Authorised by Kyle Barrett, 76 York St, Launceston TAS 7250

City of Launceston · 2026–2030

Councillor

Kyle
Barrett

Q: Was Kyle Barrett elected to the City of Launceston council?

Yes. Kyle Barrett was elected a Councillor of the City of Launceston at the October 2026 local government election. He received 2,037 first-preference votes (5.27%), the 4th highest of 27 councillor candidates, and was the 6th of nine councillors elected, reaching a full quota. The count was finalised by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission on 3 November 2026.

Q: How did Kyle Barrett go in the race for Mayor?

Kyle placed 3rd of eight mayoral candidates with 4,447 first-preference votes (11.7%). Matthew Garwood was re-elected Mayor and Susie Cai was elected Deputy Mayor.

Q: What does a Launceston councillor do?

Councillors are elected for a four-year term. Together the nine councillors set the City of Launceston's budget, rates and strategic direction, decide planning matters that come before Council, and represent residents. Day-to-day operations are run by the council's staff under the General Manager.

Q: How do I contact Councillor Kyle Barrett?

Call 0492 492 873 or email kyle@kylebarrett.com.au.

Leadership
Pro-Development
Common-Sense

Elected October 2026

Contact Kyle Call now · 0492 492 873 The 2026 result

The 2026 result

Elected
Councillor

“I am deeply honoured to have been elected as a Councillor of the City of Launceston for the next four years, securing the 4th highest primary vote.

My sincere thanks to everyone who placed their trust in me, offered encouragement and contributed to the many conversations about our city’s future. Your support means a great deal, and I am determined to repay that trust through hard work and dedicated service.

In uncertain economic times, responsible financial management, delivering genuine value for ratepayers and building a stronger, more dynamic and prosperous local economy must remain at the forefront of our efforts.”
Kyle Barrett · Read the full post

What happens now

Kyle Barrett outside Launceston Town Hall beside the city's coat of arms, with the words Elected Councillor and Thank You — Photo: Paul Scambler, The Examiner

4thof 27 candidates on first preferences

2,037first-preference votes for councillor (5.27%)

6thof 9 elected, on a full quota of 3,866

4,447votes for Mayor — 3rd of 8 (11.7%)

Final results from the Tasmanian Electoral Commission, count completed 3 November 2026. Matthew Garwood was re-elected Mayor and Susie Cai elected Deputy Mayor.

From candidate to councillor

What happens now

The campaign is over and the work starts. Here is how the next few weeks run for every new councillor. The City of Launceston sets the dates.

1
Result declared Done
The Tasmanian Electoral Commission completed the councillor count on 3 November 2026. Kyle is one of nine councillors for the 2026–2030 term, and one of three newcomers to the council table.
2
Sworn in Next
Before taking his seat, each councillor makes a formal declaration of office. The City of Launceston holds a ceremony for the new council shortly after the result.
3
Induction
Briefings from council officers on the budget and long-term financial plan, planning responsibilities, governance and the Code of Conduct — the groundwork for holding the numbers to account from day one.
4
First council meeting
The new council meets for the first time at Town Hall. Council meetings are open to the public, and agendas and minutes are published on the City of Launceston website.
5
Four years of delivery
Kyle’s commitment stands: full attendance at council meetings and committees, with his attendance and travel record published every quarter.

The plan Kyle was elected on

A Fresh Start
for Launceston

A plan that helps working families and local businesses build real momentum, create opportunities and get ahead. It covers a stronger economy, better project delivery and more responsible financial management, for the next four years and into the 2030s.

“Real momentum isn’t measured by how much Council borrows or spends. It’s measured by how well our families, businesses and community are doing.”Kyle Barrett

Keep rates lowNo more above-inflation rate rises.

Budget surplusesConsistent surpluses, every year.

Control debtNot borrowing up to $78 million.

Cut wasteEvery ratepayer dollar accounted for.

Back businessLess red tape. Conditions to thrive.

More than Council’s finances

Mayoral Advisory Panel

Business owners, educators, community leaders and residents working with Council from week one. “I want to be challenged.”

