Miranda state by-election, 2013

Electoral district of Miranda in southern metropolitan Sydney. Suburbs include Como, Bonnet Bay, Oyster Bay, Kareela, Kirrawee, Gymea, Gymea Bay, Grays Point and parts of Sylvania, Miranda and Jannali.

A by-election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Miranda occurred on 19 October 2013. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal member Graham Annesley, which was announced on 28 August 2013. Labor's Barry Collier won the seat with a 55 percent two-party vote from a 26-point two-party swing, the largest swing in New South Wales history.[1][2][3][4]

Background

The Liberal member for Miranda, Graham Annesley, resigned from the New South Wales Parliament and as Minister for Sport and Recreation on 28 August 2013 to take up the post of chief executive officer of the Gold Coast Titans rugby league team.[5] Annesley in his resignation to Parliament said he never regarded himself as a politician and that there were many aspects of politics he did not care for and he has always felt more at home as a sports administrator.[6][7]

A central Sutherland Shire electorate, Miranda crosses the peninsula between the Georges River and Port Hacking. It includes the suburbs of Como, Bonnet Bay, Oyster Bay, Kareela, Kirrawee, Gymea, Gymea Bay, Grays Point and parts of Sylvania, Miranda and Jannali. The seat's federal equivalent is in the western half of the Division of Cook.[1]

Created in 1971, Miranda had traditionally been a Liberal electorate. It had only been won by Labor in landslide elections, two under Neville Wran in 1978 and 1981, and again under Bob Carr in 1999 and 2003. According to ABC psephologist Antony Green, the seat should have been recovered by the Liberals in 2007 but was narrowly retained by Labor. Going into the 2011 election, Miranda was Labor's most marginal seat, with a 0.8 percent two-party margin. In the 2011 election, the Liberals won government in a landslide. In the process, they picked up a large enough swing in Miranda to turn it into a very safe Liberal seat on paper in one stroke, with a 21.0 percent two-party margin. There were 39 seats held by the Coalition on smaller margins.[1]

Campaign

Questions were raised over the Liberal-controlled Sutherland Shire Council's alleged property development favours in their draft Local Environmental Plan.[8]

Internal Liberal Party polling conducted two weeks before the by-election produced a 54–46 lead to Labor indicating a 25-point two-party swing against the Liberal government,[9][10] however a follow-up internal Liberal Party poll had the Liberals "marginally in front".[11] Sportsbet offered $1.25 for the Liberals against $3.50 for Labor[12] with Antony Green predicting a Liberal retain.[1] Both major party leaders played down expectations of a win.[11]

Dates

Date Event[1][13]
20 September 2013 Writ of election issued by the Governor and close of electoral rolls
2 October 2013 Close of party nominations
3 October 2013 Close of independent nominations
8 October 2013 Pre-poll and iVote voting began
18 October 2013 Pre-poll and iVote voting closed
19 October 2013 Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm
23 October 2013 Postal vote declaration closed

Candidates

The six candidates in ballot paper order were:

Candidate nominations[13][14]
  Greens NSW Murray Scott Retired physicist, worked for AAEC and CSIRO at Lucas Heights.[1]
  Independent Lisa Walters Campaigned against a new rail timetable which cut the number of trains stopping at Como station.[1]
  Australian Labor Party Barry Collier Miranda Labor MP 1999–2011.[1][15]
  Christian Democratic Party George Capsis Former Sutherland Shire Councillor 2008–2012 and Deputy Mayor 2011–2012, CDP upper house candidate federally in 2001 and 2004 and state in 2003.[1][16]
  Liberal Party of Australia Brett Thomas Former Sutherland Shire Councillor 1995–1999, Liberal candidate for Menai in 1999 and 2003.[1][17]
  John Brett Retired road and rail engineer, independent candidate for Miranda in 2007 on 1.6% and 2011 on 4.7%.[1][18]

