The list of Western Australia Legislative Council by-elections includes every by-election held in the Australian state of Western Australia for the Legislative Council. Prior to the Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987 which came into force at the 1989 election, it was necessary for a by-election to be held to fill any vacancy; they have since been filled by recounts from the previous poll based on a proportional voting system. An imminent Council election often allowed the vacancy to remain until the inauguration of the new Council, usually on the following 22 May.
Until a constitutional amendment in 1947, [1] it was necessary for members who were appointed as a Minister to resign their seat and contest their seat at a ministerial by-election. This was because the Ministers became members of the Executive Council, which reported to the Governor of Western Australia and was therefore deemed an "office of profit" under the Crown. Most ministerial by-elections were a formality with the Minister being re-elected unopposed, but on one occasion, in 1901, a Minister from the Council was defeated at the by-elections.
By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Vacated | Cause | Retained | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South-West | 24 October 1987 | Vic Ferry | Liberal | Barry House | Liberal | 24 July 1987 | Resignation | Yes | ||
Central | 17 November 1984 | Gordon Atkinson | Liberal | Eric Charlton | National | 4 August 1984 | Death | No | ||
North | 31 July 1982 | Bill Withers | Liberal | Tom Stephens | Labor | 21 May 1982 | Resignation | No | ||
South Metropolitan | 13 March 1982 | Howard Olney | Labor | Garry Kelly | Labor | 16 December 1981 | Resignation | Yes | ||
North | 20 February 1971 | Harry Strickland | Labor | John Hunt | Labor | 31 December 1970 | Resignation | Yes | ||
West | 21 October 1967 | Ray Jones | Country | Fred White | Country | 3 September 1967 | Death | Yes | ||
Midland | 17 August 1963 | Charles Simpson | Country | Jack Heitman | Liberal | 12 June 1963 | Death | No | ||
North-East | 29 June 1963 | William Hall | Labor | David Dellar | Labor | 1 May 1963 | Death | Yes | ||
West | 29 June 1963 | Evan Davies | Labor | Jerry Dolan | Labor | 10 April 1963 | Death | Yes | ||
West | 7 February 1959 | Gilbert Fraser | Labor | Ron Thompson | Labor | 1 November 1958 | Death | Yes | ||
North | 22 September 1956 | Charles Barker | Labor | Frank Wise | Labor | 18 July 1956 | Death | Yes | ||
Metropolitan | 9 June 1956 | Harry Hearn | Liberal | Reg Mattiske | Liberal | 20 March 1956 | Death | Yes | ||
South-East | 10 September 1955 | Robert Boylen | Labor | John Cunningham | Liberal | 25 June 1955 | Death | No | ||
South-West | 10 September 1955 | Charles Henning | Liberal | F. D. Willmott | Liberal | 22 June 1955 | Death | Yes | ||
Suburban | 20 June 1953 | James Dimmitt | Liberal | Arthur Griffith | Liberal | 13 April 1953 | Resignation (appointed as Agent-General) | Yes | ||
Central | 3 May 1952 | G. B. Wood | Country | Leslie Diver | Country | 3 January 1952 | Death | Yes | ||
South-West | 2 June 1951 | William Mann | Liberal | James Murray | Liberal | 22 April 1951 | Death | Yes | ||
South-West | 2 June 1951 | Hobart Tuckey | Liberal | Charles Henning | Liberal | 10 March 1951 | Death | Yes | ||
Central | 6 May 1950 | Charles Baxter | Country | Norm Baxter | Country | 2 March 1950 | Death | Yes |
The changes of names of electoral provinces at the 1950 election, effected by the Electoral Districts Act 1947, were as follows:
By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Vacated | Cause | Retained | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Metropolitan | 8 May 1948 | Leonard Bolton | Liberal | Keith Watson | Liberal | 31 March 1948 | Resignation | Yes | ||
Central | 30 August 1947 | John Drew | Labor | Harold Daffen | Liberal | 17 July 1947 | Death | No | ||
West | 21 June 1947 | William Kitson | Labor | Evan Davies | Labor | 15 May 1947 | Resignation (appointed as Agent-General) | Yes |
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth.
