1981 Boothby by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Boothby on 21 February 1981. This was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Party MP John McLeay, who subsequently took up the role of Consul General in Los Angeles. It was held on the same day as by-elections for Curtin and McPherson.

This by-election was won by Steele Hall, who was Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970.

Key dates

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Date Event
22 January 1981 Hon John McLeay resigned from Parliament.[1]
27 January 1981 The writ for the by-election was issued.[2]
13 February 1981 Close of nominations.
21 February 1981 Polling day.[3]
24 February 1981 The writ was returned and Steele Hall was sworn in as the member for Boothby.[4]
27 March 1981 The original deadline for the writ to be returned.[2]

Results

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Boothby by-election, 1981[3][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Steele Hall 36,406 56.71 +0.55
Labor Bruce Whyatt 17,108 26.65 −3.09
Democrats Robert Hercus 9,188 14.31 +1.25
Independent Alf Gard 555 0.86 +0.86
Unemployed Workers David Arkins 544 0.85 +0.85
Progressive Conservative John Herren 398 0.62 +0.62
Total formal votes 64,199 97.75 −0.38
Informal votes 1,480 2.25 +0.38
Turnout 65,679 81.69 −12.67
Liberal hold Swing +1.4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hon Billy SneddenSpeaker (24 February 1981). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b "The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives". Australian Government Gazette. No. S 13. 27 January 1981. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b Australian Electoral Office (1983). Commonwealth By-Elections 1901–82. Australian Government Publishing Service. pp. 164–165, 187. ISBN 0-644-02369-4.
  4. ^ Hon Billy Snedden, Speaker (24 February 1981). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives. p. 1.
  5. ^ "By-Elections 1980-1983". Psephos. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2009.