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Antony Green

Antony John Green (born 2 March 1960) is an Australian psephologist, data scientist, journalist, and commentator. He was chief election analyst for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) until his retirement from the role after the federal election in May 2025. He continues to work part-time for the ABC in an off-air capacity.

Early years and education

Anthony Green was born in 1960 in Warrington, Lancashire, in northern England, to teen parents Ann and John Green. In 1964 the family migrated to Australia as Ten Pound Poms, staying first in a migrant hostel in Dundas, New South Wales. His father was an electrician by trade, and his mother worked as a seamstress.

Green grew up near Parramatta in Sydney, attended Oatlands Primary School in Oatlands, New South Wales and James Ruse Agricultural High School in Carlingford (Sydney), graduating in 1977.

Green graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computing, and a Bachelor of Economics with honours in politics. Green worked initially as a data analyst in the computing industry and worked as a programmer for TAFE New South Wales.

Career

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In August 1989, Green joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Green recalls he saw an ad for a position, on a six-month contract, as an ABC election researcher, and applied, along with 150 other applicants. His experience and his "slightly bubbly personality" helped him get the position. ABC producer Ian Carroll and journalist Kerry O’Brien recommended he stay on and he remained with the ABC for the following decades.

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

, Green had analysed over 90Australian elections at the territory, state and federal level for the ABC, starting with the 1989 Queensland state election to the 2025 Australian federal election. He designed a computer system that he used to display and predict election results based on automated result feeds from Australia's electoral commissions. Green has also worked on elections from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for the ABC.

As the ABC's chief election analyst, Green was 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".

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. Green also writes a comprehensive blog on electoral matters.

Green has said that he tends not to do campaign commentary and that he "prefer[red] 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..."

In a 2015 interview, he explained that some of the work in preparation for his election night coverage could 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.

Retirement from television

In February 2025, Green announced he would retire from broadcasting following the federal election later that year. Stating that he would be 68 by the time the next federal election would be expected, Green said he did not feel "as sharp and quick as I was", and that he would prefer to retire than stay "too long". In March 2025, he covered the 2025 Western Australian state election, which was his final state election, with his final coverage overall being for the federal election on 3 May 2025. Green has stated that he will stay on at the ABC "for a couple [more] years", albeit in a behind-the-scenes capacity, working on data systems and other election-related projects.

When Green retired from on-screen appearances in May 2025, the ABC released a video of former and current Australian Prime Ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison, and Anthony Albanese reminiscing about Green's commentary on their respective election nights, and wishing him well in retirement.

Writing and other activities

In addition to analysing and commenting on elections for the ABC, Green has written election analysis for third-party media outlets such as The Sydney Morning Herald and Crikey.

He 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. Green has also written papers for the Parliament of New South Wales and the Parliament of Victoria.

Honours and awards

Honorary degrees

In 2014, the University of Sydney recognised Green with an Honorary Doctor of Letters. 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.

National honours

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".

Green was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2025.

Personal life

Green is an avid cyclist, joining Dulwich Hill Cycling Club in Sydney, and taking long-distance biking trips mostly in Europe and Australia. He is also an ambassador for the Sydney Swans football club in the AFL.

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.

Publications

Research

Published articles

Parliamentary inquiry submissions

See also

References

External links