2015 Davenport state by-election

A by-election for the seat of Davenport in the South Australian House of Assembly was held on 31 January 2015. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Party of Australia MP and former Liberal leader Iain Evans, who retained the seat at the 2014 election on a 58.1 (−2.8) percent two-party-preferred vote.[1][2][3] Liberal Sam Duluk went on to win the seat despite a five-point two-party swing, turning the historically safe seat of Davenport in to a marginal for the first time.[4]

Electoral district of Davenport in the southern metropolitan area of Adelaide. Suburbs include Bedford Park, Bellevue Heights, Blackwood, Craigburn Farm, Coromandel Valley, Eden Hills, Flagstaff Hill, Glenalta, Hawthorndene and parts of Belair, Darlington, O'Halloran Hill, Upper Sturt.

The by-election was held on the same day as the 2015 Queensland state election.

Dates

Date	Event[5]
3 January 2015	Writ of election issued by the Governor
13 January 2015	Close of electoral rolls
16 January 2015	Close of nominations
31 January 2015	Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm

Candidates

5 candidates in ballot paper order[5]
	Liberal Party of Australia	Sam Duluk	Accountant. Liberal candidate for seat of Fisher at the previous election.[5]
	Family First Party	Natasha Edmonds	Family First candidate for Davenport at the previous election.[5]
	Independent Australian Democrats	Jeanie Walker	Involved in property investing and management and is an Aboriginal Family Violence Case Manager. Contested the 2014 Fisher by-election.[5]
	Australian Labor Party	Mark Ward	City of Mitcham councillor for last eight years, has served as Deputy Mayor. Urrbrae Agricultural High School teacher. Centennial Park Cemetery board member.[5]
	Greens	Jody Moate	Retail sector worker. Volunteers with numerous community groups.[5]

Result

Davenport state by-election, 31 January 2015[6][7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Sam Duluk	9,740	46.9	−4.1
	Labor	Mark Ward	6,927	33.4	+4.8
	Greens	Jody Moate	2,584	12.5	−2.8
	Family First	Natasha Edmonds	816	3.9	−1.2
	Independent Australian Democrats	Jeanie Walker	685	3.3	+3.3
Total formal votes			20,752	97.1	−0.7
Informal votes			613	2.9	+0.7
Turnout			21,365	85.7	−7.7
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Sam Duluk	11,021	53.1	−5.0
	Labor	Mark Ward	9,731	46.9	+5.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.0

Liberal Sam Duluk won the seat with a -4.1 point swing, with the Liberal party failing to win outright and relying on preferences.[4] South Australian Newspoll at the time of the Davenport by-election recorded a statewide seven percent two-party swing from Liberal to Labor. ABC election analyst Antony Green described the Davenport by-election as "another poor result for the South Australian Liberal Party"[9] following the 2014 Fisher by-election which saw Labor go from minority to majority government following a 7.3 percent two-party swing.[10] As with the Fisher by-election, much of the anti-Liberal swing was attributed to the unpopularity of then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and a remark from then Defence Minister David Johnston several days before the Fisher by-election that he wouldn't trust South Australia's Australian Submarine Corporation to "build a canoe".[11][12][13] Additionally, just a couple of days before the Davenport by-election, Abbott's infamous knighting of Prince Philip occurred.[14][15][16]

See also

• 2014 Fisher state by-election
• 2018 South Australian state election#Polling
• List of South Australian House of Assembly by-elections
• Electoral results for the district of Davenport

References

1. "South Australia set for two by-elections, in Fisher and Davenport state electorates". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
2. Speaker Michael Atkinson defends decision to separate two SA by-elections: ABC 21 October 2014
3. Davenport by-election date in South Australia set for January 31: ABC 13 November 2014
4. Liberals withstand swing to win by-election in South Australian seat of Davenport: ABC 31 January 2015
5. 2015 Davenport by-election: Antony Green ABC
6. Distribution of preferences, 2015 Davenport by-election: ECSA
7. 2015 Davenport by-election result: Antony Green ABC
8. 2015 Davenport by-election result: ECSA
9. 2015 Davenport by-election commentary: Antony Green ABC
10. Fisher by-election win for Labor gives Weatherill Government majority in SA: ABC 13 December 2014
11. Defence Minister says he 'wouldn't trust' Australian Submarine Corporation to build a canoe: ABC 25 November 2014
12. Is Tony Abbott the hazard for Liberals in Fisher by-election?: The Advertiser 30 November 2014
13. Abbott government forced into sub-mission after shock loss in South Australia: Sydney Morning Herald 9 December 2014
14. Davenport by-election: Tony Abbott's decision to knight Prince Phillip could affect voters: ABC 29 January 2015
15. Large swing to Labor at SA by-election another warning to PM Abbott: Nine News 2 February 2015
16. Tony Abbott reels from Queensland election debacle: Financial Review 2 February 2015

External links

• 2015 Davenport By-election: Antony Green ABC
• 2015 Davenport By-election: ECSA
• How-To-Vote (HTV) cards, 2015 Davenport By-election: ECSA