Results

Miranda state by-election, 2013[19][20][21][22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labor Barry Collier 18,812 46.5 +24.2
Liberal Brett Thomas 15,883 39.2 −21.5
Christian Democrats George Capsis 2,840 7.0 +3.5
Greens Murray Scott 1,757 4.3 −4.4
Independent Lisa Walters 842 2.1 +2.1
Independent John Brett 342 0.8 −3.9
Total formal votes 40,476 98.0 +0.7
Informal votes 813 2.0 −0.7
Turnout 41,289 84.8 −10.0
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Barry Collier 20,751 55.1 +26.1
Liberal Brett Thomas 16,916 44.9 −26.1
Labor gain from Liberal Swing +26.1

Labor won the seat with a two-party swing of 26 percent in the largest by-election swing in the state's history,[3][4] outdoing even the 2010 Penrith by-election result. Premier Barry O'Farrell claimed Annesley's "unexpected, mid-term resignation" as the reason for the loss and rejected claims of a backlash against the Liberal government.[23] Labor's Collier said the major issues for local voters were overdevelopment in the Sutherland Shire, the frequent closure of fire stations (uniformed firefighters were at polling stations protesting against the Liberal government), cuts to TAFE, and poor transport services at the Jannali and Kogarah train stations.[2][24] Labor leader John Robertson released a statement claiming there was a clear message to the Liberal government from Miranda voters, saying "The people of the shire have sent Barry O'Farrell the strongest of messages tonight ... in the last two-and-a-half years Barry O'Farrell and his government have taken families for granted ... Barry Collier was an outstanding local candidate who ran a strong community campaign, standing up for the Shire against Liberal cuts to services".[4][23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Miranda State By-election". Antony Green ABC. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 Labor regains southern Sydney seat of Miranda: SMH 19 October 2013
  3. 1 2 Miranda voters' ire shown in stunning 28pc swing to Labor at by-election: Daily Telegraph 19 October 2013
  4. 1 2 3 Labor's Barry Collier returns to NSW Parliament after record swing against O'Farrell Government in Miranda by-election: Antony Green ABC News 19 October 2013
  5. ↑ Graham Annesley, Minister for Sport and Recreation (28 August 2013). http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20130828040 |chapter-url= missing title (help). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. p. 22932. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  6. ↑ Barry O'Farrell announces Sports Minister Graham Annesley has resigned: Daily Telegraph 28 August 2013
  7. ↑ Graham Annesley resigns from NSW ministry to take up role as Gold Coast Titans chief: ABC 29 August 2013
  8. ↑ By-election battle draws more attention to Shire LEP and favours allegations: The Leader (Fairfax regional) 17 October 2013
  9. ↑ Liberals facing a hiding in the seat of Miranda: Daily Telegraph 15 October 2013
  10. ↑ Libs to 'get a kicking' in NSW by-election: NineMSN 15 October 2013
  11. 1 2 Premier expecting Miranda by-election loss as electorate protests former sports minister Graham Annesley's early resignation: Daily Telegraph 18 October 2013
  12. ↑ Miranda by-election: October 19 – The Poll Bludger
  13. 1 2 "Miranda State By-election". Electoral Commission of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  14. ↑ Miranda voters head to the polls – see candidate profiles: The Leader (Fairfax regional) 18 October 2013
  15. ↑ "Old Labor hand to contest NSW seat". ninemsn. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  16. ↑ History of Councillors: Sutherland Shire Council
  17. ↑ "Miranda by-election, 2013". The Tally Room. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  18. ↑ Trembath, Murray (22 November 2012). "Cronulla Beach work queried". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  19. ↑ 2013 Miranda by-election results: NSW EC
  20. ↑ 2013 Miranda by-election results: Antony Green ABC
  21. ↑ 2013 Miranda by-election results commentary: Antony Green ABC
  22. ↑ 2013 Miranda by-election results: Poll Bludger
  23. 1 2 ALP wins NSW by-election: Sky News 19 October 2013
  24. ↑ Collier reclaims Miranda with a record swing: The Leader (Fairfax regional) 19 October 2013

External links

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