1988 Adelaide by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Adelaide on 6 February 1988. This was triggered by the resignation of Labor Party MP Chris Hurford to become Australia's Consul-General in New York City.

1988 Adelaide by-election

6 February 1988

First party Second party Third party   DEM Candidate Mike Pratt Don Farrell Ian McLeish Party Liberal Labor Democrats Popular vote 26,777 22,897 7,097 Percentage 44.4% 38.0% 11.8% Swing 8.9 10.9 2.7 TPP 51.9% 48.2% TPP swing 8.4 8.4

MP before election Chris Hurford Labor Elected MP Mike Pratt Liberal

The election was won by Liberal candidate Mike Pratt with an 8.4 percent two-party swing on a 1.9 percent margin, defeating Labor candidate Don Farrell.

The 1988 Port Adelaide by-election occurred seven weeks later.

Candidates

• Independent – Bronwyn Mewett
• Independent – Peter Consandine, republican campaigner who later founded the Republican Party of Australia
• Independent – Michael Brander
• Independent – John Litten
• Australian Democrats – Ian McLeish
• Unite Australia Party – Dorothy McGregor-Dey, who contested Mayo for the party in 1987
• National Party of Australia – Bryan Stokes, the party's 1987 candidate
• Australian Labor Party – Don Farrell, assistant secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). Farrell was later influential in the South Australian Labor Party, and serves in the Senate (2016–present), having served previously from 2008 to 2014
• Liberal Party of Australia – Mike Pratt, a local farmer

Campaign

The proposed introduction of time-based billing for local telephone calls was reportedly a major issue in the campaign. The intended change by government-owned telecommunications monopoly Telecom Australia was announced early in the campaign and was subsequently endorsed by Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who then faced "a backlash from its own left wing, unions and the public". The Liberal Party campaigned heavily on the issue and Liberal candidate Mike Pratt "had a largel model of a telephone receiver placed on the roof of his campaign van to help push home the party message".

Results

Adelaide by-election, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Mike Pratt	26,777	44.4	+8.9
	Labor	Don Farrell	22,897	38.0	−10.9
	Democrats	Ian McLeish	7,097	11.8	+2.7
	Independent	Bronwyn Mewett	1,408	2.3	+2.3
	National	Bryan Stokes	1,000	1.7	−3.4
	Independent	Michael Brander	409	0.9	+0.9
	Independent	John Litten	367	0.6	+0.6
	Unite Australia	Dorothy McGregor-Dey	218	0.4	+0.4
	Republican	Peter Consandine	104	0.2	+0.2
Total formal votes			60,277	96.1
Informal votes			2,432	3.9
Turnout			62,709	88.0
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Mike Pratt	31,195	51.9	+8.4
	Labor	Don Farrell	28,967	48.2	−8.4
	Liberal gain from Labor		Swing	+8.4

See also

• List of Australian federal by-elections