The 1990 Fremantle state by-election was a by-election held on 26 May 1990 for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Fremantle. The election occurred on the same day as the 1990 Maylands state by-election.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labor member and former Deputy Premier David Parker on 26 April 1990.
The seat of Fremantle, first established in 1890, was considered to be a safe seat for the Labor Party.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 26 April 1990 | David Parker resigned, vacating the seat of Fremantle. |
| 26 April 1990 | Writs were issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to proceed with a by-election. |
| 4 May 1990 | Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers. |
| 26 May 1990 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 6 June 1990 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared . |
Candidates
The by-election attracted eleven candidates. Of these, four were notable—Jim McGinty, the Labor candidate, was the secretary of the Miscellaneous Workers' Union. Arthur Marshall, the Liberal candidate, was a veteran sports commentator for the Seven Network who had also founded a tennis academy. Christabel Chamarette, for the new Greens WA party, was a psychologist and social worker. John Troy was the former Labor member for the seat from 1977 to 1980.
Results
Jim McGinty held the seat for the Labor Party. Despite winning the seat comfortably, his votes trailed those of the Liberal candidate by several hundred votes until the tenth count, when the Greens preferences and through them the majority of John Troy's preferences were distributed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Arthur Marshall | 6,356 | 35.70 | +5.40 | |
| Labor | Jim McGinty | 6,009 | 33.75 | −8.89 | |
| Greens | Christabel Chamarette | 2,209 | 12.41 | +7.51 | |
| John Troy | 1,652 | 9.58 | −3.26 | ||
| Independent | Peter Tagliaferri | 645 | 3.62 | +3.62 | |
| Democrats | Peter Nettleton | 293 | 1.65 | −3.46 | |
| Independent | Philip Hooper | 266 | 1.49 | +1.49 | |
| Independent | Marie Murray | 105 | 0.59 | +0.59 | |
| Independent | Jeff Brockway | 103 | 0.58 | +0.58 | |
| Grey Power | Richard Finney | 96 | 0.54 | −3.66 | |
| Independent | Alfred Bussell | 68 | 0.38 | +0.38 | |
| Total formal votes | 17,802 | 94.72 | +5.15 | ||
| Informal votes | 992 | 5.28 | −5.15 | ||
| Turnout | 18,794 | 82.46 | −7.34 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Jim McGinty | 9,770 | 54.88 | −7.53 | |
| Liberal | Arthur Marshall | 8,032 | 45.12 | +7.53 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | −7.53 | |||
References
- Black, David; Prescott, Valerie (1997). Election statistics, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996. Perth: Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission. pp. 102, 393. ISBN 0-7309-8409-5.