2013 Miranda state by-election

The Liberal member for Miranda, Graham Annesley, resigned from the New South Wales Parliament and as Minister for Sport and Recreation on 28 August 2013 to take up the post of chief executive officer of the Gold Coast Titans rugby league team.{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=New South Wales |title=Resignation of Minister for Sport and Recreation |url=https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-53740/link/2201 |house=Legislative Assembly |date=28 August 2013 |page=22932 |speaker=Graham Annesley |position=Minister for Sport and Recreation |access-date=2013-09-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519122323/https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-53740/link/2201 |archive-date=19 May 2024 }} Annesley in his resignation to Parliament said he never regarded himself as a politician and that there were many aspects of politics he did not care for and he has always felt more at home as a sports administrator.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/barry-o8217farrell-announces-sports-minister-graham-annesley-has-resigned/news-story/353530159f45075e3ac5ab3b259cfee8|archive-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519121924/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/barry-o8217farrell-announces-sports-minister-graham-annesley-has-resigned/news-story/353530159f45075e3ac5ab3b259cfee8?nk=9d47f4c127fc098418daff09d6372704-1716121164|url-status=live|first=Andrew|last=Clennell|title=Barry O'Farrell announces Sports Minister Graham Annesley has resigned|date=28 August 2013|website=www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-28/graham-annesley-resigns-from-nsw-ministry/4918952|archive-date=19 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519122742/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-28/graham-annesley-resigns-from-nsw-ministry/4918952|url-status=live|title=Graham Annesley resigns from NSW ministry to take up role as Gold Coast Titans chief|first=Sarah|last=Gerathy|date=28 August 2013|website=ABC News}}

A central Sutherland Shire electorate, Miranda crosses the peninsula between the Georges River and Port Hacking. It includes the suburbs of Como, Bonnet Bay, Oyster Bay, Kareela, Kirrawee, Gymea, Gymea Bay, Grays Point and parts of Sylvania, Miranda and Jannali. The seat's federal equivalent is in the western half of the Division of Cook.

Created in 1971, Miranda had traditionally been a Liberal electorate. It had only been won by Labor in landslide elections, two under Neville Wran in 1978 and 1981, and again under Bob Carr in 1999 and in 2003. According to ABC psephologist Antony Green, the seat should have been recovered by the Liberals in 2007 but was narrowly retained by Labor. Going into the 2011 election, Miranda was Labor's most marginal seat, with a 0.8 percent two-party margin. In the 2011 election, the Liberals won government in a landslide. In the process, they picked up a large enough swing in Miranda to turn it into a very safe Liberal seat on paper in one stroke, with a 21.0 percent two-party margin. There were 39 seats held by the Coalition on smaller margins.

Questions were raised over the Liberal-controlled Sutherland Shire Council's alleged property development favours in their draft Local Environmental Plan.{{cite news|url=http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1845218/by-election-battle-draws-more-attention-to-shire-lep-and-favours-allegations/|title=By-election battle draws more attention to Shire LEP and favours allegations|archive-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519121724/https://www.theleader.com.au/story/1845218/by-election-battle-draws-more-attention-to-shire-lep-and-favours-allegations/ |url-status=live|date=17 October 2013|website=St George & Sutherland Shire Leader}}

Internal Liberal Party polling conducted two weeks before the by-election produced a 54–46 lead to Labor indicating a 25-point two-party swing against the Liberal government,{{cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/liberals-facing-a-hiding-in-the-seat-of-miranda/news-story/1f00bfbd00e2df4dbd0a4c00776d5e67|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519091606/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/liberals-facing-a-hiding-in-the-seat-of-miranda/news-story/1f00bfbd00e2df4dbd0a4c00776d5e67|first=Andrew|last=Clennell|archive-date=19 May 2024|url-status=live|title=Liberals facing a by-election hiding|date=14 October 2013|website=www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}{{cite news |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/10/15/15/27/libs-to-get-a-kicking-in-nsw-by-election |title=Libs to 'get a kicking' in NSW by-election |work=NineMSN |date=15 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019135504/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/10/15/15/27/libs-to-get-a-kicking-in-nsw-by-election |archive-date=19 October 2013}} however a follow-up internal Liberal Party poll had the Liberals "marginally in front".{{cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/premier-expecting-miranda-byelection-loss-as-electorate-protests-former-sports-minister-graham-annesley8217s-early-resignation/news-story/9526cb222487c77925d8caa496c4a122|archive-date=19 May 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519091704/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/premier-expecting-miranda-byelection-loss-as-electorate-protests-former-sports-minister-graham-annesley8217s-early-resignation/news-story/9526cb222487c77925d8caa496c4a122?nk=bc4503f889ad5c7cd3244ef681c91e68-1716110224|first=Andrew|last=Clennell|title=Premier expecting Miranda by-election loss as electorate protests former sports minister Graham Annesley's early resignation|date=18 October 2013|website=www.dailytelegraph.com.au}} Sportsbet offered $1.25 for the Liberals against $3.50 for Labor{{cite news |url=https://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2013/10/18/miranda-by-election-october-19/ |title=Miranda by-election: October 19 |first=William |last=Bowe |date=18 October 2013|website=The Poll Bludger |access-date=12 March 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909143209/https://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2013/10/18/miranda-by-election-october-19/ |url-status=dead }} with Antony Green predicting a Liberal retain. Both major party leaders played down expectations of a win.

