2002 Cunningham by-election

The 2002 Cunningham by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Cunningham in New South Wales on 19 October 2002. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the Australian Labor Party's Stephen Martin on 16 August 2002. The writ for the by-election was issued on 16 September 2002.

2002 Cunningham by-election

19 October 2002

First party Second party   Candidate Michael Organ Sharon Bird Party Greens Labor Popular vote 15,505 25,671 Percentage 23.03% 38.13% Swing 16.39 6.06 TPP 52.23% 47.77% TPP swing 52.23 12.88   Third party Fourth party   IND IND Candidate David Moulds Peter Wilson Party Independent Liberal Independent Labor Popular vote 9,147 7,107 Percentage 13.59% 10.56% Swing 13.59 10.56

Cunningham (dark) within New South Wales

MP before election Stephen Martin Labor Elected MP Michael Organ Greens

The by-election was notable as it was won by Michael Organ, the candidate for the Australian Greens, making Cunningham the first seat in the Australian House of Representatives to be won by a minor party since Jack Lang won Reid for his Lang Labor party in 1946, and the first seat in the House won by the Greens.

Background

Cunningham had been held by Labor since its creation 52 years previously, but a recent local government election for Lord Mayor of Wollongong had seen the Labor candidate lose to an independent, Alex Darling, causing concern in the ALP about their ability to hold the seat given the expectation of a significant protest vote against them. The ALP candidate preselected to replace Martin was Sharon Bird.

The Liberal Party of Australia received 28 percent of the primary vote at the previous election, they chose not to run a candidate in the by-election. Independent candidate David Moulds held Liberal Party membership.

Results

The distribution of preferences in the by-election resulted in the election of Michael Organ.

2002 Cunningham by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Sharon Bird	25,671	38.13	−6.06
	Greens	Michael Organ	15,505	23.03	+16.39
	Independent Liberal	David Moulds	9,147	13.59	+13.59
	Independent Labor	Peter Wilson	7,107	10.56	+10.56
	One Nation	Geoff Crocker	2,696	4.00	−0.63
	Christian Democrats	Owen Nannelli	2,566	3.81	+1.32
	Democrats	Linda Chapman	1,514	2.25	−4.92
	Against Further Immigration	David Hughes	889	1.32	+1.32
	Independent	Meg Sampson	671	1.00	+1.00
	Non-Custodial Parents	John Flanagan	556	0.83	+0.83
	Independent	James Keene	483	0.72	+0.72
	Socialist Alliance	Chris Williams	399	0.59	+0.59
	Citizens Electoral Council	Hal A. Johnson	120	0.18	+0.18
Total formal votes			67,324	92.26	−2.90
Informal votes			5,647	7.74	+2.90
Turnout			72,971	89.51	−5.91
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Greens	Michael Organ	35,160	52.23	+52.23
	Labor	Sharon Bird	32,164	47.77	−12.88
	Greens gain from Labor		Swing	N/A

Aftermath

Although Labor received the highest primary vote, the Australian Greens candidate, Michael Organ, won the by-election on a 52.2 percent two-candidate preferred (2CP) vote. Asymmetrical preference flows in the absence of an official Liberal candidate contributed to Labor losing the seat, with their 2CP being reduced by 12.9 percent. Labor, Liberal and Green all contested Cunningham in the 2004 federal election, Labor won the seat back with a two-party preferred (2PP) vote of over 60 percent. Another example is the 2008 Mayo by-election. However, other factors attributed by some to the loss include Martin's premature departure, a messy preselection process for Bird, and discontent from the NSW Labor branch towards federal leader Simon Crean.

See also

• List of Australian federal by-elections

External links

• Cunningham (NSW) By-Election (19 October 2002) Results, Australian Electoral Commission