Oxley by-election, 1988
Encyclopedia
A by-election
was held for the Australian House of Representatives
seat of Oxley
on 8 October 1988. This was triggered by the resignation of Labor Party
MP Bill Hayden
to become Governor-General
.
Both the Liberal Party
and the National Party
fielded candidates; the Liberal Party overtook the National Party into second place. The election was won by Labor candidate Les Scott
, despite an 11.8% swing to the Liberals.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
was held for the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
seat of Oxley
Division of Oxley
The Division of Oxley is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The current division is the second to bear the name, and was created in 1949. The division is named after the Australian explorer, John Oxley...
on 8 October 1988. This was triggered by the resignation of 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...
MP Bill Hayden
Bill Hayden
William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
to become Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
.
Both the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
and the National Party
National 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...
fielded candidates; the Liberal Party overtook the National Party into second place. The election was won by Labor candidate Les Scott
Les Scott
Leslie James "Les" Scott was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Queensland Division of Oxley from 8 October 1988 to 2 March 1996...
, despite an 11.8% swing to the Liberals.
Candidates
- IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
– Michael DarbyMichael DarbyMichael John Darby is an Australian politician. Originally a member of the Liberal Party, he went on to be significant in the Christian Democratic Party. He has been called a "right-wing maverick" because of his strong convictions , and named as a member of the NSW 'uglies' faction in the 1980s...
. Darby had previously contested WerriwaDivision of WerriwaThe Division of Werriwa is a Federal Electoral Division for the Australian House of Representatives.The name Werriwa derives from a local Aboriginal name for Lake George, which was located in the division when it was established in 1900. The division was one of the original 75 divisions first...
in New South Wales in the 1974 electionAustralian federal election, 1974Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
for the Liberal Party. He later contested DicksonDivision of DicksonThe Division of Dickson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland, Australia. The division was formed in 1992 and is named after Sir James Dickson, a leading advocate in Australian Federation, Queensland Premier and Minister for Defence in first Australian Ministry. It is located in the...
in the supplementary election in 1993 as an independent, and was fifth on the Liberal ticket for the SenateAustralian SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
in New South Wales in 2004. In 2007 he contested DobellDivision of DobellThe Division of Dobell is an Australian electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Sir William Dobell, the painter. It is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales and includes the towns of The Entrance, Tuggerah and Wyong...
for the Christian DemocratsChristian Democratic Party (Australia)The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:...
. - IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
– Otto Kuhne. Kuhne later contested McPhersonDivision of McPhersonThe Division of McPherson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1948 and is named for the McPherson Range, which forms one of the divisional boundaries...
in the 1990 election as an independent, and FaddenDivision of FaddenThe Division of Fadden is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.The division was created in 1977 and is named for Sir Arthur Fadden, Prime Minister of Australia in 1941. When it was created it included a large area south of Brisbane, but today it is located in the northern Gold Coast area,...
in the 1993 election as a Natural Law PartyNatural Law PartyThe Natural Law Party was a transnational party based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was active in up to 74 countries, and ran candidates in at least ten. Founded in 1992, it was mostly disbanded in 2004 but continues in India and in some U.S. states.The NLP viewed "natural law" as...
candidate. - National Party of AustraliaNational Party of AustraliaThe 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...
– Barry Hoffensetz, the party's 1987 candidate. - Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal Party of AustraliaThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
– David Cooke. - Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe 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...
– Les ScottLes ScottLeslie James "Les" Scott was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Queensland Division of Oxley from 8 October 1988 to 2 March 1996...
, a bank officer.