Werriwa by-election, 2005

A by-election was held in the Werriwa electorate in south-western Sydney on March 19, 2005, after the resignation of Labor MP Mark Latham, who had represented the electorate since 1994. Latham, who at the time was also serving as federal Opposition Leader, had become increasingly disenchanted with political life and was struggling with recurring pancreatitis, had announced his resignation on January 18.

The governing Liberal Party of Australia chose not to contest the by-election, as Werriwa has long been considered a safe Labor seat. Nevertheless, the by-election received substantial public attention, due to both the surprise nature of Latham's resignation and a brutal Labor preselection battle between two potential candidates. This resulted in the drafting of a compromise candidate, industrial mediator Chris Hayes. With the by-election only being contested by minor parties, Hayes was ultimately successful, taking 55.4% of the primary vote, an increase on the vote polled by Latham at the 2004 federal election.

Background

Mark Latham had been first elected at a 1994 by-election following the retirement of former Treasurer John Kerin, and had been easily re-elected four times, in 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2004. [ [http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/when/by_elections/werriwa.htm "Werriwa (NSW) By-Election (29 January 1994)"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007. ] [ [http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/1996/hor/divisions/gdvs_nsw.htm "Results by Division: House of Representatives (1996)"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007.] [ [http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/How/newsfiles/078/news78.htm "Federal Election 1998: House of Representatives Results"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007.] [ [http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/2001/results/NSWWERR.htm "Werriwa Post-Election Results"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007.] [ [http://results.aec.gov.au/12246/results/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-12246-153.htm "Werriwa Division First Preferences and Two-Party Preferred"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007.]

Latham had served as Shadow Minister for Education from 1997 to 1998, but had resigned from the Shadow Cabinet in 1998 after a policy dispute with then-leader Kim Beazley, and had been a dissident backbencher for five years thereafter. He rose to sudden prominence again in 2003 after the forced resignation of Beazley's successor and Latham's friend and ally, Simon Crean, as leader. It was widely assumed that Beazley would retake his former position as Labor leader, but Latham nominated for the position, and in a surprise result, was successful by 47 votes to 45. [Carney, Shaun. "The man who would be king walks away from a dream out of reach". "The Age", January 19, 2005.] [Contractor, Aban. "Man who came and went like summer rain". "Sydney Morning Herald", January 19, 2005.]

Latham served as Opposition Leader for a stormy thirteen months, initially revitalising the party and opening an election-winning lead in the polls before the October 2004 election, but slipping behind during the election campaign after a series of gaffes and a successful government scare campaign on interest rates. This resulted in a net loss of seats, and the party's worst result in some years. A devastated Latham largely disappeared from public life in the wake of the election defeat, and was widely criticised for failing to reappear or make any public comment in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami. It was revealed that he was suffering from pancreatitis, a condition which had dogged him through his time as leader, but after repeatedly failing to reappear in public and after nearly a month of questions as to his whereabouts, he announced his resignation from politics on January 18, thus creating the need for a by-election in his seat of Werriwa. [Carney, Shaun. "The man who would be king walks away from a dream out of reach". "The Age", January 19, 2005.] [Contractor, Aban. "Man who came and went like summer rain". "Sydney Morning Herald", January 19, 2005.]

Preselection

The local branches in and around Werriwa had been the scene of major branch-stacking battles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, due largely to preselection battles over the state seat of Liverpool, and as such, Labor's Werriwa Federal Electorate Council, which would normally select the candidate, had been "put on ice" since 2003. As a result, the party's left and right factions agreed to hold a ballot among the state's 34-member administrative committee to select the candidate. [Hewett, Jennifer. "Party plays safe in Werriwa". "Australian Financial Review", January 21, 2005.]

Two main candidates were touted for the Labor nomination: Brenton Banfield, the then-mayor of Campbelltown, and Steven Chaytor, a City of Campbelltown councillor and aide to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. [Contractor, Aban. "Campbelltown mayor favoured for Werriwa". "Sydney Morning Herald", January 20, 2005.] Paul Lynch, the state MP for Liverpool and former federal minister Michael Lee were both briefly touted as potential candidates, but were soon ruled out. ["Councillor the tip for Werriwa". "Hobart Mercury", January 20, 2005.]

