1997 Gippsland West state by-election

The 1997 Gippsland West state by-election was held on 1 February 1997 to elect the member for Gippsland West in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of Liberal Party MP Alan Brown.^[1][2]

1997 Gippsland West state by-election

← 1996 1 February 1997 1999 →
Electoral district of Gippsland West in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Registered	31,375
Turnout	88.7% ( 6.6)
First party Second party   IND Candidate Matthew Coleman Susan Davies Party Liberal Independent Primary vote 11,214 8,844 Percentage 41.4% 32.6% Swing 16.4 0.6[a] TCP 49.7% 50.3% TCP swing 12.9 12.9[a]
MP before election Alan Brown Liberal Elected MP Susan Davies Independent

Brown, who served as Liberal leader from 1989 until 1991, resigned on 31 December 1966 after being appointed by the Kennett government as the Agent General for Victoria.^[3] At the time, his seat was the second-safest for the Liberals in Victoria.^[4]

Susan Davies, who contested Gippsland West for the Labor Party at the 1996 state election, nominated as an independent candidate after Labor chose not to contest.^[5] She won the seat after a 12.9% two-candidate-preferred vote swing against the Liberals, helped by the preferences of other independent and minor party voters.^[6][7]

The result was a significant defeat for premier Jeff Kennett and his government, and was the first of two by-election losses it experienced in 1997 (the other being Mitcham in December).^[8][9] Davies was re-elected at the 1999 state election and subsequently played a decisive role in defeating the Kennett government by supporting a minority Labor government led by Steve Bracks.^[10][11]

Candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.^[4] This was the first election contested by the Australian Reform Party after its formation in May 1996.^[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Background
	Independent	Susan Davies	Labor candidate for Gippsland West in 1996[14][15]
	Shooters	Neville Sayers	Olympian sports shooter[16]
	Independent	David Turnbull
	Reform	Ray Mathieson	Farmer and former policeman[17]
	Independent	Mike Lowry	Publican and independent candidate for Gippsland West in 1996[18]
	Liberal	Matthew Coleman

Results

1997 Gippsland West state by-election^[4][19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Matthew Coleman	11,214	41.4	−16.4
	Independent	Susan Davies	8,844	32.6	−0.6[a]
	Reform	Ray Mathieson	2,555	9.4	+9.4
	Independent	Mike Lowry	1,867	6.9	−2.1
	Independent	David Turnbull	1,361	5.0	+5.0
	Shooters	Neville Sayers	1,275	4.7	+4.7
Total formal votes			27,116	97.5	−0.8
Informal votes			708	2.5	+0.8
Turnout			27,824	88.7	−6.6
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Independent	Susan Davies	13,606	50.3	+12.9[a]
	Liberal	Matthew Coleman	13,447	49.7	−12.9
	Independent gain from Liberal		Swing	+12.9

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Gippsland West
• List of Victorian state by-elections

Notes

1. Compared to results as a Labor Party candidate at the 1996 election.^[4]