2009 Higgins by-election

The 2009 Higgins by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives Division of Higgins on 5 December 2009.[1] This was triggered by the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello.[2] The by-election was held on the same day as the Bradfield by-election.

2009 Higgins by-election

5 December 2009

Candidate Kelly O'Dwyer Clive Hamilton Party Liberal Greens Popular vote 36,421 21,628 Percentage 54.6% 32.4%

Location of Higgins within metropolitan Melbourne

MP before election Peter Costello Liberal Elected MP Kelly O'Dwyer Liberal

It was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Higgins at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party with 57.04 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, the closest result in the seat's 60-year history. The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.

The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed 12 November, and were announced the following day.[3] The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate.

Both the Higgins and Bradfield by-elections were the last by-elections for the House of Representatives until the 2014 Griffith by-election.

Background

Costello first won the seat of Higgins at the 1990 federal election, and retained the seat in the six subsequent elections. At the 2007 federal election, the opposition Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party defeated the incumbent John Howard-led Liberal-National coalition government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Costello was deputy Liberal leader since 1994, firstly under Alexander Downer and then under John Howard, and was Treasurer in the Howard government from its formation in 1996. On the defeat of the Howard government in 2007, Costello declined to become Liberal leader and a position in the shadow ministry and returned to the backbenches.[4] Costello had initially indicated (15 June 2009) he would stay as the member until the next election, at which time he would retire from parliament. However on 7 October 2009, Costello announced he would be resigning from Parliament when it resumed later in the month. He resigned on 19 October 2009.[5]

Campaign

A polling booth at Toorak on polling day

The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate for the by-election.

The Higgins and Bradfield by-election campaigns were overshadowed by Liberal infighting over Labor Party government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, culminating in the replacement of Malcolm Turnbull with Tony Abbott as Liberal leader. Although fairly safe on paper, some commentators including Malcolm Mackerras tipped the Greens to defeat the Liberals in Higgins, and force the Liberals to preferences in Bradfield.[6][7]

Liberal Party candidate Kelly O'Dwyer focussed her campaigning on local issues and attempted to distance herself from federal affairs, whereas the Greens Clive Hamilton campaigned primarily for stronger action on climate change.[8]

Candidates

The following table is the order and party affiliation of each candidate that has nominated to contest the seat of Higgins. Candidates are placed in the order of the ballot paper.[9]

Ballot Number		Party	Candidate	Profession	Notes
1		Independent	Stephen Murphy	Computer programmer	Supported by the unregistered Climate Sceptics Party[10]
2		Australian Sex Party	Fiona Patten	Party leader	[11]
3		Liberal Party of Australia	Kelly O'Dwyer	Executive, National Australia Bank	Former staffer for Peter Costello[12]
4		Liberal Democratic Party	Isaac Roberts	Accountant
5		Australian Greens	Dr Clive Hamilton	Professor of Public Ethics, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics	Former Executive Director, the Australia Institute[13]
6		Australian Democrats	David Collyer	Former Parliamentary Advisor	Worked for former senator Lyn Allison[14]
7		Independent	Joseph Toscano	Anarchist campaigner
8		One Nation	Steve Raskovy		Former Hungarian wrestler and refugee[15]
9		Independent	Peter Brohier	Lawyer
10		Democratic Labor Party	John Mulholland	Psychologist

The Australian Labor Party did not stand a candidate.

Results

The Liberal Party easily retained the seat.[16]

Higgins by-election, 2009[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Kelly O'Dwyer	36,421	54.57	+0.96
	Greens	Clive Hamilton	21,628	32.40	+21.65
	Democratic Labour	John Mulholland	2,572	3.85	+3.85
	Sex Party	Fiona Patten	2,144	3.21	+3.21
	Democrats	David Collyer	1,531	2.29	+1.08
	Independent	Stephen Murphy	1,145	1.72	+1.72
	Independent	Joseph Toscano	523	0.78	+0.78
	Liberal Democrats	Isaac Roberts	336	0.50	+0.50
	Independent	Peter Brohier	236	0.35	+0.35
	One Nation	Steve Raskovy	211	0.32	+0.32
Total formal votes			66,747	95.85	−1.58
Informal votes			2,870	4.15	+1.58
Turnout			69,637	79.00	−14.77
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Liberal	Kelly O'Dwyer	40,203	60.23	+3.19
	Greens	Clive Hamilton	26,544	39.77	+39.77
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of Australian federal by-elections
• 1968 Higgins by-election

References

1. Higgins, Bradfield by-elections announced, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 26 October 2009.
2. "Peter Costello to resign from federal Parliament: The Australian 7/10/2009". Theaustralian.news.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
3. "Candidates for Higgins (Vic) 2009 by-election (Saturday 5 December)". AEC. 8 June 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
4. "Costello won't stand". The Sydney Morning Herald.
5. "The Hon Peter Costello MP". aph.gov.au.
6. "Mackerras predicts boilover in Higgins: The Australian 3 December 2009". The Australian. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
7. Grattan, Michelle (4 December 2009). "A day that changed everything: SMH 4 December 2009". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
8. Milanda Rout, Higgins hopeful in climate-change push, The Australian, December 2009
9. "The AEC has recently restructured our content". Aec.gov.au. 8 June 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
10. "Higgins by-election: December 5 – The Poll Bludger". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
11. "Parliament 'needs a sex party': The Australian 6 November 2009". News.com.au. 6 November 2009. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
12. "Kelly O'Dwyer secures preselection for Peter Costello's seat of Higgins: Herald Sun 17/09/2009". Herald Sun. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
13. "Greens announce candidate for Higgins: ABC News 23/10/2009". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
14. "Australian DemocratsAustralian Democrats Press Releases". Democrats.org.au. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
15. Strong, Geoff (5 November 2009). "Olympian steps up to grapple for Higgins: SMH 5 November 2009". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
16. Antony Green (5 December 2009). "Antony Green by-election commentary". ABC. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
17. Virtual Tally Room: AEC Archived 11 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Higgins by-election: Antony Green ABC
• Higgins by-election: The Poll Bludger