The six candidates in ballot paper order were:

{{Election box begin

|title=2013 Miranda by-election
Saturday 19 October{{cite report |url=https://elections.nsw.gov.au/getmedia/82daf9fc-28c5-4498-86b3-a4abc0af64fc/2013-miranda-state-by-election-report.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309201244/https://elections.nsw.gov.au/getmedia/82daf9fc-28c5-4498-86b3-a4abc0af64fc/2013-miranda-state-by-election-report.pdf |url-status=live |title=Report on the Conduct of the Election Miranda State By-election |publisher=The New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC) |location=Level 25, 201 Kent Street, Sydney NSW Australia 2000 |date=22 January 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/nsw/2013/miranda/result.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205005108/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/nsw/2013/miranda/result.htm |archive-date=5 December 2020 |url-status=dead |title=Results: 2013 Miranda by-election |work=ABC News |access-date=12 October 2019}}

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|candidate = Barry Collier

|party = Labor NSW

|votes = 18,812

|percentage = 46.5

|change = +24.2

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|candidate = Brett Thomas

|party = Liberal NSW

|votes = 15,883

|percentage = 39.2

|change = −21.5

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|candidate = George Capsis

|party = Christian Democrats

|votes = 2,840

|percentage = 7.0

|change = +3.5

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|candidate = Murray Scott

|party = Greens NSW

|votes = 1,757

|percentage = 4.3

|change = −4.4

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|candidate = Lisa Walters

|party = Independent

|votes = 842

|percentage = 2.1

|change = +2.1

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|candidate = John Brett

|party = Independent

|votes = 342

|percentage = 0.8

|change = −3.9

}}

{{Election box formal

|votes = 40,476

|percentage = 98.0

|change = +0.7

}}

{{Election box informal

|votes = 813

|percentage = 2.0

|change = −0.7

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes = 41,289

|percentage = 84.8

|change = −10.0

}}

{{Election box 2pp}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|party = Labor NSW

|candidate = Barry Collier

|votes = 20,751

|percentage = 55.1

|change = +26.1

}}

{{Election box candidate AU party

|party = Liberal NSW

|candidate = Brett Thomas

|votes = 16,916

|percentage = 44.9

|change = −26.1

}}

{{Election box gain AU party

|winner = Labor NSW

|loser = Liberal NSW

|swing = +26.1

}}

{{Election box end}}

Labor won the seat with a two-party preferred swing of 26.1 percent, the largest by-election swing in the state's history, outdoing even the 2010 Penrith by-election result. Premier Barry O'Farrell claimed Annesley's "unexpected, mid-term resignation" as the reason for the loss and rejected claims of a backlash against the Liberal government.{{cite news |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=916629 |title=ALP wins NSW by-election |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019213055/https://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=916629 |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead |work=Sky News |date=19 October 2013}} Labor's Collier said the major issues for local voters were overdevelopment in the Sutherland Shire, the frequent closure of fire stations (uniformed firefighters were at polling stations protesting against the Liberal government), cuts to TAFE, and poor transport services at the Jannali and Kogarah train stations.{{cite news|url-access=registration|archive-date=19 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519121155/https://www.theleader.com.au/story/1851803/collier-reclaims-miranda-with-a-record-swing/|url-status=live|url=http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1851803/collier-reclaims-miranda-with-a-record-swing/|title=Collier reclaims Miranda with a record swing|first=Murray|last=Trembath|date=19 October 2013|website=St George & Sutherland Shire Leader}} Labor leader John Robertson released a statement claiming there was a clear message to the Liberal government from Miranda voters, saying "The people of the shire have sent Barry O'Farrell the strongest of messages tonight ... in the last two-and-a-half years Barry O'Farrell and his government have taken families for granted ... Barry Collier was an outstanding local candidate who ran a strong community campaign, standing up for the Shire against Liberal cuts to services".

Graham Annesley ({{Australian politics/name|Liberal NSW}}) resigned.

• Electoral results for the district of Miranda
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

{{reflist}}

{{NSW by-elections 55th parl|state=expanded}}

{{Results of New South Wales state elections}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miranda 2013}}

Category:2013 elections in Australia

Category:New South Wales state by-elections

Category:2013 in New South Wales

Category:October 2013 in Australia