Victoria Park state by-election, 2006
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The 2006 Victoria Park by-election was a state by-election held in the Electoral district of Victoria Park in Western Australia on March 11, 2006. The by-election was called after the resignation of Labor MP and then-Premier of Western Australia, Dr. Geoff Gallop on 16 January 2006.
The battle for Labor party preselection was hard fought, with Ben Wyatt defeating Helen Creed. The by-election drew a total of eleven candidates, one of the largest in Western Australian electoral history.
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[edit] Background
The seat of Victoria Park, which elects a single member to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly using a preferential method, was established in 1929 by the Government of Western Australia under the Redistribution of Seats Act (No 1 of 1929), which was given assent by the Governor on 15 April 1929.[1] The seat is considered a safe Australian Labor Party seat, and has been held by the party between 1930 and 1945, and since the 1953 state election. Dr Geoff Gallop had represented the area since a by-election on 7 June 1986,[2] replacing Ron Davies who had been appointed as Agent-General of Western Australia in London and was himself a former leader of the Australian Labor Party.
On 16 January 2006, Gallop announced his resignation as Premier and from State Parliament effective immediately in order to aid his recovery from depression, and that "in the interests of my health and my family, I've decided to rethink my career."[3]
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly advised Parliament on 7 March 2006 that he had received a letter from Geoff Gallop on 25 January announcing his resignation as the member for Victoria Park, and announced that under section 67(2) of the Electoral Act 1907, he had on 2 February 2007 directed the Acting Electoral Commissioner to proceed with an election in the district.[4]
[edit] Timeline
Dr. Geoffrey Gallop resigns from state parliament.
Writ issued by speaker of the Legislative Assembly to proceed with an election in the electoral district of Victoria Park.[5]
Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers.[5]
Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.[5]
Votes counted, and results declared showing that Ben Wyatt of the Australian Labor Party won the seat.[5]
[edit] Preselection
Helen Creed, the former national president of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union was widely tipped to win pre-selection for the Labor party. With two males being elected to parliament in recent times, it was certain that Victoria Park would go to a woman.
However, pre-selection did not go as expected, after the initial ballot of the party’s 14-member Administrative Committee, Ben Wyatt and Helen Creed were both on five votes, with Simon Ward on four. All four of Ward's votes went to Wyatt, and he clearly won nine to five.
[edit] Candidates
The by-election attracted eleven candidates, significantly more than the previous Victoria Park election, which attracted only five candidates. Both major parties fielded a candidate, with the Greens, One Nation, Daylight Saving Party, Family First, Socialist Alliance and the Christian Democratic party also represented, as well as three independents.
One Nation candidate Sue Bateman made national headlines, when it emerged that she was running for the seat of Victoria Park. The former One Nation president was accused of being a prolific online racist, using the forum Stormfront. She was also dismissive of Gallop's battle with depression, saying that average Joe did not have the luxury of becoming depressed.[6]
[edit] Results
As largely predicted, Ben Wyatt retained the seat for the Labor party, with a swing against him of 5.5% given the large number of state-government controversies. Wyatt claimed victory within two hours and became one of three Aboriginal parliamentarians in Western Australia.[7]
Voter turnout was low, given that Victoria Park is a safe Labor seat, with only 64% of voters casting their vote: the lowest for a by-election in the state since 1936.[8]
| Victoria Park by-election, 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Andrew Owens | 217 | 1.38 | ||
| Socialist Alliance | John Tattersall | 131 | 0.83 | ||
| Greens | Dee Margetts | 1,328 | 8.42 | ||
| Independent | Teresa Van Lieshout | 43 | 0.27 | ||
| Independent | Mike Ward | 83 | 0.53 | ||
| One Nation | Sue Bateman | 436 | 2.76 | ||
| Daylight Saving | James Dunn | 156 | 0.99 | ||
| Labor | Ben Wyatt | 7,786 | 49.38 | ||
| Family First | Peter Greaves | 151 | 0.96 | ||
| Christian Democrats | Bill Heggers | 551 | 3.49 | ||
| Liberal | Bruce Stevenson | 4887 | 30.99 | ||
| Total formal votes | 15,769 | 96.26 | |||
| Informal votes | 612 | 3.74 | |||
| Turnout | 16,381 | ||||
| Two Candidate Preferred Result | |||||
| Labor | Ben Wyatt | 9,632 | 61.18 | -8.0 | |
| Liberal | Bruce Stevenson | 6111 | 38.82 | +3.0 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | -5.5 | |||
[edit] References
- ^ Government of Western Australia (1930). "Redistribution of Seats Act (No 1 of 1929)", Statutes of Western Australia, 1929-1930, 1-56.
- ^ Black, David (1997). Election statistics, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996 : listed alphabetically by constituency. Western Australian Parliamentary History Project.
- ^ Yaxley, Louise. "WA Premier Geoff Gallop resigns", ABC ("PM" program), 16 January 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 7 March 2006
- ^ a b c d Western Australian Electoral Commission. Key dates of the Electoral campaign. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
- ^ Taylor, Paige. "Ex-One Nation head vies for Gallop’s seat", The Australian, 20 February 2006.
- ^ WA: Aboriginal Labor candidate Ben Wyatt wins WA Victoria park by-election
- ^ Low Voter Turnout
- ^ Victoria Park Election results
