Council margin – LNP 20.9% vs GRN
Mayoral margin – LNP 25.7%
Incumbent councillor
Julian Simmonds, since 2010.
Geography
Western Brisbane. Walter Taylor covers suburbs on the northern shore of the Brisbane River to the west of the Brisbane city centre, including Indooroopilly, St Lucia, Fig Tree Pocket and Taringa.
Redistribution
Walter Taylor shifted slightly north-east, losing a small area near Kenmore and gaining most of the suburb of Toowong from the Toowong ward (subsequently renamed Paddington). These changes cut the LNP’s council margin against the Greens from 21.9% to 20.9%, and the LNP mayoral margin against the ALP from 27.1% to 25.7%.
History
Walter Taylor ward is a traditional safe Liberal ward, and was won in 2000 by Liberal candidate Jane Prentice.
Prentice was re-elected in 2004 and 2008, building her margin up to 18.9% in 2004 and 21% in 2008.
In 2010, Prentice resigned to run for the federal seat of Ryan, which she won. She has since been re-elected in 2013 and now serves as an Assistant Minister in the Turnbull government.
The 2010 by-election was won by LNP candidate Julian Simmonds. In 2012, he was re-elected with a 21.9% margin over the Greens, who outpolled Labor. Simmons currently serves as Chairman of the Finance, Economic Development and Administration Committee.
Candidates
- Chris Turnbull (Greens)
- Julian Simmonds (Liberal National)
- Talbot Speechley (Labor)
Assessment
Walter Taylor has a long history as a safe Liberal ward. There are other Liberal National wards on large double-digit margins which got there through large swings at the 2008 and 2012 elections, but the Liberal National vote has been reasonably steady in Walter Taylor over the last decade.
2012 council result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Julian Simmonds | Liberal National | 12,497 | 65.5 | +1.9 | 63.4 |
| Tim Dangerfield | Greens | 3,813 | 20.0 | +4.8 | 20.2 |
| Adam Atkins | Labor | 2,769 | 14.5 | -6.7 | 16.4 |
| Informal | 310 | 1.6 |
2012 council two-candidate-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Julian Simmonds | Liberal National | 12,719 | 71.9 | 70.9 | |
| Tim Dangerfield | Greens | 4,964 | 28.1 | 29.1 | |
| Exhausted | 1,066 |
2012 mayoral result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Graham Quirk | Liberal National | 12,909 | 67.7 | +1.3 | 66.1 |
| Andrew Bartlett | Greens | 3,139 | 16.5 | +4.2 | 17.1 |
| Ray Smith | Labor | 2,736 | 14.3 | -4.9 | 15.3 |
| Rory Killen | Independent | 173 | 0.9 | +0.9 | 0.9 |
| Chris Carson | Independent | 119 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0.6 |
| Informal | 305 | 1.6 |
2012 mayoral two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Graham Quirk | Liberal National | 13,324 | 77.1 | +2.4 | 75.7 |
| Ray Smith | Labor | 3,955 | 22.9 | -2.4 | 24.3 |
| Exhausted | 1,797 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Walter Taylor have been split into three parts: east, west and central.
The Liberal National Party’s council primary vote ranged from 59% in the east to 71.5% in the west. The Greens came second in all three parts, ranging from 17% in the west to 21.5% in the east. Labor’s vote was lower, ranging from 11.7% in the west to 19.5% in the east.
| Voter group | LNP council | ALP council | GRN council | Total votes | % of votes |
| East | 59.0 | 19.5 | 21.5 | 7,288 | 31.1 |
| Central | 65.0 | 14.6 | 20.4 | 5,577 | 23.8 |
| West | 71.5 | 11.7 | 16.8 | 4,299 | 18.3 |
| Other votes | 61.6 | 17.5 | 20.9 | 6,268 | 26.7 |
