The 1991 Floreat 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 Floreat 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 20 July 1991. It was triggered by the resignation of

Andrew Mensaros Andrew Mensaros, (25 November 1921 – 29 May 1991), was a politician in Western Australia. Born in Hungary, and educated at the University of Budapest. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative ...

(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) on 16 May 1991, due to ill health. He died before the by-election was held. The election was won by 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 ...

candidate,

Liz Constable Elizabeth Constable (born 2 December 1943) is a former Independent member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, firstly representing the seat of Floreat after winning it at a 1991 by-election following the resignation of Andrew Mens ...

, who finished with 58.94 percent of the

two-candidate-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. Constable became the first woman to win election to the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Ass ...

as an independent (although not the first to sit as an independent –

Pam Buchanan Pamela Ann Buchanan (née Slocombe; 6 February 1937 – 31 March 1992) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia between 1983 and 1992. She represented the Labor Party for the majority of h ...

had resigned from the Labor Party earlier in the year), and only the third woman overall to win a by-election (after

May Holman Mary Alice "May" Holman (18 July 1893 – 20 March 1939) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1925 until her death in 1939. She was th ...

in 1925 and

Judy Edwards Judith Mary Edwards (born 10 April 1955) in Beverley, Western Australia is an Australian politician. She was the ALP member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from May 1990 to September 2008, representing the electorate of Mayland ...

in 1990).

Background

, a Hungarian immigrant, had held Floreat for the Liberal Party since the seat's creation at the 1968 state election. He served as a minister in the governments of Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

and

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 ...

. Mensaros resigned from parliament on 16 May 1991, due to ill health, and died of cancer thirteen days later. The writ for the by-election was issued on 14 June, with the close of nominations on 27 June. Polling day was on 20 July, with the writ returned on 31 July. The Labor Party chose not to contest the by-election, as Floreat was regarded as a Liberal

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

. Michael Huston won

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 the Liberal Party, with the endorsement of Senator

Noel Crichton-Browne Noel Ashley Crichton-Browne (born 2 February 1944 at Wiluna, Western Australia) is a former member of the Australian Senate and political lobbyist. Early life Crichton-Browne was educated at Scotch College, Perth. Before his career in politics ...

(a powerbroker).The Lawrence Government: Perspective by David Black - Part 2
Carmen Lawrence Collection, Curtin University Library. Retrieved 3 October 2016.

had initially contested Liberal preselection, but withdrew from the process amid claims of

branch stacking A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' twig'' usuall ...

. She subsequently resigned from the party and chose to contest the election as an independent. She was supported by a former Liberal MP,

Dick Old Richard Charles Old (3 December 1922 – 29 June 2007) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1974 to 1986. He was state leader of the National Country Party (NCP) from 1975 to 1985, ...

, who also resigned from the party in solidarity.

Results

Aftermath

Constable retained Floreat with an increased majority at the 1993 state election. The seat was abolished at the 1996 election, but she transferred to the new seat of Churchlands, which she held until her retirement at the 2013 election. Her chief opponent at the by-election, Michael Huston, contested the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

at the 1996 federal election, but was placed in the unwinnable fourth position on the Liberal ticket.Black, David (1989). ''An index to Parliamentary Candidates in Western Australian Elections, 1890–1989''. Parliament of Western Australia,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. p. 50.

References

{{Reflist Western Australian state by-elections 1991 elections in Australia July 1991 events in Australia 1990s in Perth, Western Australia

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References