1988 Groom by-election
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Groom on 9 April 1988. It was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Tom McVeigh.
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The by-election was won by Liberal Party candidate Bill Taylor.
A month before the poll, Taylor was publicly backed by former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who had been forced to resign as premier several months earlier, after losing the support of his National Party colleagues. Bjelke-Petersen said the Nationals had lost their way and turned their backs on traditional conservative policies.[1]
Candidates
- Australian Democrats – Mark Carew, the party's 1987 candidate.
- Australian Labor Party – Linda Dwyer, the party's 1987 candidate.
- Liberal Party of Australia – Bill Taylor, an officer in the Royal Australian Navy.
- National Party of Australia – David Russell.
- Independent – Peter Consandine, republican campaigner who later founded the Republican Party of Australia.
- Independent – Vincent Burke. Burke later contested the Australian Senate as an ungrouped independent in 1990.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Bill Taylor | 20,651 | 33.3 | +19.9 | |
| National | David Russell | 17,814 | 28.8 | -20.1 | |
| Labor | Linda Dwyer | 14,973 | 24.2 | -8.2 | |
| Independent | Vincent Burke | 4,661 | 7.5 | +7.5 | |
| Democrats | Mark Carew | 3,474 | 5.6 | +0.2 | |
| Independent | Peter Consandine | 369 | 0.6 | +0.6 | |
| Total formal votes | 61,942 | 98.6 | |||
| Informal votes | 889 | 1.4 | |||
| Turnout | 62,831 | 88.0 | |||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Bill Taylor | 38,651 | 62.4 | +62.4 | |
| National | David Russell | 23,271 | 37.6 | -25.2 | |
| Liberal gain from National | Swing | N/A | |||
References
- "Vote for Libs, says Joh, the Nats are lost", The Courier-Mail, 15 March 1988, pg 2.
- "By-Elections 1987-1990". Psephos.
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