2024 Hornsby state by-election

A by-election will be held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Hornsby on 19 October 2024, following the resignation of Liberal Party MP Matt Kean.[2][3][4]

2024 Hornsby state by-election

← 2023 19 October 2024 2027 →

Electoral district of Hornsby in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Registered61,062[1]
 
SAP
ON
Candidate James Wallace Justin Thomas Steve Busch
Party Liberal Sustainable One Nation

Incumbent MP

Matt Kean
Liberal



Background

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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.[5]

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

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  • 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[6]

Previous result

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2023 New South Wales state election: Hornsby[7][8]
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

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Sustainable Australia

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The Sustainable Australia Party has preselected Justin Thomas.[9]

Liberal

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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.[10][11]

Preselection results

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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

One Nation

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On 16 August 2024, One Nation announced their candidate, Steve Busch who previously stood at the 2023 state election.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NSW Enrolment Statistics". NSW Electoral Commission. 1 August 2024. Hornsby. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "2024 Hornsby State by-election". NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  7. ^ LA First Preference: Hornsby, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  8. ^ LA Two Candidate Preferred: Hornsby, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ 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.