydney Morning Herald[15] and Crikey[16] and has appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Australian Parliament urging reform of the ticket voting system used in Australian Senate elections.[17][18]

Honours

In 2014, the University of Sydney recognised Green with an Honorary Doctor of Letters.[19] This was followed in 2015 by appointment as an Adjunct Professor in Sydney University's Department of Government and International Relations, recognising Green's work in the study of elections.[20] In the Australian 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Green was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) "for distinguished service to the broadcast media as an analyst and commentator for state and federal elections, and to the community as a key interpreter of Australian democracy."[21]

Personal life

Green is an avid cyclist, taking long-distance biking trips mostly in Australia and Europe.[22]

He is an ambassador for the Sydney Swans football club, a team in the AFL.[23]

In popular culture

Green's contribution to political analysis was celebrated in the song "Antony Green" in the musical Keating!, where he was represented as an animated character.[24][25]

Green is referenced in the lyrics of the Canberra based band Helena Pop's 2018 song "That's One Strange Love". "There goes Antony Green, welcoming the neo-liberal regime".[26]

References

  1. ^ "Green, Antony". Libraries Australia. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Antony Green's Election Blog: A Few Thanks". Blogs.abc.net.au. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  3. ^ Pitt, Helen (2 July 2016). "Antony Green: gracing our election night TV screens for 25 years". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b Green, Antony (20 August 2011). "A Sad Day for the ABC". Antony Green's Election Blog.
  5. ^ "Number Cruncher". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d "Antony Green". 2010 South Australian Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  7. ^ "'Bungee jumping for intellectuals': Antony Green on elections and what he's doing next". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. ^ "'Technically more difficult': ABC analyst Antony Green on the challenges of calling the 2022 election". the Guardian. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b c O'Brien, Kerrie (26 May 2022). "'Bungee jumping for intellectuals': Antony Green on elections and what he's doing next". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  10. ^ a b c "ABC Elections Antony Green". Australian Broadcasting Commission. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Introducing Vote Compass". 28 March 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Federal Election 2016 Vote Compass". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  13. ^ Leys, Nick (26 August 2013). "Ten questions: Antony Green". The Australian. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Backstory: how ABC election analyst Antony Green prepares for the vote count". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "Antony Green on Sydney Morning Herald". Google Search. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  16. ^ "Antony Green". Crikey. Private Media. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  17. ^ Committee Secretariat (27 September 2005). "Inquiry into the Conduct of the 2004 Federal Election and Matters Related Thereto". Submissions. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  18. ^ Green, Antony (23 July 2008). "Problems with the Senate Counting System" (PDF). Extract of evidence from Mr Antony Green to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  19. ^ "2015 honours award recipients" (PDF). University of Sydney. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  20. ^ "The University of Sydney - SSPS Newsletter". Wordvine.sydney.edu.au. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). www.gg.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  22. ^ Maniaty, Peter (17 May 2019). "Australia Votes: Cycling With ABC Election Analyst Antony Green". Bicycling Australia. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Swans applaud trio". Sydney Swans. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Antony Green (song)" (video). Video from Keating!. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Keating! The Muscial [sic] 1993 Election.wmv" (video). Video from Keating!. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  26. ^ "That's One Strange Love, by Helena Pop". Helena Pop. Bandcamp. Retrieved 16 January 2024.

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