Kalgoorlie by-election, 1920
Encyclopedia
A by-election
was held for the Australian House of Representatives
seat of Kalgoorlie
on 18 December 1920. This was triggered by the expulsion of Labor Party
MP Hugh Mahon
.
The by-election was won by Nationalist Party
candidate George Foley
. It is the only federal by-election in Australian history where the government has won a seat from the opposition. Voting was not compulsory in 1920.
, referring to it as "this bloody and accursed despotism", at an open-air meeting in Melbourne
on 7 November. Prime Minister
Billy Hughes
moved to expel him and on 12 November, the House of Representatives
passed a resolution that he had made "seditious and disloyal utterances at a public meeting" and was "guilty of conduct unfitting him to remain a member of this House and inconsistent with the oath of allegiance which he has taken as a member of this House." As such, Mahon became the only MP to be expelled from the Federal Parliament. (Under Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, 1987 neither house any longer has the power to expel a member from membership of the house.)
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
was held for the Australian House of Representatives
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 Kalgoorlie
Division of Kalgoorlie
The Division of Kalgoorlie was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia, named after the city of Kalgoorlie. The Division, which was proclaimed in 1900 as one of the original 75 divisions to be contested at the first Federal election, covered most of the land area of...
on 18 December 1920. This was triggered by the expulsion of 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...
MP Hugh Mahon
Hugh Mahon
Hugh Mahon was an Irish-born Australian politician and a member of the first Commonwealth Parliament for the Australian Labor Party...
.
The by-election was won by Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
candidate George Foley
George Foley
George James Foley was an Australian politician from Western Australia. He was the member for the Western Australian seat of Mount Leonora from 1911 until 1920, initially for the Labor Party until 1917 when he joined the National Labor Party...
. It is the only federal by-election in Australian history where the government has won a seat from the opposition. Voting was not compulsory in 1920.
Background
After the death of the Irish nationalist Terence McSwiney in a hunger strike in October 1920, Mahon attacked British policy in Ireland and the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, referring to it as "this bloody and accursed despotism", at an open-air meeting in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 7 November. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
moved to expel him and on 12 November, the House of Representatives
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....
passed a resolution that he had made "seditious and disloyal utterances at a public meeting" and was "guilty of conduct unfitting him to remain a member of this House and inconsistent with the oath of allegiance which he has taken as a member of this House." As such, Mahon became the only MP to be expelled from the Federal Parliament. (Under Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, 1987 neither house any longer has the power to expel a member from membership of the house.)