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 Nedlands 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 9 June 2001. It was triggered by the resignation of
Richard Court
Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...
, 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 and a former
premier, on 27 April 2001. The Liberal candidate at the by-election,
Sue Walker, retained the seat with 53.4 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, ...
(2CP) vote, a negative swing of 1.5 points from the
2001 state election. The
Greens made the final 2CP count for only the second time in their history (the first being at the
1990 Cottesloe by-election).
Background
Richard Court
Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...
had held Nedlands for the Liberal Party since winning
a 1982 by-election. He replaced his father, 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 also emulated his father in becoming leader of the Liberal Party (in 1992) and premier (after the
1993 state election). Court's government was defeated at the
2001 state election, and he resigned as leader of the Liberal Party a few weeks later. He resigned from parliament altogether on 27 April 2001, with the writ for the by-election issued on 10 May and the close of nominations on 18 May. Polling day was on 9 June, with the writ returned on 13 June.
Results
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;",
Liberals for Forests
Liberals for Forests was an Australian political minor party. It contested both state and federal elections between 2002 and 2008, but only ever achieved one elected representative – Janet Woollard (elected as an Independent) in Western Aust ...
, style="text-align:left;", Robin Collin
, style="text-align:right;", 1,928
, style="text-align:right;", 12.2
, style="text-align:right;", –6.1
, -
Aftermath
Walker held Nedlands until her defeat at the
2008 state election. She sat as an independent for the last months of her term.
"Nedlands MP Sue Walker to run as Independent"
news.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
See also
* Electoral results for the district of Nedlands
* List of Western Australian state by-elections
* Women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
There have been 66 women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since its establishment in 1890. Women have had the right to vote since 1899 and the right to stand as candidates since 1920.
The first successful female candidate for the L ...
References
{{Reflist
Western Australian state by-elections
2001 elections in Australia
June 2001 events in Australia
2000s in Perth, Western Australia