Read Kyle’s post → Backed by other
candidates too

Unlock more land locally for first home buyers

Land for first home buyers

Bring suitable council-owned land to market for first home buyers, with proper assessment and consultation.

Read Kyle’s post →

Grow agritourism

Council working with start-ups and industry to get farm stays, local produce and visitor businesses off the ground.

Read Kyle’s post → Backed by other
candidates too

Night-time economy

Winter events, extended trading, better lighting and safer, busier streets after 5pm.

Read Kyle’s post →

City beautification

A clean CBD and Mall, more trees and shade, community gardens, and a protected Gorge.

Read Kyle’s post →

See all the priorities The $78 million question

About Kyle

Son of the Northern
and Eastern suburbs

Councillor, City of Launceston, elected October 2026. Backing a stronger, thriving Launceston.

Kyle Barrett is Director of Town & Country Real Estate in Launceston. It is a job that takes him down most streets in the municipality and into a lot of kitchens where the conversation turns to rates, roads, and what the Council is actually doing with the money. He has said that if elected he will step back from actively operating his business interests to focus full-time on serving Launceston.

He describes himself as drama-free, pro-development, economically conservative and politically independent. He is not aligned to a party. His argument is a straightforward one: Launceston is a city with real potential that has been poorly served by projects running late and over budget, and by a Council that has spent too much of the last term on itself.

He is a son of the northern and eastern suburbs and still speaks for them. Waverley, Ravenswood and the northern suburbs have, in his view, sat at the back of the queue for services and infrastructure for too long — and that is the part of Launceston he intends to bring forward.

“Responsible financial management has won. Now we need four years of it — not just four weeks.”

Kyle Barrett campaign sign on a Launceston street — On the ground during the 2026 campaign

Drag to look across the city

The city Kyle now serves

Launceston and the Tamar, looking north

Priorities

What Kyle will push for on council

The commitments Kyle took to the 2026 election, taken from his own public campaign posts.

Better Project Delivery

A plan to deliver major projects on time and on budget. Every major project properly scoped, costed and contracted before work starts, with spend and progress reported to ratepayers at each stage. The Orchestra Pit, Albert Hall and the Princess Theatre are the argument for it: when a project is allowed to drift, it is ratepayers who pay for the drift.

Ratepayer Efficiency Mandate

A standing test applied to Council's own spending: would a ratepayer call this essential? Discretionary costs are examined before rates go up, with the aim of holding rates at or below inflation rather than treating an increase as the default every year.

Protect Our Gorge

A development moratorium for the Cataract Gorge. Kyle is pro-development across Launceston, and the Gorge is the deliberate exception. It is the city's single greatest natural asset, and it should be protected as a whole rather than parcelled out one proposal at a time.

The First Basin at Cataract Gorge, Launceston

Ethics, Integrity & a Ratepayer Watchdog

Ethics and integrity reform has already partly passed, and community pressure has pushed Council to reconsider perks such as free councillor lunches. Kyle wants that scrutiny made permanent: a watchdog role across the next four years that watches the spending, questions the waste, and makes sure every ratepayer dollar is accounted for.

A 365-Day Commitment

100% attendance at Council meetings and committees, with attendance and travel published quarterly. Full attendance other than genuine personal or family illness, or a clash with official Council duties. No personal leave. Council-related travel not charged to ratepayers as an additional cost, and his attendance and travel record published every quarter.

The Northern and Eastern Suburbs

Waverley, Ravenswood and the northern suburbs have been overlooked for services and infrastructure while attention and money went elsewhere. Kyle grew up in these suburbs and will argue for them at the Council table — footpaths, parks, roads and basic maintenance treated with the same urgency as the marquee projects in the centre of town.

Council borrowing

$78 million,
plus interest

Kyle has pointed to $78 million in planned borrowings. Borrowed money is paid back with interest, and that interest comes out of the same budget as roads, parks and services.

Interest rates move, and when they rise, more of every ratepayer dollar goes to the lender instead of the city. Ultimately, as Kyle puts it, “ratepayers carry the cost of Council’s financial decisions in above inflation rate rises.”

