Bass Hill state by-election, 1986

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Bass Hill on 2 August 1986. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting Labor MP Neville Wran. It was won by Liberal candidate Michael Owen.

The Bass Hill by-election was held the same day as the Rockdale by-election.

Background

Neville Wran resigned as Premier of New South Wales after more than 10 years in office. At the time, Wran held the record for the longest uninterrupted stint as NSW Premier. In addition to resigning as Premier, Wran also resigned his seat in the Legislative Assembly, necessitating a by-election to fill the vacancy.

Results

Bass Hill was lost by the Labor Party for the only time in the history of the district. In a very close result, Liberal Party candidate Michael Owen won the contest by 103 votes after the distribution of preferences.[1]

Bass Hill state by-election, 1986
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labor Bill Lovelee 10,899 41.96 −22.17
Liberal Michael Owen 8,646 33.28 +3.92
Independent Jill Barber 3,209 12.35 +12.35
Australian Democrats Peter Carver 1,391 5.35 +5.35
Call to Australia Elaine Nile 1,387 5.34 +5.34
Independent Richard Mezinec 329 1.27 +1.27
Pan Ethnic Republican John Vartanian 115 0.44 +0.44
Total formal votes 25,976 96.23 +0.15
Informal votes 1,019 3.77 −0.15
Turnout 26,995 80.76 −13.91
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Michael Owen 12,260 50.21 +17.5*
Labor Bill Lovelee 12,157 49.79 −17.5*
Liberal gain from Labor Swing +17.5*

^ Since the two-party preferred count was not conducted for Bass Hill in 1984,[2] the two party preferred swing at the by-election cannot be calculated precisely. ABC election analyst Antony Green estimates a two party preferred swing of 17.5% towards the Liberal Party.[3]

References

  1. ↑ NSW Elections: Bass Hill 1986 by-election Archived June 29, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ NSW Elections: Bass Hill 1984 Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ NSW By-elections background
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