The 1997 Fraser by-election was held in the Australian electorate of

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

on 1 February 1997. The

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 triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

John Langmore John Vance Langmore (born 3 September 1939) is an Australian academic and politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1984 to 1996. He studied for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Melbourne, a ...

on 6 December 1996. The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 December 1996.

Background

had held the seat of Fraser since the 1984 election, but resigned to take up the post of Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. Cheryl Hill had previously stood for election in Fraser as a

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 in the 1996 federal election. She had also unsuccessfully stood for election 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 ...

seat of Bulli in the 1991 New South Wales election. By the time of the Fraser by-election, Hill had resigned from the Liberal Party because of the party's attitude to race and immigration, and chose to run as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

.Hill, Cheryl Anne
''Australian Women Biographical Entry''.

Results

Aftermath

The by-election was won easily by

Steve Dargavel Steven John Dargavel (born 10 June 1966) is a former Australian politician. Dargavel was born in Traralgon, Victoria and received an Associate Diploma in Welfare Studies from Monash University. He then worked as a youth refuge worker, youth ...

, the ALP candidate, who held the seat until 1998 when he lost preselection in favour of

Bob McMullan Robert Francis McMullan (born 10 December 1947) is an Australian former politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He was the first person to represent the Australian Capital Ter ...

. Dargavel's election saw only a minor swing away from the ALP, a remarkable result since the by-election fielded ten candidates in contrast to three candidates in the previous general election in 1996. In contrast to Dargavel as the ALP candidate, the absence of the Liberal Party in the by-election and with their 1996 candidate Cheryl Hill running as an independent, the by-election saw Hill's personal vote dropped more than 20% in the primary vote and a fall of 8% in the two-candidate preferred basis.

References

External links

Fraser (ACT) By-Election (1 February 1997)

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser By-Election, 1997 1997 elections in Australia Australian Capital Territory federal by-elections 1990s in the Australian Capital Territory February 1997 events in Australia

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References

External links