1986 Pittwater state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Pittwater on 31 May 1986. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting Liberal MP Max Smith.[1] The by-election was won by Liberal candidate Jim Longley.[2]

Background

Labor did not stand a candidate in the by-election, and as a result, this election was almost won by professional surfer and former world surfing champion Nat Young, who ran on a largely environmental ticket.[3][4]

Results

1986 Pittwater state by-election [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Jim Longley	10,922	42.8	-15.3
	Independent	Nat Young	6,177	24.2	+24.2
	Independent	Robert Grace	5,006	19.6	+19.6
	Call to Australia	Mark Donnelly	1,451	5.7	+5.7
	Democrats	Graeme MacLennan	1,290	4.9	+0.7
	Nuclear Disarmament	Virginia Rigney	643	2.5	+2.5
	Independent	Brett Monk	62	0.2	+0.2
	Labor	-	0	0.0	-25.4
Total formal votes			25,501	97.5	−0.3
Informal votes			649	2.5	+0.3
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Jim Longley	13,000	53.1	−12.4
	Independent	Nat Young	11,468	46.9	+46.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	−12.4

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Pittwater

References

1. "Mr Richard Max Smith". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
2. Green, Antony. "1986 by-election for the District of Pittwater". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
3. Warshaw, Matt (29 April 2011). The History of Surfing. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452100944.
4. "Pittwater 2015". NSW Election 2015. ABC News. Retrieved 12 April 2017.