2024 Hornsby state by-election
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Electoral district of Hornsby in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 61,257 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 50,879 (83.06%) (  8.95 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Hornsby on 19 October 2024, following the resignation of Liberal Party MP Matt Kean.[1][2][3]
Background
[edit]The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal MP Matt Kean, who served as the state party's deputy leader and as the state's Treasurer under Premier Dominic Perrottet. He held many other ministerial roles under both Perrottet and his predecessor, Gladys Berejiklian. Kean is a member of the party's Moderate faction, and during Perrottet's tenure as Premier was regarded as the faction's de facto leader in New South Wales.[4]
Hornsby is a blue-ribbon seat in northern Sydney, and is one of two of the original post-1927 electoral districts to have only ever been held by the Liberal Party, its predecessors or an independent, the other being Vaucluse.
Key dates
[edit]- Issue of writ – 27 September 2024
- Close of rolls – 27 September 2024
- Close of nominations – 3 October 2024
- Declaration of nominations – 4 October 2024
- Commencement of early voting – 12 October 2024
- Applications for postal voting closes – 14 October 2024
- Polling day – 19 October 2024
- Last day for the return of the writ – 8 November 2024[5]
Previous result
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Matt Kean | 23,451 | 43.3 | −11.6 | |
| Labor | Melissa Hoile | 13,418 | 24.8 | +4.0 | |
| Greens | Tania Salitra | 7,738 | 14.3 | +3.3 | |
| One Nation | Steve Busch | 4,298 | 7.9 | +4.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jeffrey Grimshaw | 2,125 | 3.9 | +3.9 | |
| Independent | Benjamin Caswell | 1,557 | 2.9 | +2.9 | |
| Sustainable Australia | Justin Thomas | 918 | 1.7 | +1.7 | |
| Independent | Adrian Dignam | 661 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
| Total formal votes | 54,166 | 97.6 | +0.1 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,308 | 2.4 | −0.1 | ||
| Turnout | 55,474 | 92.0 | +0.2 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Matt Kean | 26,506 | 58.0 | −8.8 | |
| Labor | Melissa Hoile | 19,163 | 42.0 | +8.8 | |
| Liberal hold | Swing | −8.8 | |||
Candidates
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Brendan Clarke[8] | Three-time contestant for the electorate of Berowra for the Science Party and the Fusion Party. | |
| Greens | Tania Salitra[8] | Greens candidate for mayor of Hornsby Shire Council at the 2024 local elections and commercial photographer | |
| Independent | Justin Thomas[8] | Candidate for Hornsby at the 2023 state election and former corporate accountant | |
| Animal Justice | Sheila Millgate[9] | Psychologist | |
| Independent | Benjamin Caswell[10] | Former education and childcare industry worker | |
| Libertarian | Marc Hendrickx[8] | Geologist, author, volunteer firefighter and activist | |
| Liberal | James Wallace[8] | Former president of NSW Young Liberals | |
| One Nation | Steve Busch[8] | Bus driver and former pilot, candidate for One Nation at the 2023 state election. | |
| Independent | Roger Woodward[11] | Accountant and volunteer firefighter | |
Liberal
[edit]On 3 August 2024, the Liberal Party preselected James Wallace. Wallace's preselection was unsuccessfully contested by former Deputy Mayor of Hornsby Michael Hutchence and barrister Ishita Sethi.[12][13]
Preselection results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | James Wallace | 123 | 65.77 | ||
| Liberal | Michael Hutchence | 36 | 19.25 | ||
| Liberal | Ishita Sethi | 28 | 14.97 | ||
| Total formal votes | 187 | 100.00 | |||
Labor
[edit]The governing Labor Party has stated they will not contest this by-election with Premier Chris Minns stating "a swing against us would be a massive distraction".[14]
Others
[edit]On 16 August 2024, One Nation announced their candidate as Steve Busch, who previously stood at the 2023 state election.[15]
The Libertarian Party announced Marc Hendrickx as their candidate on 19 September 2024.[16] The Sustainable Australia Party has preselected Justin Thomas.[17]
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | James Wallace | 24,578 | 49.93 | +6.64 | |
| Greens | Tania Salitra | 12,713 | 25.83 | +11.54 | |
| One Nation | Steve Busch | 2,740 | 5.57 | −2.36 | |
| Independent | Brendon Clarke | 2,205 | 4.48 | +4.48 | |
| Independent | Benjamin Caswell | 1,680 | 3.41 | +0.54 | |
| Animal Justice | Sheila Milgate | 1,616 | 3.28 | +3.28 | |
| Libertarian | Marc Hendrickx | 1,508 | 3.06 | −0.86 | |
| Sustainable Australia | Justin Thomas | 1,337 | 2.72 | +1.03 | |
| Independent | Roger Woodward | 847 | 1.72 | +1.72 | |
| Total formal votes | 49,224 | 96.75 | −0.89 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,655 | 3.25 | +0.89 | ||
| Turnout | 50,879 | 83.06 | −8.95 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | James Wallace | 26,781 | 64.34 | +6.30 | |
| Greens | Tania Salitra | 14,840 | 35.66 | +35.66 | |
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
See also
[edit]- Electoral results for the district of Hornsby
- List of New South Wales state by-elections
- 2024 Pittwater state by-election (same day election)
- 2024 Epping state by-election (same day election)
References
[edit]- ^ Wang, Jessica (18 June 2024). "Liberal MP Matt Kean resigns from NSW Parliament". NewsWire. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024 – via news.com.au.
