A
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
was held for the
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members of the ...
seat of
Bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
on 28 June 1975. This was triggered by the resignation of
Labor Party MP and former
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
Lance Barnard
Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most no ...
.
The by-election was won by
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
candidate
Kevin Newman. Newman's victory came as something of a surprise. Barnard had held the seat since 1954 and had usually skated to reelection. However, in the by-election, Labor's primary vote plummeted by more than 17 percent, and Newman took the seat off Labor with a resounding 60 percent of the two-party vote. Newman actually won 57.6 percent of the primary vote, enough to win the seat outright.
The shock loss of Bass is widely reckoned as the beginning of the end for
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
, whose government was
dismissed from office six months later.
Results
See also
*
List of Australian federal by-elections
This is a list of by-elections for the House of Representatives from its creation in 1901 until the present day.
Casual vacancies in the House of Representatives arise when a member dies, is disqualified or resigns, or for some other reason the ...
References
{{Aus by-elections 29th parl
1975 elections in Australia
Tasmanian federal by-elections
1970s in Tasmania
June 1975 events in Australia