2002 Cunningham by-election

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2002 Cunningham by-election
Flag of New South Wales.svg
  2001 19 October 2002 2004  
 First partySecond party
  Michaelorgan1.jpg Labor Placeholder.png
Candidate Michael Organ Sharon Bird
Party Greens Labor
Primary  vote15,50525,671
Percentage23.03%38.13%
SwingIncrease2.svg 16.39Decrease2.svg 6.06
TPP 52.23%47.77%
TPP swingIncrease2.svg 52.23Decrease2.svg 12.88

 Third partyFourth party
 
IND
IND
CandidateDavid MouldsPeter Wilson
Party Independent Liberal Ind. Labor
Primary  vote9,1477,107
Percentage13.59%10.56%
SwingIncrease2.svg 13.59Increase2.svg 10.56

Cunningham electoral division.png
Cunningham (dark) within New South Wales

MP before election

Stephen Martin
Labor

Elected MP

Michael Organ
Greens

The 2002 Cunningham by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Cunningham in New South Wales on 19 October 2002. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the Australian Labor Party's Stephen Martin on 16 August 2002. The writ for the by-election was issued on 16 September 2002.

Contents

The by-election was notable as it was won by Michael Organ, the candidate for the Australian Greens, making Cunningham the first seat in the Australian House of Representatives to be won by a minor party since Jack Lang won Reid for his Lang Labor party in 1946, and the first seat in the House won by the Greens.

Background

Cunningham had been held by Labor since its creation 52 years previously, but a recent local government election for Lord Mayor of Wollongong had seen the Labor candidate lose to an independent, Alex Darling, causing concern in the ALP about their ability to hold the seat given the expectation of a significant protest vote against them. [1] The ALP candidate preselected to replace Martin was Sharon Bird.

The Liberal Party of Australia received 28 percent of the primary vote at the previous election, they chose not to run a candidate in the by-election. Independent candidate David Moulds held Liberal Party membership. [2]

Results

The distribution of preferences in the by-election resulted in the election of Michael Organ. 2002 Cunningham federal by-election preference distribution.png
The distribution of preferences in the by-election resulted in the election of Michael Organ.
2002 Cunningham by-election [3] [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labor Sharon Bird 25,67138.13−6.06
Greens Michael Organ 15,50523.03+16.39
Independent Liberal David Moulds9,14713.59+13.59
Independent Labor Peter Wilson7,10710.56+10.56
One Nation Geoff Crocker2,6964.00−0.63
Christian Democrats Owen Nannelli2,5663.81+1.32
Democrats Linda Chapman1,5142.25−4.92
Against Further Immigration David Hughes8891.32+1.32
Independent Meg Sampson6711.00+1.00
Non-Custodial Parents John Flanagan5560.83+0.83
Independent James Keene4830.72+0.72
Socialist Alliance Chris Williams3990.59+0.59
Citizens Electoral Council Hal A. Johnson1200.18+0.18
Total formal votes67,32492.26−2.90
Informal votes5,6477.74+2.90
Turnout 72,97189.51−5.91
Two-candidate-preferred result
Greens Michael Organ 35,16052.23+52.23
Labor Sharon Bird 32,16447.77−12.88
Greens gain from Labor Swing N/A

Aftermath

Although Labor received the highest primary vote, the Australian Greens candidate, Michael Organ, won the by-election on a 52.2 percent two-candidate preferred (2CP) vote. Asymmetrical preference flows in the absence of an official Liberal candidate contributed to Labor losing the seat, with their 2CP being reduced by 12.9 percent. Labor, Liberal and Green all contested Cunningham in the 2004 federal election, Labor won the seat back with a two-party preferred (2PP) vote of over 60 percent. Another example is the 2008 Mayo by-election. However, other factors attributed by some to the loss include Martin's premature departure, a messy preselection process for Bird, and discontent from the NSW Labor branch towards federal leader Simon Crean. [5]

See also

References

  1. Griffiths, Emma: Labor nervous ahead Cunningham by-election, Lateline (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 18 October 2002.
  2. Bennett, Scott: The Cunningham by-election 2002 Archived 13 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Parliament of Australia, 11 November 2002.
  3. "2002 Cunningham by-election". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  4. Green, Antony (7 April 2009). "Fremantle By-election - Should the Liberals Run?". ABC News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024. Labor polled 38.1%, the Greens 23.0%, an Independent Labor candidate 10.6% and an Independent Liberal 13.6% with smaller tallies for other candidates.
  5. Green, Antony: Cunningham - Federal Election 2007, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 November 2007.