- ^ Maddison, Max (18 June 2024). "Former Treasurer Matt Kean quits parliament". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- ^ Greg Piper, Speaker (14 August 2024). "Electoral District of Hornsby Issue of Writ". Legislative Assembly Hansard – 14 August 2024 – Proof. New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ Maddison, Max (10 September 2023). "'They made Dom premier then he switched off his phone': The moment disillusionment set in at the NSW Liberal Party". The Sydney Morning Herald. A future of fractures?. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
The "unity deal" – an agreement struck between conservatives and moderate heavyweight Matt Kean to manufacture election-winning outcomes – has disintegrated with Perrottet's looming exit from politics.
- ^ "2024 Hornsby State by-election". NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ LA First Preference: Hornsby, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ LA Two Candidate Preferred: Hornsby, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Green, Antony. "Hornsby By-election - NSW Election 2024". ABC News. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Sheila Millgate, Hornsby". nsw.animaljusticeparty.org. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "About me". benjamincaswell.com. Foxglove Road, Mount Colah NSW 2079. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Roger Woodward FCA". rogerwoodwardfca.me. Bridge Road Hornsby NSW 2077. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Lewis, Alexander (3 August 2024). "NSW Liberals preselect James Wallace to stand in former treasurer Matt Kean's seat of Hornsby". ABC News. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
Former Hornsby deputy mayor Michael Hutchence came a distant second, despite being endorsed by Mr Abbott.
- ^ Preselection Updates [@Preselection_AU] (3 August 2024). "Wallace comfortably defeated former state treasurer Michael Hutchence and barrister Ishita Sethi in the first round" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024 – via Twitter.
123 Wallace 36 Hutchence 28 Ishta
- ^ Dowling, James (26 September 2024). "NSW Labor will not contest blue ribbon by-elections despite opposition woes". The Australian. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
"We'd have to put a lot of time and effort and resources into campaigns that we would be unlikely to prevail in, and a swing against us would be a massive distraction."
- ^ Preselection Updates [@Preselection_AU] (16 August 2024). "Hornsby (NSW State, 8.0%):" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024 – via Twitter.
One Nation have chosen former Qantas pilot Steve Busch as their candidate to succeed retiring Liberal Matt Kean at October's by-election. Busch also ran in Hornsby at last year's state election, coming in fourth with 7.9% of the vote.
- ^ Ruddick, John [@JohnRuddick2] (19 September 2024). "Libertarian Party will vigorously contest the Hornsby by-election on 19 Oct" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024 – via Twitter.
Our superb candidate is Marc Hendrickx.
- ^ Preselection Updates [@Preselection_AU] (3 August 2024). "Wallace, a moderate, was Kean's preferred successor following his retirement from politics to take up a role as the head of the federal Climate Change Authority" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024 – via Twitter.
So far just one other candidate has put their hand up for the by-election, Sustainable Australia's Justin Thomas.
- ^ "LA - Check Count Final Results - First Preference Votes - Hornsby". NSW State Election Results 2024. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "LA Check Count Final Results - Distribution of Preferences - Hornsby". NSW State Election Results 2024. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 November 2024.