The 2007 Williamstown 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 ...

held on 15 September 2007 for the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

electorate of Williamstown in suburban

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The by-election was triggered when

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 ...

, the Labor Party member for Williamstown and outgoing

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly ...

, resigned from politics on 30 July 2007. Bracks had held the seat since 1994, and had been leader of the state Labor Party since 1999, serving as Premier from 1999 to 2007. Williamstown is generally considered a safe seat for the ALP, and Bracks' predecessor in the seat,

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

, was also a former Premier. With the resignation of Premier

on 30 July 2007, a by-election was required. On 4 August 2007 Janet Rice was confirmed to be the candidate for

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties * Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina * Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *G ...

; the previous day (3 August 2007) 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 ...

had confirmed that they would not run a candidate. This left Janet Rice as the person most likely to displace an ALP candidate, although she would need to greatly improve upon the vote that the Greens received in the 2006 state election. Former

Transport Workers Union of Australia The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) is a trade union with members throughout Australia. It has 5 main branches based in: Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales; Queensland; Victoria/Tasmania; South Australia/Northern Territory ...

assistant secretary

Wade Noonan Wade Mathew Noonan (born 7 April 1971) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2018, representing the electorate of Williamstown. He was a minister in the Andrews Ministry fro ...

held the seat for Labor.

Results

Notes

Victorian state by-elections 2007 elections in Australia 2000s in Victoria (state) {{australia-election-stub