Bradfield by-election, 2009
Encyclopedia
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives
seat of Bradfield
on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former minister and ex-Liberal Party
leader Brendan Nelson
. The by-election was held on the same day as the Higgins by-election
.
The by-election
was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Bradfield at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party
with a 63.45 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, making it the safest metropolitan seat in Australia for the Liberals. The 2007 result was the second-closest in the seat's 60-year history
(after the 1952 Bradfield by-election
against an independent). The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.
The writ
for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed 12 November, and were announced the following day. At 22 candidates, it ties with the 1992 Wills by-election
for the most candidates to contest a federal lower house seat.
-led Labor Party
defeated the incumbent John Howard
-led Liberal
-National
coalition
government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Brendan Nelson
had served in ministerial positions in the Howard government, before taking over the Liberal leadership from Howard after the election loss. He lost the leadership to Malcolm Turnbull
less than a year later after sustained poor polling.
Nelson first won the seat of Bradfield at the 1996 election.
Nelson had initially indicated (16 February 2009) he would stay as the member until the next election, at which time he would retire from parliament. On 25 August 2009, however, he announced he would be resigning by late September, thus triggering a by-election. On 16 September 2009, he was appointed as Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg. He officially resigned from the House on 19 October 2009.
and Bradfield by-election campaigns were overshadowed by Liberal infighting over Labor's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
, culminating in the replacement of Malcolm Turnbull
with Tony Abbott
as Liberal leader. Although fairly safe on paper, some commentators including Malcolm Mackerras
tipped the Greens to win in Higgins, and force the Liberals to preferences in Bradfield.
The Australian Labor Party
did not stand a candidate. The Christian Democrats suggested that they were considering running up to eleven candidates (eleven being the number of faithful disciples). The CDP ended up fielding nine candidates.
§ The combined Christian Democrats vote was 3.58 percent, an increase of 1.84 percentage points.
's lead candidate, James Whitehall, resigned from the party soon after the by-election, together with his father, the party's junior deputy president. The campaign director, Michael Darby
, also faced expulsion after a controversial survey was circulated in Bradfield, which included questions on whether the Government should be able to deport Muslim
s and whether mosque
s and Islamic schools should be banned. Darby was ultimately relieved of his position, while party leader, Fred Nile
, offered an apology for the survey and stated that the CDP would not run multiple candidates in any electorates in future.
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
seat of Bradfield
Division of Bradfield
The Division of Bradfield is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Dr John Bradfield, the designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is located in the upper North Shore, and includes the suburbs of Chatswood, Killara, St Ives and...
on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former minister and ex-Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
leader Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
. The by-election was held on the same day as the Higgins by-election
Higgins by-election, 2009
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Higgins on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello...
.
The by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Bradfield at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
with a 63.45 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, making it the safest metropolitan seat in Australia for the Liberals. The 2007 result was the second-closest in the seat's 60-year history
Electoral results for the Division of Bradfield
This is a list of electoral results for the Division of Bradfield in Australian federal elections from the electorate's creation in 1949 until the present.-Members:-Elections in the 2010s:-Elections in the 2000s:...
(after the 1952 Bradfield by-election
Bradfield by-election, 1952
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Bradfield on 20 December 1952. This was triggered by the death of Liberal Party MP and former Prime Minister Billy Hughes....
against an independent). The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.
The writ
Writ of election
A writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office.In the United Kingdom and in Canada, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons...
for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed 12 November, and were announced the following day. At 22 candidates, it ties with the 1992 Wills by-election
Wills by-election, 1992
A by-election for the Australian House of Representatives division of Wills was held on 11 April 1992. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting Labor Party member and former Prime Minister Bob Hawke....
for the most candidates to contest a federal lower house seat.
Background
At the 2007 federal election, the opposition Kevin RuddKevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
-led Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
defeated the incumbent John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
-led Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-National
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
had served in ministerial positions in the Howard government, before taking over the Liberal leadership from Howard after the election loss. He lost the leadership to Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
less than a year later after sustained poor polling.
Nelson first won the seat of Bradfield at the 1996 election.
Nelson had initially indicated (16 February 2009) he would stay as the member until the next election, at which time he would retire from parliament. On 25 August 2009, however, he announced he would be resigning by late September, thus triggering a by-election. On 16 September 2009, he was appointed as Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg. He officially resigned from the House on 19 October 2009.