~$780,000a year in extra interest for every 1% rise in the rate on $78m — close to 1% of all the rates Council collects.

Interest paid on $78m over 20 years

Same loan, same term — only the interest rate changes

At 7%, the interest alone comes close to the amount borrowed. Each step up of one percentage point adds roughly $10–11 million over the life of the loan.

See the numbers and how they were worked out

Interest rate	Yearly repayment	Interest over 20 yrs	Total repaid
4%	$5.74m	$36.8m	$114.8m
5%	$6.26m	$47.2m	$125.2m
6%	$6.80m	$58.0m	$136.0m
7%	$7.36m	$69.3m	$147.3m

Illustration only: $78m borrowed at once and repaid in equal annual instalments over 20 years. Council has not published the rate, term or timing of its loans, so the real figures will differ. The “~1% of rates” comparison uses the $87.2m in rates and charges Council received in 2024-25 (Annual Report 2024-25, Statement of Cash Flows).

A city worth getting right

City Park, Launceston

From Kyle’s page

What Kyle has been saying

Pulled from Kyle's own posts on Facebook.

Facebook Elected Councillor

“I am deeply honoured to have been elected as a Councillor of the City of Launceston for the next four years, securing the 4th highest primary vote.” Kyle thanks everyone who placed their trust in him, and looks forward to working constructively with Mayor Garwood, Deputy Mayor Cai and his fellow councillors.

Read the post →

Facebook Turning malaise into real momentum

“Momentum in our community isn’t simply pointing to projects paid for by ratepayers through successive above-inflation rate rises.” Kyle argues it is small businesses confident enough to invest, young people seeing a future here, and families able to afford to live here — building a Launceston where people can stay, work, invest and get ahead.

Read the post →

Facebook Ethics and Integrity Reform

Kyle’s Ethics and Integrity Reform agenda for the City of Launceston — the reform that has already partly passed, and which he wants carried through over the next four years.

Read the post →

Facebook End free lunches

Kyle’s commitment to end free councillor lunches at the City of Launceston — part of the same push that has already seen ethics and integrity reform partially passed.

Read the post →

In the news

Independent reporting on Kyle and the City of Launceston.

8 September 2026 · Bailey Forbes

Mayoral candidate has trailer signs removed, saying it’s unfair to newcomers

An ongoing tug-of-war between the City of Launceston council and election candidates has resulted in a candidate having his signs removed. Kyle Barrett found out on 4 September that signs attached to trailers across the municipality had been taken down by the council.

“It’s creating an uneven playing field for candidates, particularly for newcomers who are only exposed for the course of a month, which isn’t very long.” Kyle Barrett, quoted in The Examiner

Read the full story →

Published by The Examiner. Reproduced here in brief with a link to the original.

Your councillor

Talk to Kyle

Kyle is one of your nine councillors. If there is a local issue you want raised — rates, roads, footpaths, parks, planning or anything else on Council’s plate — give him a call or drop him an email and he will find a time that suits you.

Call now0492 492 873 Email Kylekyle@kylebarrett.com.au

Follow Kyle

Where Kyle posts

Questions people are asking

Kyle on council, explained

Was Kyle Barrett elected?

Yes. Kyle was elected a Councillor of the City of Launceston at the October 2026 election. He received 2,037 first-preference votes (5.27%) — the 4th highest of 27 councillor candidates — and was the 6th of nine councillors elected, reaching a full quota. The Tasmanian Electoral Commission finalised the count on 3 November 2026.

How did Kyle go in the race for Mayor?

Kyle placed 3rd of eight mayoral candidates with 4,447 first-preference votes (11.7%). Matthew Garwood was re-elected Mayor, and Susie Cai was elected Deputy Mayor.

What does a Launceston councillor do?

Councillors serve a four-year term. Together the nine councillors set the City of Launceston’s budget, rates and strategic direction, decide planning matters that come before Council, and represent residents. Day-to-day operations are run by council staff under the General Manager.