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

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

on 4 December 1982. It was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member and former

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 ...

deputy leader, Sir Phillip Lynch. Fifteen people nominated for Liberal preselection, including Jim Short, Roger Johnston and Richard Alston."Lynch announces resignation PM decides on Flinders by-election"
Teresa Mannix, ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'', 23 October 1982. The Labor candidate, Rogan Ward, was a previous mayor of the former City of Frankston. The by-election was won by Liberal Party candidate

Peter Reith Peter Keaston Reith (15 July 1950 – 8 November 2022) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1983 and from 1984 to 2001, representing the Liberal Party. He was the party's deputy leader from 1990 ...

. Parliament was in session until 15 December, but Reith chose not to attend to be sworn in then. On 3 February 1983, before Parliament could meet following the by-election, the Prime Minister,

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

, called a

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...

election for

5 March Events Pre-1600 * 363 – Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. * 1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern ...

. Reith lost his seat but was re-elected at the December 1984 election. Rogan Ward was the ALP candidate at the by-election but due to dissatisfaction with his candidacy was not again the candidate at the 1983 election. The successful ALP candidate was instead

Bob Chynoweth Robert Leslie Chynoweth (born 7 June 1941) is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. Chynoweth was born in Richmond, an inner s ...

. Chynoweth did not face a rematch with Reith in 1984, instead successfully transferring to the seat of Dunkley. Opponents of the

Franklin Dam The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant e ...

in Tasmania (which was eventually vetoed by the incoming Hawke Government in 1983) used the Flinders by-election as an informal referendum. 41% of Liberal voters wrote "No Dams" on their ballot-papers. This had no legal effect but did not invalidate their votes.

Results

References

{{Aus by-elections 32nd parl 1982 elections in Australia Victorian federal by-elections 1980s in Victoria (Australia)

Results

See also

References