Banfield emerged as an early favourite in the preselection, having been a popular mayor with a high profile in the area, and having been reportedly asked to nominate by the party's head office. [Contractor, Aban. "Campbelltown mayor favoured for Werriwa". "Sydney Morning Herald", January 20, 2005.] The campaign got increasingly nasty, with supporters of Banfield and Chaytor clashing, which reached a peak when supporters of Chaytor launched a public attack on Banfield for having defended sex offenders through his work as a solicitor, though Banfield had been professionally obligated to do so. [Contractor, Aban. "Mud flies in fight for safe ALP seat". "Sydney Morning Herald", January 27, 2005.] This reportedly raised concerns among party insiders that Banfield could become a liability after doing polling on the issue, and began looking for a consensus candidate instead. [Ramsey, Alan. "Labor renders Werriwa indefensible". "Sydney Morning Herald", March 12, 2005.]

This emerged in the form of Chris Hayes, an industrial mediator and former assistant secretary of the Australian Workers Union with no prior political background. ["Hayes is set to be sole Labor nominee". "Daily Telegraph", February 1, 2005.] He nominated at the end of January, receiving strong support from the party's head office, and Banfield and Chaytor came under pressure to withdraw before the close of nominations on February 1; Banfield doing so on January 31, and Chaytor following the next day. [Fraser, Andrew. "Three pull out of bid for Latham's old seat". "Canberra Times", February 1, 2005.] [Ramsey, Alan. "Labor renders Werriwa indefensible". "Sydney Morning Herald", March 12, 2005.] Hayes was thus the sole nominee at the close of nominations, and was confirmed as the party's candidate on February 2. ["Hayes for Latham seat". "The Advertiser", February 2, 2005.]

Campaign

Although early polling in January had suggested that there was a reasonable possibility of a Liberal win should the party contest the seat, the party refused to speculate if they would nominate a candidate until mid-February, and finally ruled it out on February 18. [Contractor, Aban. "Liberals to pass on Werriwa". "Sydney Morning Herald", February 19, 2005.] There had been some speculation that former rugby player Paul Langmack would nominate as a star candidate for the Liberals, but he had announced that he would not run on February 7. [Contractor, Aban. "Rugby player passes on politics". "Sydney Morning Herald", February 7, 2005.] The decision by the Liberal Party not to run changed the dynamics of the race significantly, as with the only threat now from minor parties and independents, Labor became the solid favourite to retain the seat. [Contractor, Aban. "Rugby player passes on politics". "Sydney Morning Herald", February 7, 2005.] ["Latham's seat up for grabs". "Northern Territory News", February 26, 2005.] [Candidates for Werriwa". "The Advertiser", February 26, 2005.]

In total, 16 candidates nominated for the by-election - the most in a federal by-election since 1992. [Carruthers, Fiona and Kazi, Elizabeth. "Garrett on song but ALP under pressure". "Australian Financial Review", March 19, 2005.] They included candidates from the Australian Greens, Family First Party, Christian Democratic Party, One Nation Party and Australians Against Further Immigration. Nine independents were among them, including independent Liberal James Young, self-confessed former Labor branchstacker Sam Bargshoon, and radio presenter Mal Lees, who ran on a joke platform of free beer. Police whistleblower Deborah Locke, an endorsed People Power Party candidate, was forced to run as an independent due to her party's failure to re-register in time. [ [http://www.pollbludger.com/238 "Belated Werriwa overview"] . "The Poll Bludger". Accessed January 7, 2007.] [Benson, Simon. "A circus of candidates". "The Daily Telegraph", February 26, 2005.] Most of the independent and minor candidates joined in an "anyone but Labor" campaign, with Young and Locke considered the most likely challengers during the campaign. [Davis, Mark. "Candidates gang up against Labor in Werriwa". "Australian Financial Review", March 4, 2005.] [Schubert, Misha. "Labor fears vote fall in Latham seat". "The Age", March 14, 2005.] [ [http://www.pollbludger.com/238 "Belated Werriwa overview"] . "The Poll Bludger". Accessed January 7, 2007.]

