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 Balcatta 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 ...

was held on 28 July 1973. It was triggered by the resignation of

Herb Graham Herbert Ernst Graham (6 April 1911 – 17 March 1982) was an Australian politician. Biography Graham was born in Narrogin, Western Australia on 6 April 1911 to parents from South Australia. Graham attended school in Narrogin and Northam. H ...

, the

deputy premier 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, ...

in the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

government of

John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin AC (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995), popularly known as "Honest John", was an Australian politician. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for a record 44 ...

, on 30 May 1973. Like the earlier 1971 Ascot by-election, the Balcatta by-election was of great importance to the Labor Party, as a loss would have seen it reduced to

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

. The party retained the seat despite a 16.5-point negative swing, with Brian Burke (a future

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

) outpolling the

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 ...

candidate, Neil Beck, by only 30 votes on 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, ...

count. Burke had been behind Beck on

first preferences In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...

, but passed him after the preferences of the

Australia Party The Australia Party was a minor political party established initially in 1966 as the Liberal Reform Group. As the Australia Party, it became influential, particularly in the landmark 1972 federal election when its preferences assisted the Austr ...

candidate were distributed.

Background

had held Balcatta for the Labor Party since the seat's re-creation at the 1962 state election, and had served in parliament since 1943. He was made

under

following Labor's victory at the 1971 election, but the pair had frequent differences of opinion. Graham resigned from parliament on 30 May 1973 and was instead appointed chairman of the Licensing Court of Western Australia. After his resignation, the writ for the by-election was issued on 1 June, with the close of nominations on 28 June. Polling day was on 28 July, with the writ returned on 17 August. On the same day that Graham announced his retirement, Brian Burke made his decision to seek Labor

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

for Balcatta. He faced an uphill battle, with state secretary Joe Chamberlain wanting Patricia Giles preselected. With the help of his brother

Terry Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albrit ...

and a particularly good performance by Burke at a preselection meeting, he became Labor's candidate. As the Labor Party only had a one seat majority, the by-election would determine whether it would remain in office. Having undertaken an opinion poll of the seat, Burke realised he was most likely not going to win, so he asked acting state secretary

Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...

for money to fund his campaign. Beazley gave Burke's campaign $6,000, which was all the money in the party's electoral account, angering Chamberlain as the money was meant for the upcoming full state election. At the by-election, Burke defeated the

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 by 30 votes as measured on a

basis. He was sworn into parliament on 5 August 1973.

Results

Aftermath

The Tonkin government was defeated at the 1974 state election, which also saw Balcatta abolished in a redistribution. Burke transferred to the seat of Balga, and remained in parliament until his retirement in 1988. He was elected leader of the Labor Party in 1981, and became premier at the 1983 state election.Brian Thomas Burke
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 January 2017.

References

{{Reflist Western Australian state by-elections 1973 elections in Australia July 1973 events in Australia 1970s in Perth, Western Australia

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References