1987 Heathcote State By-election
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A by-election was held for the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
electorate of
Heathcote Heathcote may refer to: Places in Australia *Heathcote, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney **Electoral district of Heathcote, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly **Heathcote National Park ** Parish of Heathcote a parish of Cumberla ...
on 31 January 1987 following the resignation of sitting Labor party member Rex Jackson amidst a corruption scandal that ultimately led to his imprisonment. Jackson was facing conspiracy charges arising from his role as Minister for Corrective Services and Jackson resigned so that he could use his superannuation payout to meet his legal costs, where the government has ceased paying those costs in March 1985. Jackson said "The Government's put me in a position where I've got no choice. What the Labor Party has done to me is absolutely outrageous". The Labor government delayed the by-election as long as possible, arguing that it was not possible to hold an election during Jackson's trial or while Parliament was sitting. The Leader of the Opposition,
Nick Greiner Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner (;) (born 27 April 1947) is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 an ...
, rejected this argument, declaring that the election was only delayed in an attempt to allow any bad press from the corruption trial to die down. The election finally came on 31 January 1987, and was rarely short of drama: Jackson, with criminal charges hanging over his head, entered as a
spoiler candidate Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. Vote spl ...
; the Liberals found themselves in hot water over an illegally large billboard prominently placed on the electorate's border over the
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
; and the ALP were accused of sabotage after vandals cut loose from its moorings a Liberal advertising
blimp A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...
. The Heathcote by-election was held the same day as the Bankstown by-election.


Dates


Results

, - , ,   , style="text-align:left;", Community Conservation Team , style="text-align:left;", Jim Powell , style="text-align:right;", 1,490 , style="text-align:right;", 5.1 , style="text-align:right;", +5.1 , - , - , ,   , style="text-align:left;", Centre Unity , style="text-align:left;", Colin Poulos , style="text-align:right;", 179 , style="text-align:right;", 0.6 , style="text-align:right;", +0.6 , - , - , ,   , style="text-align:left;", Illawarra Workers , style="text-align:left;", Cecil Lloyd , style="text-align:right;", 18 , style="text-align:right;", 0.1 , style="text-align:right;", +0.1 , - Labor party member Rex Jackson resigned.


See also

* Electoral results for the district of Heathcote *
List of New South Wales state by-elections This is a list of by-elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. A by-election may be held when a member's seat becomes vacant through resignation, death or some other reasons. These are referred to as casual vacancies. *Brackets aro ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote 1987 1987 elections in Australia New South Wales state by-elections 1980s in New South Wales