The 1990 Cottesloe state by-election was 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 ...

for the seat of Cottesloe in the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

held on 11 August 1990. It was triggered by the resignation of

Bill Hassell William Ralph Boucher Hassell, best known as Bill Hassell, (born 6 June 1943) is an Australian former Liberal Party politician who was Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia during the mid-1980s. He was a member of the Western Australian ...

(the sitting

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member and former leader of the opposition) on 28 June 1990. The Liberal Party retained Cottesloe at the election with an increased majority, with

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...

(an economist) securing 70.26 percent of the

two-party-preferred In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...

vote. The Labor Party did not field a candidate.

Background

had held Cottesloe for the Liberal Party since the 1977 state election. He replaced

Ray O'Connor Raymond James O'Connor (6 March 1926 – 25 February 2013) was an Australian politician who served as the premier of Western Australia from 25 January 1982 to 25 February 1983. He was a member of parliament from 1959 to 1984, and a minister in ...

as leader of the Liberal Party (and thus as leader of the opposition) in February 1984, but was replaced as leader by Barry MacKinnon in November 1986, having lost the 1986 election earlier in the year. He remained in the shadow ministry until shortly before his resignation from parliament, which occurred on 28 June 1990. The writ for the by-election was issued on 10 July, with the close of nominations on 18 July. Polling day was on 11 August, with the writ returned on 22 August.

Results

* Note: the Ross Hutchinson who stood as an independent at this by-election is a different person to Sir

Ross Hutchinson Sir Ross Hutchinson, DFC (10 September 1914 – 19 December 1999) was an Australian rules footballer, coach and politician. He played for and coached East Fremantle, West Perth and South Fremantle in the West Australian National Football Le ...

, who held Cottesloe as a Liberal from 1950 to 1977.

Aftermath

Barnett has retained Cottesloe at every state election since 1990. He was a minister in the government of

Richard Court Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...

, and was deputy leader from 1993 to 2001. He led the party from 2001 to 2005 without electoral success, but was re-elected leader prior to the 2008 state election and subsequently became premier, a position which he held until 2017.Colin James Barnett
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 October 2016.

References

{{Reflist Western Australian state by-elections 1990 elections in Australia 1990s in Perth, Western Australia

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References