2017 New England by-election

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2017 New England by-election
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
  2016 2 December 2017 2019  

The Division of New England (NSW) in the House of Representatives
Registered110,685
Turnout87.05% Decrease2.svg 6.14
 First partySecond party
  Barnaby Joyce portrait.jpg Labor Placeholder.png
Candidate Barnaby Joyce David Ewings
Party National Labor
Popular vote57,0169,764
Percentage64.92%11.12%
SwingIncrease2.svg 12.63Increase2.svg 4.11
TPP 73.63%26.37%
TPP swingIncrease2.svg 7.21Decrease2.svg 7.21

Division of NEW ENGLAND 2016.png
The Division of New England covers 66,394 km² in northern rural New South Wales. From south to north it includes the regional population centres of Scone, Tamworth, Armidale, Glen Innes, Inverell and Tenterfield.

MP before election

Barnaby Joyce
National

Elected MP

Barnaby Joyce
National

A by-election for the Australian House of Representatives seat of New England was held on 2 December 2017.

Contents

Previous incumbent Barnaby Joyce, serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader from February 2016 until October 2017 when his seat of New England was declared vacant, won the by-election with a large primary and two-party swing. [1] [2]

Background

Amid the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, the trigger for the by-election was the judgment of the High Court of Australia sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns on 27 October 2017, which found that the sitting member, Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, was ineligible under Section 44 of the Constitution to sit in the Parliament of Australia, by virtue of holding New Zealand citizenship at the time of his nomination and election. The seat was declared vacant by the High Court on the same day. Joyce had renounced his dual citizenship effective from August in order to become a sole citizen of Australia, and was thus eligible to run for the by-election. [3]

Speaker of the House of Representatives Tony Smith issued the writ for the election on 27 October 2017, the same day as the High Court's judgment. [4]

Key dates

As at least 33 days must elapse between the issue of a writ and the date of a by-election, the earliest Saturday that the by-election could take place was on 2 December.

Candidates

Former independent member for New England Tony Windsor, who retired at the 2013 election before unsuccessfully contesting the seat at the 2016 election with a 29.2 percent primary vote, announced he would not be nominating as a candidate in the by-election. [5] Pauline Hanson's One Nation and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers also announced that they would not run. [6]

17 candidates in ballot paper order [7]
PartyCandidateBackground
  Christian Democrats Richard StrettonSelf-employed plant mechanic and perennial candidate.
  Animal Justice Skyla WagstaffEnvironmental and animal rights activist.
  Affordable Housing Andrew PottsFormer Sydney Star Observer contributor and party founder.
  Independent Jeff MaddenSingle father, part-time truck driver and traffic controller.
  Liberal Democrat Tristam SmythCardiologist based in Tamworth.
  Independent Dean CarterTamworth resident.
  National Barnaby Joyce New England MP 2013–2017, Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister 2016–2017. [3]
  #Sustainable William BourkeParty founder and perennial candidate.
  Seniors United Warwick StaceyFormer business owner and Army Reservist.
  Independent Rob TaberIndependent Bennelong candidate in 2016. New England Solar Owner and Jobs Australia Chairman.
  CountryMinded Pete MaillerLocal cattle and grain farmer, CountryMinded co-founder. Queensland Senate candidate in 2016. [8]
  Labor David EwingsLocal coal miner and Australian Defence Force personnel. Labor's New England candidate in 2016. [3]
  Rise Up Donald CranneyFarmer based in south-central Queensland.
  Greens Peter Wills Quirindi farmer and Liverpool Plains Alliance campaigner. [3]
  21st Century Jamie McIntyreEntrepreneur, banned from corporate directorships for 10 years by for property spruiking
  Science Meow-Ludo Meow-MeowAdviser to nutritional infant formula startup company and bio-hacker.
  Country Ian Britza Former Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

Results

2017 New England by-election [9] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Barnaby Joyce 57,01664.92+12.63
Labor David Ewings9,76411.12+4.11
Independent Rob Taber5,9596.79+3.99
Greens Peter Wills3,8244.35+1.43
Christian Democrats Richard Stretton2,1292.42+1.03
CountryMinded Pete Mailler2,1122.40+0.99
Science Meow-Ludo Meow-Meow1,1831.35+1.35
Independent Jeff Madden1,1451.30+1.30
Animal Justice Skyla Wagstaff9301.06+1.06
Sustainable Australia William Bourke6280.72+0.72
Affordable Housing Andrew Potts6050.69+0.69
Independent Dean Carter5900.67+0.67
Liberal Democrats Tristam Smyth5150.59−0.62
Country Ian Britza 4940.56+0.56
Rise Up Australia Donald Cranney3650.42+0.42
Seniors United Warwick Stacey3420.39+0.39
21st Century Jamie McIntyre2220.25+0.25
Total formal votes87,82391.06−1.90
Informal votes8,6188.94+1.90
Turnout 96,44187.13−6.14
Two-party-preferred result
National Barnaby Joyce 64,66473.63+7.21
Labor David Ewings23,15926.37−7.21
National hold Swing +7.21

Early in the evening, ABC election analyst Antony Green predicted an easy victory for Joyce. Claiming victory that evening, Joyce picked up a large primary and two-party swing. [1] [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Barbour, Lucy (2 December 2017). "Barnaby Joyce declares victory in New England with huge swing against low-profile opponents". ABC News (Australia) . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 "'A stunning victory': Barnaby Joyce claims New England by-election win". SBS World News . 2 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "2017 New England by-election". ABC News.
  4. "AEC to conduct Senate special counts and New England by-election". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  5. "Tony Windsor confirms he will not run against Barnaby Joyce in New England by-election". ABC News. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  6. Karp, Paul (30 October 2017). "Barnaby Joyce gets boost as One Nation and Shooters decline to run in New England". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  7. "2017 New England by-election". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  8. "Tally Room – Senate candidates in Queensland". Australian Electoral Commission. p. 2. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. "New England, NSW: By-election". Australian Electoral Commission . 21 December 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  10. "Results". ABC News.