Campaign
The HigginsHiggins by-election, 2009
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Higgins on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello...
and Bradfield by-election campaigns were overshadowed by Liberal infighting over Labor's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
, culminating in the replacement of Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
with Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
as Liberal leader. Although fairly safe on paper, some commentators including Malcolm Mackerras
Malcolm Mackerras
Malcolm Hugh Mackerras AO is an Australian psephologist and commentator and lecturer on Australian and American politics.-Education and works:...
tipped the Greens to win in Higgins, and force the Liberals to preferences in Bradfield.
Candidates
The following table is the order and party affiliation of each candidate who has nominated to contest the seat of Bradfield on 5 December 2009.| allot Number | Party | Candidate | Profession | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
James Whitehall | Business development | |||
| 2 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Jodi Luke | Teacher | |||
| 3 | Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Peter Hanrahan | Pensioner | |||
| 4 | Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Bill Koutalianos | Architecture graduate | Endorsed by the unregistered Climate Sceptics Party The Climate Sceptics The Climate Sceptics are an Australian political party that describes itself as the world's first political party representing climate sceptics, dedicated to "...expose the fallacy of anthropogenic climate change".... |
||
| 5 | Democratic Labor Party Democratic Labor Party The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal... |
Simon McCaffrey | Obstetrician and gynaecologist | |||
| 6 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Robyn Peebles | Religious minister | |||
| 7 | Australian Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which... |
Susie Gemmell | Parliamentary Advisor | Greens candidate for Bradfield at the 2007 federal election. | ||
| 8 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Darryl Allen | Retiree | |||
| 9 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Leighton Thew | Engineer | |||
| 10 | Australian Sex Party Australian Sex Party The Australian Sex Party is a Australian political party founded in 2009 in response to concerns over the influence of religion in politics. The party was born out of adult-industry lobby group, the Eros Association. Party leader, Fiona Patten, is CEO of Eros and the party's Registered Officer,... |
Marianne Leishman | Entertainer and law graduate | |||
| 11 | Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Philip Dowling | Education officer | |||
| 12 | Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Simon Kelly | IT businessman | |||
| 13 | One Nation | Victor Waterson | Fitter and Turner | |||
| 14 | Liberal Democratic Party Liberal Democratic Party (Australia) The Liberal Democratic Party is a classical liberal Australian political party founded in 2001.-Party name:In 2007 the party tried to register federally under the name "Liberal Democratic Party" but this was opposed the by the Liberal Party, so the party chose to register as the "Liberty and... |
Lucy Gabb | Search marketer | |||
| 15 | Independent | Brian Buckley | "Australian nationalist", a republican, anti-immigration and pro-refugee | |||
| 16 | Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
Paul Fletcher | Former Optus Optus SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications... executive |
|||
| 17 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Andrew Hestelow | Company director | |||
| 18 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Esther Heng | Secretary | |||
| 19 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
Joseph Pender | Student | |||
| 20 | Christian Democratic Party Christian Democratic Party (Australia) The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:... |
David Pix | Graphics teacher | |||
| 21 | Climate Change Coalition Climate Change Coalition 4Change, formerly known as the Climate Change Coalition , was an Australian political party, which was formed in 2007 with a view to accelerate action by politicians from all parties on global warming and climate change. Its position on working towards addressing climate change, stresses... |
Deborah Burt | Consultant | |||
| 22 | Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy | Goronwy Price | Director | |||
The Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
did not stand a candidate. The Christian Democrats suggested that they were considering running up to eleven candidates (eleven being the number of faithful disciples). The CDP ended up fielding nine candidates.
Results
The Liberal Party retained the seat.§ The combined Christian Democrats vote was 3.58 percent, an increase of 1.84 percentage points.
Aftermath
The Christian Democratic PartyChristian Democratic Party (Australia)
The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:...
's lead candidate, James Whitehall, resigned from the party soon after the by-election, together with his father, the party's junior deputy president. The campaign director, Michael Darby
Michael Darby
Michael John Darby is an Australian politician. Originally a member of the Liberal Party, he went on to be significant in the Christian Democratic Party. He has been called a "right-wing maverick" because of his strong convictions , and named as a member of the NSW 'uglies' faction in the 1980s...
, also faced expulsion after a controversial survey was circulated in Bradfield, which included questions on whether the Government should be able to deport Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s and whether mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s and Islamic schools should be banned. Darby was ultimately relieved of his position, while party leader, Fred Nile
Fred Nile
Frederick John "Fred" Nile is an Australian politician and clergyman. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004 when he resigned to contest the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election...
, offered an apology for the survey and stated that the CDP would not run multiple candidates in any electorates in future.