The 2000 Isaacs by-election was held in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n electorate of

Isaacs Isaacs may refer to: * The Isaacs, a bluegrass Southern gospel music group * Isaacs (surname) * Isaacs, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra, Australia * Division of Isaacs, a federal electoral division in Victoria, Australia * Divisi ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on 12 August 2000. 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 death 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 the f ...

Greg Wilton Gregory Stuart Wilton (6 November 195514 June 2000) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Isaacs, from 1996 until his suicide at the age of 44. He is the only ser ...

on 14 June 2000. The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 June 2000.

Background

The Labor Party's member for Isaacs,

, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on 14 June 2000. Wilton's marriage had broken down earlier in the year, and shortly afterwards

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

arrested Wilton after finding him, clearly distressed, with his children in a car in the

You Yangs The You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise up to above the flat and low-lying Werribee Plain in southern Victoria, Australia, approximately due west of the rural town of Little River, southwest of Melbourne CBD and north of Ge ...

national park. While Wilton's intentions on the day were unclear, unrestrained media coverage of the incident was considered by his colleagues to have contributed to his eventual suicide six weeks later. The Isaacs by-election was the first election in Australia to be held after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax on 1 July 2000, and 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 ...

declined to run a candidate. Labor's preselection was a messy battle with the party's left faction proposing to pre-select

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossing ...

, the former state president of the Labor Party and an advisor to

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 ...

Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 ...

. They were overridden by the party's federal executive, who put forward

Ann Corcoran Ann Kathleen Corcoran (born 21 September 1951) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 2000 to 2007, representing the Victorian seat of Isaacs for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She was an acco ...

, although the change resulted in a convoluted factional deal in which pre-selection ballots were altered after their submission.

Results

Aftermath

The Labor Party held the seat of Isaacs, with a primary vote swing of 8.11 towards them. The lack of a Liberal candidate saw positive primary vote swings towards all the minor parties, in particular the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...

, the main rival on a

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, ...

basis. Ann Corcoran went on to hold the seat in the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and 2004 federal elections, but lost pre-selection prior to the 2007 election.Green, Antony
Federal Election Guide 2007 - Isaacs

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

References

External links

Isaacs (VIC) By-Election (12 August 2000) Results

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 ...

{{Aus by-elections 39th parl 2000 elections in Australia Victorian federal by-elections 2000s in Victoria (Australia)

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References

External links