2001 Surfers Paradise state by-election

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A by-election was held in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Surfers Paradise on 5 May 2001. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting National Party member Rob Borbidge.

Legislative Assembly of Queensland Chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland

The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held every four years. Voting is by the full-preferential voting form of the alternative vote system. The Assembly has 93 members, who have used the letters MP after their names since 2000.

Electoral district of Surfers Paradise state electoral district of Queensland, Australia

Surfers Paradise is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. Located in the central portion of the Gold Coast, it is named for Surfers Paradise, the largest suburb of the Gold Coast.

The National Party, known as the Country Party until 1974, was a political party in Queensland, Australia, for much of the period from 1915 until 2008. Formed by the Queensland Farmers' Union and serving as the state branch of the National Party of Australia, it initially sought to represent the interests of the farmers but over time became a more general conservative political party in the state, leading to much debate about relations with other conservative parties and a string of mergers that were soon undone. From 1957 it held power as part of a coalition with the state Liberal Party until 1983 when the Liberals broke away and the Nationals continued to govern in their own right until defeat in 1989. The party formed another coalition with the Liberals that took power in 1996 but was defeated in 1998. After a further decade in opposition the two parties merged to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland.

Contents

The by-election was won by independent candidate Lex Bell.

Alexander James Douglas "Lex" Bell OAM is an Australian politician. Born in Brisbane, he received a Master of Laws from Bond University and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Queensland before becoming a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He was also on Gold Coast City Council from 1985–2001, including a period as mayor 1988–1994. He was also a chancellor with the Anglican Catholic Church.

Background

Rob Borbidge first entered parliament as the National member for Surfers Paradise at the 1980 state election. He became leader of his party in 1991 and Premier of Queensland in 1996, following the Mundingburra by-election. Borbidge's government was defeated at the 1998 state election, but Borbidge remained National Party leader, leading his party to landslide defeat at the 2001 state election. Subsequent to that defeat, Borbidge announced his retirement from politics.

Robert Edward Borbidge is a former Australian politician who served as the 35th Premier of Queensland from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party, and was the last member of that party to serve as premier. His term as premier was contemporaneous with the rise of the One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson, which would see him lose office within two years.

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 29 November 1980 to elect the 82 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.

Premier of Queensland head of government for the state of Queensland, Australia

The Premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.

Results

The by-election was a resounding win for Gold Coast City councillor Lex Bell. Also of note was the performance of the Liberal Party, who performed considerably better than their coalition partner, the National Party; even though this had been a National Party seat since 1980. However, voters were outraged at being forced to the polls for the second time in three months, and took out their anger on Borbidge's replacement as National candidate; the Nationals' primary vote plunged to only eight percent.

Coalition (Australia) group of centre-right parties in Australia

The Liberal–National Coalition is an alliance of centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. Its main opponent is the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and the two forces are often regarded as operating in a two-party system. The Coalition has been in government since the 2013 federal election, most recently being re-elected in the 2019 Australian federal election. The group is led by Scott Morrison as Prime Minister of Australia since August 2018.

After this election, the Nationals effectively ceded Surfers Paradise to the Liberals, and would never contest the seat again before the merger of the Queensland National and Liberal parties into the Liberal National Party.

The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a centre-right political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other states, the two parties remain distinct and operate as a more or less permanent Coalition in opposition to the Australian Labor Party. The LNP is a full member of the Liberal Party of Australia, and has observer status within the National Party of Australia.

Surfers Paradise state by-election, 2001
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Lex Bell 7,96635.91+35.91
Liberal John-Paul Langbroek 4,70821.22+21.22
Labor Richard Alcorn4,44120.02−18.25
National Susie Douglas1,7848.04−41.70
One Nation Lesley Millar1,0554.76+4.76
Greens Dean Hepburn9264.26−7.72
Independent Perry Cross7513.39+3.39
Independent Tony Horkings2180.98+0.98
Independent Linda McGill1790.76+0.76
Independent Fred Fraser770.35+0.35
Independent Arthur Coghlan520.24+0.24
Independent Rob McJannett150.07+0.07
Total formal votes22,18398.11+1.25
Informal votes4281.89−1.25
Turnout 22,61177.70−10.49
Two-candidate-preferred result
Independent Lex Bell 8,81158.12+58.12
Liberal John-Paul Langbroek 6,35041.88+41.88
Independent gain from National Swing N/A

Aftermath

Lex Bell was defeated by Liberal candidate John-Paul Langbroek in a rematch at the 2004 state election.

John-Paul Langbroek Australian politician

John-Paul Honoré Langbroek is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the centre-right Liberal Party and its successor, the centre-right Liberal National Party, in the seat of Surfers Paradise since 2004. He was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the LNP from 2009 to 2011—the first person from the Liberal side of the merger to hold the post. He was a minister in the Newman government before its defeat at the 2015 state election.

2004 Queensland state election

An election was held in the Australian state of Queensland on 7 February 2004 to elect the 89 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.

See also

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Joan Mary Sheldon is an Australian politician. She was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1990 to 2004, representing the electorates of Landsborough (1990-1992) and then Caloundra (1992-2004). She was the state Liberal leader from 1991 to 1998, and served as Deputy Premier in the Borbidge government from 1996 to 1998.

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References

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