Lyne by-election, 2008
Encyclopedia
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives
seat of Lyne
on 6 September 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party
MP
Mark Vaile
. The by-election
was held on the same day as the Mayo by-election
, and the Western Australian state election
.
The writ
for the by-election was issued on 4 August, with the rolls closing on 8 August. Candidate nominations closed 14 August. The by-election was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Lyne at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the National Party won the seat over the Labor Party
by a two-party preferred margin of 58.58% to 41.42%.
The election was won by independent candidate Rob Oakeshott
.
in the Howard government from 2005. At the 2007 federal election, the opposition Labor Party
defeated the incumbent Liberal
-National
coalition
government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Following the coalition election defeat, Vaile announced on 19 July 2008 his intention to resign his seat, to take effect on 30 July 2008. This followed Peter McGauran in Gippsland
and former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
in Mayo
.
Neither the Labor Party nor the Liberal Party stood a candidate.
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 Lyne
Division of Lyne
The Division of Lyne is an Australian electoral division located in the State of New South Wales. It lies on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales and includes the Local Government Areas of Gloucester, Greater Taree, Port Macquarie-Hastings and southern Kempsey...
on 6 September 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party
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...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Mark Vaile
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
. 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 held on the same day as the Mayo by-election
Mayo by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo on 6 September 2008, following the retirement of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer. The by-election was held on the same day as the Lyne by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
, and the Western Australian state election
Western Australian state election, 2008
A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
.
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 4 August, with the rolls closing on 8 August. Candidate nominations closed 14 August. The by-election was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Lyne at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the National 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...
by a two-party preferred margin of 58.58% to 41.42%.
The election was won by independent candidate Rob Oakeshott
Rob Oakeshott
Robert James Murray "Rob" Oakeshott is an Australian politician. He is the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales, which he won in the 2008 by-election following the resignation of former Nationals leader and Howard minister Mark Vaile...
.
Background
Vaile first won the seat of Lyne at the 1993 election for the Nationals in a very close contest with the Liberal candidate. In ministerial positions since 1997, he became leader of the National Party and thus Deputy Prime MinisterDeputy Prime Minister of Australia
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
in the Howard government from 2005. At the 2007 federal election, the opposition 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 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. Following the coalition election defeat, Vaile announced on 19 July 2008 his intention to resign his seat, to take effect on 30 July 2008. This followed Peter McGauran in Gippsland
Gippsland by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Gippsland on 28 June 2008. It was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Peter McGauran....
and former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
in Mayo
Mayo by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo on 6 September 2008, following the retirement of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer. The by-election was held on the same day as the Lyne by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
.
Candidates
Eight candidates contested the by-election. They are listed below in ballot order.- Fishing PartyFishing Party (Australia)The Fishing Party is a minor Australian political party whose primary support base is found among recreational fishermen and women. The party was founded by Robert Smith in July 2000 and it has branches in several Australian states...
- Bob Smith, retired builder. - Citizens Electoral CouncilCitizens Electoral CouncilThe Citizens Electoral Council of Australia is a minor nationalist political party in Australia affiliated with the international LaRouche Movement, led by American political activist and conspiracy theorist Lyndon LaRouche. It reported having 549 members in 2007...
- Graeme Muldoon, farmer, contested Lyne in 2007. - Independent - Stewart Scott-Irving, education consultant, contested Lyne in 2007.
- Democratic Labor PartyDemocratic Labor PartyThe 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...
- Michael Patrick O'Donohue, teacher. - Independent - Rob OakeshottRob OakeshottRobert James Murray "Rob" Oakeshott is an Australian politician. He is the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales, which he won in the 2008 by-election following the resignation of former Nationals leader and Howard minister Mark Vaile...
, former state Nationals turned Independent MP for Port MacquarieElectoral district of Port MacquariePort Macquarie is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Leslie Williams of the National Party....
since 1996. He polled more than two-thirds of the primary vote as an independent in his state seat at the last two elections, and his seat makes up more than half of Lyne. ABC political analyst Antony GreenAntony GreenAntony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
described Oakeshott as the "clear favourite", and "highly likely" to win the by-election. The Nationals admitted he posed a big threat. Upon announcing his candidacy, federal Nationals leader Warren TrussWarren TrussWarren Errol Truss , Australian politician, is the current leader of the National Party of Australia in the Parliament of Australia. He has held the House of Representatives seat of Wide Bay since the 1990 election...
labelled Oakeshott a "Labor patsy". Oakeshott did not direct his preferences to any candidate. Attacks upon Oakeshott by the Nationals increased in the last week of campaigning. - Australian GreensAustralian GreensThe 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 Russell, local environmentalist, contested Lyne in 2007. - National Party of AustraliaNational Party of AustraliaThe 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...
- Rob Drew, former Port Macquarie mayor. - Independent - Barry Wright, retired, contested Lyne in 2007.
Neither the Labor Party nor the Liberal Party stood a candidate.