News

SYDNEY: Citizens living in Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales head to the polls on Saturday, 14 September 2024, to elect Councillors (and Mayors where applicable) in Local Government Areas.

Four Armenian-Australians are on tickets vying for public office, as well as loyal and newly-minted supporters of issues of importance to the Armenian-Australian community.

Below is the Armenian National Committee of Australia’s (ANC-AU) Election Guide on candidates running in the Armenian-populated municipalities of Willoughby, Ryde, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Liverpool, Fairfield and Cumberland.

WILLOUGHBY CITY COUNCIL



Sarkis Mouradian

Sarkis Mouradian is a current Councillor seeking re-election in Willoughby’s Middle Harbour Ward. Mouradian is a proud descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide and has been an active member of the Armenian-Australian community for decades, serving in the Armenian Youth Federation of Australia and the Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection Parish Council. As a member of the ANC-AU’s Australian Friends of Artsakh network, he has championed and supported three pro-Armenian motions in Council, including the recent Friendship City relationship between the City of Goris and Willoughby City Council. He supports Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia and is committed to continuing his support for the local Armenian-Australian community and institutions in the City of Willoughby. 

Ello Meguerditchian

Ello Meguerditchian is making her debut run on Mayor Tanya Taylor’s Independent ticket for the Sailors Bay Ward. Meguerditchian, the granddaughter of survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, has lived in Willoughby since the age of 11. She is an active member of the Armenian Relief Society in Willoughby, a not-for-profit organisation committed to social, educational, health and humanitarian initiatives. Meguerditchian supports Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia, as well as the people of Artsakh’s right to self-determination. She is also committed to serving the local Armenian-Australian community and institutions that call the City of Willoughby home. 

Current Councillors Angelo Rozos, Anna Greco, Craig Campbell, Georgie Roussac, Hugh Eriksson, Jam Xia, Nic Wright, Robert Samuel, and Tanya Taylor have signalled ongoing support for Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government. All Councillors listed above are also members of the ANC-AU’s Australian Friends of Artsakh network, actively championing the people of Artsakh’s rights to self-determination. They continue to support the growth and development of the local Armenian-Australian community.

Mayoral Candidates

Mayoral and Council candidate Tanya Taylor is a strong supporter of the Armenian-Australian community living in Willoughby. Elected in  2021, she has voted in support of the three pro-Armenian motions related to Artsakh in the Council. As Mayor, she wrote to the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister calling for Australia’s active involvement in ending Azerbaijan’s ten-month blockade of Artsakh and championed a Mayoral Minute to establish a Sister City Agreement between Willoughby City Council and the City of Goris, which remains under constant threat of Azerbaijani aggression. 

Anna Greco, elected to the Willoughby City Council, is also a Mayoral and Council candidate in the upcoming Willoughby City Council elections. During her first term as a Councillor, Greco supported all three pro-Armenian motions related to Artsakh presented in the Council Chamber.


RYDE CITY COUNCIL



Armen Arakelian

Armen Arakelian is contesting his first election, running in third place on the Liberals Central Ward ticket. Born and raised in the City of Ryde, Arakelian is the great-grandchild of genocide survivors. He has been a strong advocate for the Armenian-Australian community through his active involvement in the Australian Young Liberal Movement. Arakelian is committed to supporting Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia, the people of Artsakh’s right to self-determination and the growth and development of the over 10,000-strong Armenian-Australian community  living in the City of Ryde. Current Councillors Daniel Han, Penelope Pedersen, Shweta Deshpande, Sophie Lara-Watson and Trenton Brown have signalled ongoing support for Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government. Each of them has supported all Armenian-related motions presented in the Council Chamber, including motions supporting the people of Artsakh’s right to self-determination. They continue to support the growth and development of the local Armenian-Australian community.

Lyndal Howison, is making her debut run for the City of Ryde’s Central Ward. In her former capacity as the NSW Labor Candidate for the state of Ryde, she established a close relationship with the ANC-AU. Howison has pledged to support Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia and support the people of Artsakh’s right to self-determination. She has also pledged to support local issues of concern to the Armenian-Australian community in Ryde to the best of his ability.

Mayoral Candidates

Mayoral and Council Candidate Trenton Brown, first elected in 2017, is a strong supporter of the Armenian-Australian community living in Ryde. Since his election to the Council, he has supported every pro-Armenian motion presented in the Council Chamber, including motions related to Artsakh. Brown is also a member of the Australian Friends of Artsakh network. 

Mayoral candidate Bernard Purcell, first elected in 2017, is a strong advocate for Armenian-Australians living in Ryde. Purcell has supported every pro-Armenian motion presented in the Council Chambers, including motions related to Artsakh. 


PARRAMATTA CITY COUNCIL



Tanya Raffoul

Tanya Raffoul is making her debut run for the City of Parramatta Council as the lead Liberal candidate in Parramatta’s Dundas Ward. She is a proud Armenian-Australian residing in North Parramatta, with deep Armenian roots shaped by her mother’s Armenian lineage and her great-grandparent's survival of the Armenian Genocide. Raffoul has pledged to support Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia and the people of Artsakh’s right to self-determination. She is also committed to supporting local issues of concern to the Armenian-Australian community and strengthening the community’s presence within the Parramatta Council. 

Sameer Pandey

Councillor Sameer Pandey, first elected in 2017, is vying for re-election in the the Council’s Parramatta Ward. In his former capacity as the NSW State Labor Candidate for Winston Hills and as the former Mayor of Parramattta, he established a close friendship with the ANC-AU. Pandey is a supporter of Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia and has pledged to support local issues of concern to the Armenian-Australian community in Parramatta to the best of his ability.


CUMBERLAND CITY COUNCIL



Joseph Rahme

Councillor Joseph Rahme, first elected in 2012 is the longest serving Councillor on Cumberland City Council. He is the lead Liberal candidate running in the Cumberland City Council’s Granville ward. Rahme is a supporter of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by all levels of government in Australia and the rights to self-determination of the people of Artsakh. Rahme has also supported the growth and development of the Armenian-Australian community that calls the Cumberland City Council home. 

Eddy Sarkis

Councillor Eddy Sarkis, first elected in 2017 is seeking re-election in the Cumberland City Council's Greystanes Ward. Rahme is a supporter of the Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of the government in Australia and has supported the growth and development of the local Armenian-Australian community in the Cumberland City Council.


LIVERPOOL/FAIRFIELD CITY COUNCIL



Mira Ibrahim

Mira Ibrahim, is an active member of the Kurdish-Australian community running as the number two candidate on the Labor ticket in the Liverpool City Council’s North Ward. Ibrahim is a strong supporter Armenian Genocide recognition by all levels of government in Australia and has pledged to support local issues of concern to the Armenian-Australian community in Liverpool to the best of her ability. 

Nathan Athavle

Nathan Athavle is the Family First candidate running in the Fairfield City Council’s Park Ward. Athavle has committed to supporting the rights to self-determination of the people of Artsakh and also pledged to support local issues of concern to the Armenian-Australian community to the best of his ability.


NORTHERN BEACHES COUNCIL



Vincent De Luca, Kristyn Glanville and Miranda Korzy are current Councillors seeking re-election in the Northern Beaches Council. De Luca, Glanville and Korzy are all supportive of recognition of the Armenian Genocide at all levels of government and are active members of the ANC-AU’s Australian Friends of Artsakh network which supports the people of Artsakh’s rights to self-determination. Each of them has been supportive of the local Armenian-Australian community.