1997 Gippsland West state by-election
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1 February 1997
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Electoral district of Gippsland West in the Victorian Legislative Assembly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 31,375 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 88.7% ( 6.6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1997 Gippsland West state by-election was held on 1 February 1997 to elect the member for Gippsland West in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of Liberal Party MP Alan Brown.[1][2]
Brown, who served as Liberal leader from 1989 until 1991, resigned on 31 December 1966 after being appointed by the Kennett government as the Agent General for Victoria.[3] At the time, his seat was the second-safest for the Liberals in Victoria.[4]
Susan Davies, who contested Gippsland West for the Labor Party at the 1996 state election, nominated as an independent candidate after Labor chose not to contest.[5] She won the seat after a 12.9% two-candidate-preferred vote swing against the Liberals, helped by the preferences of other independent and minor party voters.[6][7]
The result was a significant defeat for premier Jeff Kennett and his government, and was the first of two by-election losses it experienced in 1997 (the other being Mitcham in December).[8][9] Davies was re-elected at the 1999 state election and subsequently played a decisive role in defeating the Kennett government by supporting a minority Labor government led by Steve Bracks.[10][11]
Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.[4] This was the first election contested by the Australian Reform Party after its formation in May 1996.[12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Susan Davies | Labor candidate for Gippsland West in 1996[14][15] | |
| Shooters | Neville Sayers | Olympian sports shooter[16] | |
| Independent | David Turnbull | ||
| Reform | Ray Mathieson | Farmer and former policeman[17] | |
| Independent | Mike Lowry | Publican and independent candidate for Gippsland West in 1996[18] | |
| Liberal | Matthew Coleman | ||
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Matthew Coleman | 11,214 | 41.4 | −16.4 | |
| Independent | Susan Davies | 8,844 | 32.6 | −0.6[a] | |
| Reform | Ray Mathieson | 2,555 | 9.4 | +9.4 | |
| Independent | Mike Lowry | 1,867 | 6.9 | −2.1 | |
| Independent | David Turnbull | 1,361 | 5.0 | +5.0 | |
| Shooters | Neville Sayers | 1,275 | 4.7 | +4.7 | |
| Total formal votes | 27,116 | 97.5 | −0.8 | ||
| Informal votes | 708 | 2.5 | +0.8 | ||
| Turnout | 27,824 | 88.7 | −6.6 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent | Susan Davies | 13,606 | 50.3 | +12.9[a] | |
| Liberal | Matthew Coleman | 13,447 | 49.7 | −12.9 | |
| Independent gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.9 | |||