2006 Victoria Park state by-election
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The 2006 Victoria Park state by-election was a by-election held on 11 March 2006 for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Victoria Park in the inner southeastern suburbs of Perth.
Background
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labor member Geoff Gallop on 16 January 2006. Gallop had represented the area since a by-election on 7 June 1986,{{cite book|last=Black|first=David|author2=Prescott, Valerie |title=Election statistics, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996 : listed alphabetically by constituency | publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project|year=1997}} and had served as a minister, shadow minister, Opposition Leader (1996–2001) and Premier of Western Australia since 2001. Gallop announced his resignation as Premier and from Parliament 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."{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1548580.htm|title=WA Premier Geoff Gallop resigns|date=16 January 2006|last=Yaxley|first=Louise|work=ABC ("PM" program)|accessdate=2007-10-27}}
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly advised Parliament on 7 March 2006 that he had received a letter from 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 2006 directed the Acting Electoral Commissioner to proceed with an election in the district.{{cite hansard|title=Parliament.WA|jurisdiction=|house=Western Australian Legislative Assembly|date=7 March 2006|volume=|url=http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/hans35.nsf/edf12eb560968afa48256c460024a927/4acc68752cb7560ac825728a000861a2?OpenDocument&Date=2006-03-07}}{{Dead link|date=August 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} The battle for Labor party preselection was hard fought, with 31-year-old DPP lawyer Ben Wyatt defeating former national president of the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union, Helen Creed, at a vote on 1 February 2006 of the 14-member Administrative Committee. The by-election, called for 11 March 2006, attracted a total of eleven candidates, one of the largest in Western Australian electoral history.
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.{{cite book|title=Statutes of Western Australia, 1929-1930|author=Government of Western Australia|year=1930|pages=1–56|chapter=Redistribution of Seats Act (No 1 of 1929)|author-link=Government of Western Australia}} The seat is considered a safe Labor Party seat, and has been held by the party between 1930 and 1945, and since the 1953 state election.
Timeline
| class="wikitable" |
| Date
! Event |
|---|
| 16 January 2006
| Geoff Gallop resigned, vacating the seat of Victoria Park. |
| 2 February 2006
| Writs were issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to proceed with a by-election. |
| 17 February 2006 |
| 11 March 2006
| Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 24 March 2006
| The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
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 and the Christian Democrats, as well as three independents. In addition, John Tattersall contested without a party label on the ballot representing Socialist Alliance, which was not a registered party at the time.{{cite web |title=Plunge taken |url=https://www.pollbludger.net/category/western-australian-politics/page/18/ |publisher=The Poll Bludger}}
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.{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Paige|title=Ex-One Nation head vies for Gallop's seat|work=The Australian|date=20 February 2006}}
Results
As largely predicted, Ben Wyatt retained the seat for the Labor party, with a swing against him of 4.86%. Wyatt claimed victory within two hours and became one of three Aboriginal parliamentarians in Western Australia.[http://www.abc.net.au/message/news/stories/s1598936.htm WA: Aboriginal Labor candidate Ben Wyatt wins WA Victoria park by-election]
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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ipaawa.org.au/ipaa/docs/PSF%20130407%20-%20Lyn%20McKay%20(Paper).pdf |title=Low Voter Turnout |access-date=2007-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929222621/http://www.ipaawa.org.au/ipaa/docs/PSF%20130407%20-%20Lyn%20McKay%20(Paper).pdf |archive-date=2007-09-29 |url-status=dead}}
{{Election box begin |
|title=Victoria Park state by-election, 2006[http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_elections/election_results/2006_Victoria_Park_By-Election/District_of_Victoria_Park/District_results.php Victoria Park Election results] }}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Labor WA
|candidate = Ben Wyatt
|votes = 7,786
|percentage = 49.38
|change = -7.93
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Liberal WA
|candidate = Bruce Stevenson
|votes = 4,887
|percentage = 30.99
|change = +3.24
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Greens WA
|candidate = Dee Margetts
|votes = 1,328
|percentage = 8.42
|change = -0.25
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Christian Democrats
|candidate = Bill Heggers
|votes = 551
|percentage = 3.49
|change = -0.13
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = One Nation
|candidate = Sue Bateman
|votes = 436
|percentage = 2.76
|change = +0.10
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Independent
|candidate = Andrew Owens
|votes = 217
|percentage = 1.38
|change = +1.38
}}
|-
| {{Australian party style|Daylight Saving|width:1px}} |
| style="text-align:left;"| Daylight Savings
| style="text-align:left;"| James Dunn
| style="text-align:right;"| 156
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.99
| style="text-align:right;"| +0.99
|-
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Family First
|candidate = Peter Greaves
|votes = 151
|percentage = 0.96
|change = +0.96
}}
|-
| {{Australian party style|Socialist Alliance|width:1px}} |
| style="text-align:left;"| Socialist Alliance
| style="text-align:left;"| John Tattersall
| style="text-align:right;"| 131
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.83
| style="text-align:right;"| +0.83
|-
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Independent
|candidate = Mike Ward
|votes = 83
|percentage = 0.53
|change = +0.53
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Independent
|candidate = Teresa van Lieshout
|votes = 43
|percentage = 0.27
|change = +0.27
}}
{{Election box formal
|votes = 15,769
|percentage = 96.26
|change = +1.58
}}
{{Election box informal
|votes = 612
|percentage = 3.74
|change = -1.58
}}
{{Election box turnout
|votes = 16,381
|percentage = 64.04
|change = -23.62
}}
{{Election box 2pp}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Labor WA
|candidate = Ben Wyatt
|votes = 9,632
|percentage = 61.18
|change = -4.86
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Liberal WA
|candidate = Bruce Stevenson
|votes = 6,111
|percentage = 38.82
|change = +4.86
}}
{{Election box hold AU party
|winner = Labor WA
|swing = -4.86
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{Wikinews|West Australian Premier Geoff Gallop resigns}}
{{reflist}}
{{WA by-elections 37th parl}}
Category:2006 elections in Australia