Mulgrave state by-election, 1998
Encyclopedia
A by-election was held in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
seat of Mulgrave
on 5 December 1998. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting One Nation member Charles Rappolt
.
The by-election was won by Labor
candidate Warren Pitt
.
with 54.2% of the two party preferred vote. However, Rappolt found it difficult to cope with the pressures of public life and resigned his seat just four months into his term.
endorsed Naomi Wilson
who had held the seat from 1995 to 1998 before her defeat to Rappolt at the 1998 state election. The Labor Party
preselected Warren Pitt
, member for Mulgrave from 1989 to 1995 before his defeat to Wilson at the 1995 state election. Pitt had also unsuccessfully stood for the seat at the 1998 state election.
One Nation chose Peter Boniface to defend the seat.
had governed in the minority—they held 44 seats in an 89-seat parliament and depended upon the support of independent MP Peter Wellington
—their victory in Mulgrave gave the government an outright majority of 45 seats.
Queensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
seat of Mulgrave
Electoral district of Mulgrave (Queensland)
The district of Mulgrave is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.The district in its present form is a narrow coastal strip running from the southern suburbs of Cairns at its northern end to Innisfail at its southern end. Mulgrave also includes the...
on 5 December 1998. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting One Nation member Charles Rappolt
Charles Rappolt
Charles Robert "Charlie" Rappolt was an Australian politician. A member of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, Rappolt spent five turbulent months in the Parliament of Queensland in 1998....
.
The by-election was won by Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
candidate Warren Pitt
Warren Pitt
Frederick Warren Pitt is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1995 and 1998 to 2009.Born in Cairns, Pitt was a school teacher before entering politics...
.
Background
Charles Rappolt came to parliament as one of 11 One Nation candidates elected at the 1998 state election. Rappolt won the seat of MulgraveElectoral district of Mulgrave (Queensland)
The district of Mulgrave is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.The district in its present form is a narrow coastal strip running from the southern suburbs of Cairns at its northern end to Innisfail at its southern end. Mulgrave also includes the...
with 54.2% of the two party preferred vote. However, Rappolt found it difficult to cope with the pressures of public life and resigned his seat just four months into his term.
Candidates
The by-election pitted two former members for Mulgrave against each other. The National PartyNational Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
endorsed Naomi Wilson
Naomi Wilson
Naomi Kate Wynn Wilson is a former Australian politician. She was a National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 1998, representing the district of Mulgrave....
who had held the seat from 1995 to 1998 before her defeat to Rappolt at the 1998 state election. The Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
preselected Warren Pitt
Warren Pitt
Frederick Warren Pitt is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1995 and 1998 to 2009.Born in Cairns, Pitt was a school teacher before entering politics...
, member for Mulgrave from 1989 to 1995 before his defeat to Wilson at the 1995 state election. Pitt had also unsuccessfully stood for the seat at the 1998 state election.
One Nation chose Peter Boniface to defend the seat.
Result
With One Nation failiing to repeat their strong state election performance, the contest reverted to a more typical Labor versus National contest. Labor's Warren Pitt prevailed narrowly.Aftermath
Where previously the Labor government of Peter BeattiePeter Beattie
Peter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
had governed in the minority—they held 44 seats in an 89-seat parliament and depended upon the support of independent MP Peter Wellington
Peter Wellington
Peter Wellington is an Independent member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, for the Electoral district of Nicklin. Wellington, along with fellow independent Liz Cunningham, briefly held the balance in power following the 1998 state election...
—their victory in Mulgrave gave the government an outright majority of 45 seats.