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A by-election for the seat of Newcastle in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 25 October 2014. [1] [2] The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal-turned-independent MP Tim Owen, who won the seat at the 2011 election with a 36.7 percent primary and 52.6 percent two-party-preferred vote.
The previous New South Wales by-election had seen a 26-point two-party-preferred swing to Labor.
Newcastle, located in the traditional Labor heartland of the Hunter Region, was won for the Liberals by Owen at the 2011 election on a swing of 26.9 points. [3] Owen was the first Liberal to win the seat since its re-creation in 1927. Before Owen's win, Newcastle had only been out of Labor hands twice in its current incarnation; independent George Keegan held it from 1988 to 1991, and Bryce Gaudry sat as an independent for part of 2007 after losing Labor preselection.
In May 2014, after admitting that he had probably received illegal donations in the 2011 campaign, Owen announced he would not re-nominate for Newcastle in the next state election. [4] On 6 August 2014, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence that illegal donations from Newcastle-area developers had funded Owen's campaign, prompting the commission's counsel to question the validity of Owen's victory. [5] Following this disclosure, Owen resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent pending the results of the inquiry. [6] A week later, on 12 August, Owen admitted he had lied to the ICAC about returning one of the illicit donations. He resigned from parliament hours later under pressure. [7]
| Date | Event [8] |
|---|---|
| 3 October 2014 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls. [9] |
| Noon, 8 October 2014 | Close of nominations for party-endorsed candidates |
| Noon, 9 October 2014 | Close of nominations for other candidates |
| 25 October 2014 | Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm |
The eight candidates in ballot paper order are as follows: [8]
| Candidate nominations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist Alliance | Steve O'Brien | Socialist campaigner and unionist. [8] | |
| Labor Party | Tim Crakanthorp | Newcastle City Council Councillor. [8] | |
| Greens | Michael Osborne | Newcastle City Council Former Deputy Lord Mayor. [8] | |
| Independent | Jacqueline Haines | Contested Lord Mayoral election in 2012. [8] | |
| Jennifer Stefanac | Palmer United Party candidate. [8] | ||
| Independent | Karen Howard | Graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. [8] | |
| Christian Democratic Party | Milton Caine | Has contested seats for 30 years as a Christian Democrat, Liberal, and independent. [8] | |
| Independent | Brian Buckley Clare | Contested federal seat of Lyne for Katter's Australian Party at previous election. [8] | |
The Liberals declined to contest the by-election, and also declined to field a candidate in the by-election in Charlestown held on the same day. NSW Liberal director Tony Nutt stated that the Liberals would not contest either by-election "as an explicit act of atonement" for the revelations, and Premier Mike Baird said that the Liberals didn't deserve to contest the seats while they were "getting (their) house in order." [1] [2] According to ABC election analyst Antony Green, it was the first known occasion of a sitting government in NSW opting not to contest by-elections in seats that it previously held. [10]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Tim Crakanthorp | 15,253 | 36.9 | +6.3 | |
| Independent | Karen Howard | 10,796 | 26.1 | +26.1 | |
| Greens | Michael Osborne | 8,236 | 19.9 | +5.1 | |
| Independent | Jacqueline Haines | 3,019 | 7.3 | +7.3 | |
| Palmer United | Jennifer Stefanac | 1,332 | 3.2 | +3.2 | |
| Socialist Alliance | Steve O'Brien | 1,086 | 2.6 | +1.0 | |
| Christian Democrats | Milton Caine | 834 | 2.0 | +1.2 | |
| Independent | Brian Buckley Clare | 762 | 1.8 | +1.8 | |
| Total formal votes | 41,318 | 94.7 | −2.5 | ||
| Informal votes | 2,327 | 5.3 | +2.5 | ||
| Turnout | 43,645 | 80.6 | −11.8 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Tim Crakanthorp | 18,785 | 58.7 | +11.2 | |
| Independent | Karen Howard | 13,243 | 41.3 | +41.3 | |
| Labor gain from Liberal | |||||
Charlestown is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It has been represented by Jodie Harrison of the Labor Party since the Charlestown by-election on 25 October 2014.
Newcastle is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales named after and including Newcastle. It is represented since the 2014 Newcastle by-election by Tim Crakanthorp of the Australian Labor Party.
Gladys Berejiklian is an Australian businesswoman and former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian currently works as an executive for the telecommunications company Optus.
Christopher "Chris" Peter Hartcher is an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1988 to 2015, representing the electorates of Gosford (1988–2007) and Terrigal (2007–2015). He represented the Liberal Party for most of his career, serving as its deputy state leader from 2002 to 2003, and in the O'Farrell Ministry as Minister for Resources and Energy, Special Minister of State and Minister for the Central Coast. In 2013, he resigned to sit as an independent following his implication in an ongoing Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry, and retired at the 2015 state election.
