1988 Barambah state by-election

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1988 Barambah state by-election
Flag of Queensland.svg
  1986 16 April 1988 1989  

Electoral district of Barambah in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
Turnout84.90% (Decrease2.svg 8.63)
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Warren Truss Portrait 2010.jpg
CEC
Labor Placeholder.png
Candidate Warren Truss Trevor Perrett John Lang
Party National CEC Labor
Primary  vote4,7543,6392,033
Percentage41.27%31.59%17.65%
SwingDecrease2.svg 36.20Increase2.svg 31.59Decrease2.svg 4.88
2CP 45.89%54.11%
2CP swingDecrease2.svg 31.58Increase2.svg 54.11

MP before election

Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
National

Elected MP

Trevor Perrett
Citizens Electoral Council

The 1988 Barambah state by-election was held on 16 April 1988 to elect the member for Barambah in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of resignation of National MP and former premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Until the by-election, the seat had been considered the Nationals' safest seat in Queensland.

Contents

Candidates

The candidates were: [1]

Results

The result was a shock to most observers, and came about largely because 89% of Labor voters' preferences went to the CEC. It was seen by contemporary observers as a clear setback to new party leader Mike Ahern in his efforts to stabilise the party ahead of the 1989 election.

Barambah state by-election, 1988 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Warren Truss 4,75441.27−36.20
Citizens Electoral Council Trevor Perrett 3,63931.59+31.59
Labor John Lang2,03317.65−4.88
 New Country PartyKevin Polzin1,0929.48+9.48
Total formal votes11,51898.15+0.88
Informal votes2161.85−0.88
Turnout 11,73484.90−8.63
Two-candidate-preferred result
Citizens Electoral Council Trevor Perrett 6,23254.11+54.11
National Warren Truss 5,28645.89−31.58
Citizens Electoral Council gain from National Swing N/A

Aftermath

Though elected as a Citizens Electoral Council candidate, Trevor Perrett defected to the National Party in December 1988, and was re-elected as a National candidate at the 1989 state election. Perrett became a minister in the Coalition government of Rob Borbidge and held the seat of Barambah until his defeat at the 1998 state election.

Defeated National Party candidate Warren Truss was elected as the member for the division of Wide Bay at the 1990 Australian federal election. He served as a minister in the government of John Howard and became federal leader of the National Party in 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia in 2013 and served as a minister in the governments of Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.

See also

References

  1. "Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1988". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 34 (3): 418–419. December 1988. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8497.1988.tb01188.x. ISSN   0004-9522.
  2. "Vote for Libs, says Joh, the Nats are lost", The Courier-Mail, 15 March 1988, pg 2.
  3. Queensland Legislative Assembly (6 March 1990). Details of polling at general election held on 2 December 1989. p. 70.