1982 Nedlands state by-election

The 1982 Nedlands state by-election was a by-election held on 13 March 1982 for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Nedlands in the western suburbs of Perth.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the Liberal member for the seat, Premier Sir Charles Court, on 25 January 1982. Court had held the seat since the 1953 state election. Having served as a senior minister in the Brand–Watts Ministry and then as Premier since the 1974 state election, his retirement had been widely expected and was announced on 18 December, a few months after his 70th birthday. He claimed that he had delayed his retirement to carry through the battle against the federal government over funding for Western Australia.[1]

On 2 February 1982, the Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly issued a writ for an election in the district. It was to be held concurrently with a by-election in the Labor-held seat of Swan and a legislative council by-election for South Metropolitan.[2] His son, 33-year-old businessman Richard Court, was preselected for the Liberal Party to run for the seat.[3]

The seat of Nedlands, first established in 1929,[4] was considered to be a safe seat for the Liberal Party, and had had just two other members since its creation—former Attorney-General and leader of the Nationalist Party, Norbert Keenan, and the independent Liberal member David Grayden, who served for a single term from 1950 until his defeat in 1953 by Court.[2]

Timeline
Date Event
18 December 1981 Sir Charles Court announced that he would resign as Premier and as a member of Parliament.
25 January 1982 Court's resignation took effect; Ray O'Connor became premier, and the seat of Nedlands became vacant.
2 February 1982 Writs were issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to proceed with a by-election.[2]
17 February 1982 Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers.
13 March 1982 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
22 March 1982 The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Candidates

The by-election attracted six candidates. Local businesswoman and long-standing Liberal Party member Margaret Sheen nominated as an Independent Liberal, while the Labor Party nominated lawyer Ian Temby QC, who had been prominent in assisting the Labor Party with court challenges to the government's electoral legislation. Temby accused local real estate agents of discriminating against him with a view to preventing him from obtaining a campaign office.[3] The Australian Democrats, perennial independent candidate Alf Bussell and another independent who had also stood at the 1977 and 1980 elections also nominated.

Results

As largely predicted, Richard Court retained the seat for the Liberal Party, albeit against an estimated swing of 9.1% to the ALP.[5]

Nedlands state by-election, 1982[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Richard Court 5,261 49.48 –18.31
Labor Ian Temby 3,542 33.31 +6.67
Independent Liberal Margaret Sheen 1,020 9.59 +9.59
Democrats Malcolm McKercher 745 7.01 +7.01
Independent Alf Bussell 48 0.45 +0.45
Independent James Croasdale 16 0.15 –5.42
Total formal votes 10,632 98.27 +0.72
Informal votes 187 1.73 -0.72
Turnout 10,819 79.76 –8.51
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Richard Court 59.8 –9.1
Labor Ian Temby 40.2 +9.1
Liberal hold Swing–9.1
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References
  1. Black, David (April 1982). "Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1981". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 28 (1): 121. ISSN 0004-9522.
  2. Black, David; Prescott, Valerie (1997). Election statistics, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890–1996. Perth: Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission. ISBN 0-7309-8409-5. p. 245.
  3. Black, David (December 1982). "Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1982". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 28 (3): 450. ISSN 0004-9522.
  4. Government of Western Australia (1930). "Redistribution of Seats Act (No 1 of 1929)". Statutes of Western Australia, 1929-1930. pp. 1–56. Given assent on 15 April 1929.
  5. Until 1987, electoral legislation only required preference distribution until one party obtained 50% or more; this happened on the third preference distribution. However, Malcolm Mackerras estimated a two-party count for the election.
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