A by-election was held in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Rockhampton on 16 February 1985. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting Labor member Keith Wright.

The seat was retained by the Labor Party with the election of candidate Paul Braddy.

Background

Keith Wright was first elected to state parliament at the 1969 state election as the Labor member for Rockhampton South, retaining the seat at the 1972 state election when the district was renamed Rockhampton. Wright held Rockhampton continuously thereafter, becoming Leader of the Opposition on 20 October 1982. After leading his party to defeat at the 1983 state election, at which his own support in Rockhampton had slipped by 6% despite statewide gains by his party, Wright was replaced as leader on 29 August 1984 by Nev Warburton.[1]

Wright resigned from state parliament on 5 November 1984 to contest the 1984 federal election. The following month he was elected as member for the overlapping federal seat of Capricornia.

The Nationals made a determined effort to win the seat, as it would extend their base in the provincial cities zone. The by-election coincided with a major industrial dispute within the state's power industry between the government and the trade union movement.

Timeline

Date Event
5 November 1984 Keith Wright resigned, vacating the seat of Rockhampton.
25 January 1985 Writs were issued by the Speaker to proceed with a by-election.[2]
1 February 1985 Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers.
16 February 1985 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
11 March 1985 The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Results

Normally a safe seat for the Labor Party, it was retained by new candidate Paul Braddy. The result was nonetheless a boost for new Labor leader Nev Warburton and a blow to the governing Nationals, who might have hoped that the ongoing industrial dispute between the government and the state's power industry workers would hurt the Labor Party.[3]

Rockhampton state by-election, 1985[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Paul Braddy 8,409 58.98 +1.77
National Col Webber 5,849 41.02 –0.92
Total formal votes 14,258 97.87 –1.13
Informal votes 310 2.13 +1.13
Turnout 14,568 87.77 –5.24
Labor hold Swing+1.77

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly, 1860–2009" (PDF). Queensland Parliament House. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2009.
  2. ↑ "Legislative Assembly - Writ of Election". Queensland Government Gazette. 25 January 1985. p. 278:210A.
  3. ↑ "Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1985". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 31 (3): 502. December 1985. ISSN 0004-9522.
  4. ↑ Queensland Legislative Assembly (17 March 1987). Details of polling at general election held on 1 November 1986. p. 65.
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