Daryl William Maguire is a former Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Wagga Wagga for the Liberal Party from 1999 to 2018. On 30 March 2011, Maguire was appointed to Government Whip in the O'Farrell-Stoner Liberal/National coalition government; he had been Opposition Whip for the Coalition since 2003. On 13 July 2018, after admitting at a corruption inquiry that he sought payment over a property deal, Maguire resigned from the Liberal Party. He resigned from Parliament on 3 August. Between 2013 and August 2020, Maguire had an "intimate" relationship with Gladys Berejiklian, who became Premier of New South Wales during that time. He had been estranged from his wife since 2013, and divorce proceedings started in 2018.
Jodi Leyanne McKay is a former Australian politician who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from June 2019 until May 2021. She previously served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Strathfield for the Labor Party from 2015 to 2021. McKay also previously represented Newcastle for one term from 2007 until her defeat at the 2011 election. Between 2008 and 2011, McKay held a number of junior ministerial responsibilities in the Rees and Keneally governments, including serving as the Minister for the Hunter, Tourism, Small Business, Science and Medical Research, Commerce, and Women, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer). On 17 October 2021, McKay announced she would resign from the parliament, which triggered a by-election in her seat of Strathfield. McKay subsequently became National Chair of the Australia India Business Council.
Craig Asbjorn Baumann is an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2015, representing the electorate of Port Stephens. He was elected as a member of the Liberal Party, but resigned to sit as an independent in 2014 following his admission of failing to properly disclose electoral donations in the course of Independent Commission Against Corruption proceedings.
John Tate is a former councillor and Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia.
Christopher Spence, an Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing The Entrance for the Liberal Party from the 2011 New South Wales state election until 19 February 2014 when he moved to the parliamentary crossbench and sat as an independent after the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence that Spence may have breached electoral funding laws. He retired in 2015.
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly who served in the 55th parliament held their seats from 2011 to 2015. They were elected at the 2011 state election and at by-elections. The Speaker was Shelley Hancock.
Andrew Stuart Cornwell is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from the 2011 election until 2014, representing the electorate of Charlestown. He was elected as a Liberal Party candidate, and represented that party until 6 August 2014, when he moved to the parliamentary crossbench and sat as an independent after the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence that Cornwell may have breached electoral funding laws. After earlier announcing that would not contest his seat at the next state election, on 12 August 2014 Cornwell resigned from parliament with immediate effect triggering the 2014 Charlestown by-election.
Timothy Francis Owen is a former Australian politician and a former deputy commander of the Australian Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electoral district of Newcastle for the Liberal Party from the 2011 New South Wales state election until 6 August 2014, when he moved to the parliamentary crossbench and sat as an independent, following evidence given to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that he may have breached electoral funding laws.
Garry Keith Edwards is a former Australian politician who represented the electoral district of Swansea in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party from 2011 to 2015.
Bart Edward Bassett is an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2015, representing the electorate of Londonderry. He was elected as a member of the Liberal Party, but resigned to sit as an independent in August 2014 following revelations about his conduct at hearings of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). He was formerly mayor of the City of Hawkesbury from 2007 until 2012.
The 2015 New South Wales state election was held on Saturday 28 March 2015. Members were elected to all 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly using optional preferential voting. Members were also elected to 21 of the 42 seats in the Legislative Council using optional preferential proportional representation voting. The election was conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission.
Newcastle, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, has had two incarnations, from 1859 until 1894 and from 1904 to the present.
Jeffrey Raymond 'McCloy is an Australian property developer, who served Lord Mayor of Newcastle between 2012 and 2014. Before entering politics, he ran his own construction company, which built John Hunter Hospital. In 2008 he won the Hunter Business Chamber 2008 Business Person of the Year, and in 2009 he won the City of Newcastle Medal.
A by-election for the seat of Charlestown in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 25 October 2014. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal-turned-independent MP Andrew Cornwell, who won the seat at the 2011 election with a 43.8 percent primary and 59.9 percent two-party vote.
A by-election was held in the New South Wales state electoral district of Wagga Wagga on 8 September 2018. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Daryl Maguire, a Liberal-turned-independent. Maguire resigned from Parliament the previous month after admitting to a corruption inquiry that he sought payment over a property deal.
The 2023 New South Wales state election was held on 25 March 2023 to elect the 58th Parliament of New South Wales, including all 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the Legislative Council. The election was conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC).
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Results of New South Wales State elections | |||||
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