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly and the 22-seat Legislative Council. General elections are held every 4 years, with all of the lower house and half of the upper house filled at each election. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government with the executive branch required to both sit in parliament and hold the confidence of the House of Assembly. The parliament is based at Parliament House on North Terrace in the state capital of Adelaide.
The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth.
The Electoral district of Pilbara is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Pilbara is named for the region of Western Australia in which it is located. It is one of the oldest electorates in Western Australia, with its first member having been elected to the Second Parliament of the Legislative Assembly at the 1894 elections.
In politics, a casual vacancy is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualification of the sitting member, or for other reasons.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1890 elections and the 1894 elections, known as the First Parliament. They held office under the Constitution Act 1889, which was given royal assent by Queen Victoria on 15 August 1890 and took effect on 21 October 1890 with a proclamation by the new Governor of Western Australia, Sir William Robinson.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1911 election and the 1914 election, together known as the Eighth Parliament. All members who sat as Liberals, apart from those returned at by-elections, were elected under the "Ministerial" designation at the 1911 election.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1901 election and the 1904 election, together known as the Fourth Parliament.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 16 July 1894 to 27 July 1896. The chamber had 21 seats made up of seven provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election. As this was the first election of the Legislative Council under responsible government in Western Australia, following the passage of the Constitution Act Amendment Act 1893, all seats were vacant at the time of the election, and therefore the candidate with most votes in each province was elected for six years, the second-most for four years and the third-most for two years.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 14 May 1900 to 12 May 1902. The chamber had 24 seats made up of eight provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election. The Constitution Act Amendment Act 1899, which took effect after the 1900 election, created two new electorates—Metropolitan-Suburban Province and South Province—which had their inaugural elections on 29 August and 5 September 1900 respectively with terms expiring in 1906, 1904 and 1902.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 30 May 1904 to 21 May 1906. The chamber had thirty seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 22 May 1910 to 21 May 1912. The chamber had 30 seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election. Prior to the 1910 election, the Council had thought of itself as entirely independent from party politics, but with the election of Labor members to the Council and Labor's vigorous campaign at the 1911 election for the Legislative Assembly, many of its members joined the newly formed Liberal Party which had emerged from the various National Political Leagues and Liberal Leagues.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 22 May 1922 to 21 May 1924. The chamber had 30 seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election. During the term, the Country Party split into rival Ministerial (MCP) and Executive (ECP) factions–although in the Council, this was diluted somewhat by the refusal of some long-standing Country members to become involved in the dispute. The Executive faction, loyal to the Primary Producers' Association, prevailed and by 1925 the Ministerial faction had merged with the Nationalist Party.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 22 May 1928 to 21 May 1930. The chamber had 30 seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 22 May 1940 to 21 May 1944. The chamber had 30 seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 22 May 1946 to 21 May 1948. The chamber had 30 seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 22 May 1950 to 21 May 1952. The chamber had 30 seats made up of ten provinces each electing three members, on a system of rotation whereby one-third of the members would retire at each biennial election.
The Metropolitan-Suburban Province was a three-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the metropolitan region of Perth. It was created by the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899, and became effective on 29 August 1900 following a special election to fill all three seats. Historically taking in many coastal and riverside areas in the western suburbs of Perth, it was considered safe for the Nationalist Party for most of its existence.
The South-East Metropolitan Province was a two-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in metropolitan Perth. It was one of several metropolitan seats created following the enactment of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act (No.2) 1963, and became effective on 22 May 1965. The province, with its mix of safe Labor and Liberal Assembly seats, also produced mixed fortunes for both parties until 1983, when a redistribution turned it into a safe Labor seat and the two sitting Liberal members successfully transferred to the new South Central Metropolitan Province seat.