1970 Murrumbidgee state by-election

The 1970 Murrumbidgee state by-election was held on 14 February 1970 for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Murrumbidgee. It was triggered by the resignation of Al Grassby (Labor) to successfully contest the federal seat of Riverina at the 1969 election. ^[1]

The by-election was held on the same day as two others in Randwick and Upper Hunter and used the same boundaries as the state election. ^[2]

Dates

Date	Event
18 September 1969	Resignation of Al Grassby. [1]
25 October 1969	1969 Australian federal election
19 January 1970	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls. [3]
23 January 1970	Day of nomination
14 February 1970	Polling day
10 March 1970	Return of writ

Candidates

Party		Candidate	Background
	Democratic Labor	Leslie Michael Kennedy	Narrandera farmer, last to announce their candidacy [2]
	Liberal	Ian Colin Davidge	Griffith farmer [2]
	Labor	Alan Robert Lindsey Gordon	Leeton pharmacist, former Shire President [2]
	Country	Robert Alexander Williamson	Yenda farmer [2]

Campaign

Country campaign

The Country Party's Campaign Secretary was Mrs. G. Barwick and the campaign used the slogan "The Man Who Cares". ^{[4] [5]}

In a meeting with the Lake Talbot War Memorial Fund Committee, Williamson committed to "tak[ing] a stand and fight[ing] for the right of the Narrandera people to obtain government assistance for improvements to the Lake Talbot Swimming Pool". ^[6]

Policy commitments outlined in the campaign included: ^[5]

• Speed country water supplies and sewerage.
• Finance for country industries
• Fund for Municipal and Shire Councils—Lessen rate burden.
• Extension free school buses.
• Increased Teacher College Scholarships.

Country events

The Country candidate, Robin Williamson, held a luncheon at the Hydro Hotel in Leeton with the state Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes M.L.A. at 12:30pm on 4 February, inviting "citizens of [the] Leeton, Narrandera, Coleambally, and districts" at a subscription fee of $2. ^[7]

Labor campaign

The Labor candidate, Lin Gordon, campaigned on fighting for Murrumbidgee, pointing to his track record as a Shire President. Gordon was positioned as a protest vote against "Minister Beale's Dictatorship" ^[8]

Issues outlined by the campaign included: ^[8]

• Neglect of school needs
• Turnover tax on business
• Wheat rationing favouring giant absentee companies
• Strangling M.I.A towns by locking up land
• Ignoring Hay-Maude areas for 5 years
• Reducing Coleambally by 40 per cent
• Procrastination over Lake Mejum

Labor events

Gordon held a number of events across the electorate during the campaign including: ^[8]

• Street meeting in Griffith (Wednesday 28 January, noon)
• Street meeting in Darlington Point (Wednesday 28 January, 5 p.m.)
• Opening Campaign at Yoogali club (Friday 30 January, 8 p.m.)
• Gough Whitlam and Al Grassby in Griffith (Saturday 31 January)

Liberal campaign

The Liberal candidate, Ian Davidge, ran on a platform of giving Murrumbidgee a voice within the Askin Governmnet and his own and the government's record. ^[9]

Arguments made by his campaign included: ^[9]

• No man has a better record of service, knowledge and experience for the whole electorate
• No political party or government has a better record of achievment than the one led by the State Premier, Mr. Askin.

Democratic Labor campaign

The Democratic Labor candidate, Les Kennedy, ran on a platform of "strongly support[ing] the concept of the Lake Mejum Water Conservation Scheme". ^[10]

Result

1970 Murrumbidgee by-election
Saturday 14 February  ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Lin Gordon	10,905	53.8	−9.2
	Liberal	Ian Davidge	6,437	31.7	+20.8
	Country	Robin Williamson	2,351	11.6	−10.8
	Democratic Labor	Les Kennedy	593	2.9	−0.8
Total formal votes			20,286	98.4	+0.4
Informal votes			337	1.6	−0.4
Turnout			20,623	90.2	−4.0
	Labor hold		Swing	−9.2

See also

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

References

1. "Mr Albert Jaime Grassby (1926-2005)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 13 May 2019.
2. "DLP NOW IN FIELD". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . Leeton, NSW. 30 January 1970. p. 6.
3. "Writ of election: Murrumbidgee". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales . No. 8. 19 January 1970. p. 195. Retrieved 19 March 2021– via Trove.
4. "INTRODUCING... ROBIN WILLIAMSON". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . Australian Country Party (N.S.W.), authorised by G. Barwick. 30 January 1970. p. 7.
5. "ACTION! with THE MAN WHO CARES—". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . Australian Country Party (N.S.W.). 2 February 1970. p. 10.
6. "Williamson will fight for Lake improvements". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . 2 February 1970. p. 3.
7. "Australian Country Party (N.S.W.) Murrumbidgee Electorate Council". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . [[Australian Country Party (N.S.W.)|]], authorised by G. Barwick. 30 January 1970. p. 7.
8. "Grassby—Murrumbidgee must stand a fighting chance!". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Authorised A. J. Grassby. 2 February 1970. p. 10.
9. "IAN DAVIDGE is your man for MURRUMBIDGEE". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . Leeton, NSW: Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division). 9 February 1970. p. 3.
10. "LES KENNEDY strongly supports the concept of the LAKE MEJUM WATER CONSERVATION SCHEME". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator . Leeton, NSW: Authorised Les Kennedy, Narranderra. 30 January 1970. p. 9.
11. Green, Antony. "1970 Murrumbidgee by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 19 March 2021.