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A by-election was held in the Tasmanian Legislative Council division of Pembroke on 1 August 2009. [1] It was triggered by the resignation of sitting member Allison Ritchie.
Ritchie was first elected to the Legislative Council in 2001 at the age of 26, the youngest person ever elected to that chamber. She spent nine and a half weeks as Minister for Planning and Workplace Relations in 2008, but resigned due to ill health. [2] She announced her resignation from parliament amid allegations of nepotism on 20 June 2009. [3]
The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 June 2009; nominations closed on 9 July. [1] The eight candidates were:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Vanessa Goodwin | 7,812 | 38.55 | +38.55 | |
Greens | Wendy Heatley | 2,604 | 12.85 | –0.56 | |
Independent | Richard James | 2,285 | 11.28 | –7.10 | |
Independent Labor | Honey Bacon | 2,110 | 10.41 | +10.41 | |
Independent | John Peers | 1,942 | 9.58 | +0.32 | |
Independent Labor | James Crotty | 1,783 | 8.80 | +8.80 | |
Independent | Peter Cooper | 1,510 | 7.45 | +7.45 | |
Independent | Kit (Sharon) Soo | 219 | 1.08 | +1.08 | |
Total formal votes | 20,265 | 96.48 | –0.26 | ||
Informal votes | 740 | 3.52 | +0.26 | ||
Turnout | 21,005 | 85.05 | –2.47 | ||
After distribution of preferences | |||||
Liberal | Vanessa Goodwin | 10,143 | 51.05 | ||
Independent | Richard James | 5,510 | 27.73 | ||
Greens | Wendy Heatley | 4,215 | 21.22 | ||
Liberal gain from Labor | Swing | N/A |