A variety of issues were raised in the campaign; the poor state of public transport in the region, hospital waiting lists, the state of the region's high schools, interest rates, a lack of infrastructure in newer suburbs, and anger over the then-recent 2005 Macquarie Fields riots. [Contractor, Aban. "Latham's legacy leaves Labor feeling slightly Green". "Sydney Morning Herald", March 18, 2005.] [Carruthers, Fiona and Kazi, Elizabeth. "Garrett on song but ALP under pressure". "Australian Financial Review", March 19, 2005.] Much of the campaign was focused on personality and name recognition; Greens candidate Ben Raue commented "There really haven't been any debates about policies - it's been more about getting your face out to the people." [Stevenson, Andrew. "Apathy looms as a frontrunner for Werriwa, but who cares?". "Sydney Morning Herald", March 18, 2005.] The by-election was also marked by a high rate of apathy and disinterest, resulting in the informal vote going up from 8% at the general election to 13% at the by-election. [ [http://results.aec.gov.au/12246/results/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-12246-153.htm "Werriwa Division First Preferences and Two-Party Preferred"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007.] [Stevenson, Andrew. "Apathy looms as a frontrunner for Werriwa, but who cares?". "Sydney Morning Herald", March 18, 2005.] [ [http://results.aec.gov.au/12426/ "Werriwa by-election results"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007. ]

Results

The by-election, as largely expected in the absence of a Liberal candidate, resulted in an easy victory for Labor candidate Chris Hayes. Hayes polled 55.5% of the primary vote, with his nearest challenger being independent Liberal Young on 7.8%, ahead of Green Raue on 5.5%. Locke, despite some predictions of an upset victory, polled only 3.1%. [ [http://results.aec.gov.au/12426/ "Werriwa by-election results"] . "Australian Electoral Commission". Accessed January 7, 2007. ] Hayes was able to claim victory on the day of the by-election, and was subsequently sworn in as a member of the Australian House of Representatives. Steven Chaytor, who had stepped aside for Hayes in preselection, later served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2007.

Election box begin
title=Werriwa by-election, 2005 Election box candidate AU party
party = Labor
candidate = Chris Hayes
votes = 37,286
percentage = 55.54
change = +2.90

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = James Young
votes = 3,237
percentage = 7.80
change = +7.80

Election box candidate AU party
party = Greens
candidate = Ben Raue
votes = 3,726
percentage = 5.55
change = +2.42

Election box candidate AU party
party = AAFI
candidate = Janey Woodger
votes = 3,243
percentage = 4.83
change = +4.83

Election box candidate AU party
party = Family First
candidate = Mick Sykes
votes = 2,890
percentage = 4.31
change = +4.31

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = Joe Bryant
votes = 2,696
percentage = 4.02
change = +4.02

Election box candidate AU party
party = Christian Democrats
candidate = Greg Tan
votes = 2,536
percentage = 3.78
change = +3.78

Election box candidate AU party
party = One Nation
candidate = Charles Doggett
votes = 2,400
percentage = 3.48
change = +1.22

Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Deborah Locke
votes = 2,101
percentage = 3.13
change = +3.13

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = Mal Lees
votes = 1,393
percentage = 2.08
change = +2.08

Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Ned Mannoun
votes = 1,076
percentage = 1.60
change = +1.60

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = Sam Bargshoon
votes = 753
percentage = 1.12
change = -3.75

Election box candidate AU party
party = Progressive Labour
candidate = Mary Patricia McGookin
votes = 629
percentage = 0.94
change = +0.94

Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Mike Head
votes = 458
percentage = 0.68
change = +0.04

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = Marc Aussie-Stone
votes = 388
percentage = 0.58
change = +0.58

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = Robert Vogler
votes = 316
percentage = 0.47
change = +0.47

Election box formal
votes = 67,129
percentage = 86.85
change = -5.17

Election box informal
votes = 10,162
percentage = 13.15
change = +5.17

Election box turnout
votes = 77,291
percentage = 85.19
change = -8.73

Election box candidate AU party
party = Labor
candidate = Chris Hayes
votes = 47,023
percentage = 70.05
change = +10.74

Election box candidate AU party
party = Independent
candidate = James Young
votes = 20,106
percentage = 29.95
change = +29.95

Election box hold AU party
winner = Labor
swing = N/A

References

External links

* [http://results.aec.gov.au/12426/ By-election results from the Australian Electoral Commission]