The 1989 Merthyr state by-election was a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
held on 13 May 1989 for the
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
Legislative Assembly seat of
Merthyr
Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of Kin ...
, based in the inner
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
suburb of
New Farm
New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,197 people.
Geography
The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...
.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
MP and former minister
Don Lane
Morton Donald Isaacson (born November 13, 1933 – October 22, 2009), known professionally as Don Lane, was an American talk show host and singer active mostly in Australia, best known for his television career in Australia, especially for host ...
on 20 January 1989. Lane, who had been a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
until shortly after the
1983 election, had admitted that he had misappropriated funds during his time as a minister in Sir
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...
's government, which was being investigated by the
Fitzgerald Inquiry
The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...
. Furthermore, he implicated 14 other serving or former ministers in these activities. The media, led by ''
The Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
'' newspaper, questioned the morality of a confessed dishonest politician continuing a Parliamentary career at the expense of taxpayers. Upon his resignation, despite the
Labor Party's opposition to any further entitlements, he collected a superannuation payout of
A$535,000 and awaited charges from the inquiry's special prosecutor, Doug Drummond QC.
The by-election campaign was quite unusual, with a total of 10 candidates nominating. A local car salesperson,
Betty Byrne Henderson, won National Party preselection and campaigned on the slogan "Send a Message to Canberra". However, most of the campaign's attention was on Queensland issues—in particular the daily revelations from the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
Candidates
The candidates were:
*
Santo Santoro
Santo Santoro (born 27 April 1956) is an Australian former politician and a former deputy leader of the Liberal Party in Queensland. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1989 to 2001; and a member of the Australian Sen ...
of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
* Barbara Dawson of the
Labor Party
*
Betty Byrne Henderson, a car salesperson representing the
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to:
Active parties
* National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals''
* Bangladesh:
** Bangladesh Nationalist Party
** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)''
* Californ ...
* John Brown of the
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...
* Gerry Bellino, an alleged crime boss and one-time nightclub owner, named in the terms of reference for the
Fitzgerald Inquiry
The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...
, and accused of running several brothels and gambling dens in
Fortitude Valley
Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...
in the 1980s
* Tanya Wilde, the first transgender political candidate in Australia, who ran on a gay rights platform opposing police violence against gay men in particular
* Nigel Powell, a former undercover policeman in the Licensing Branch who helped spark the Fitzgerald Inquiry, running unofficially under a "Citizens Against Corruption Party" banner and
* Isabella Ciadamidaro, an independent
Results
Aftermath
The result was the first real indication of very serious problems for the National Party, which faced
a statutory general election by the end of the year. With the collapse of the National vote, the Liberals managed to win the seat against Labor on preferences. However, as a cross-bench party in the position of attacking an unpopular government while trying to avoid voters switching to the Labor opposition, and in some key seats dependent upon preference flows from National voters, some analysts suggested that if the government's support was to collapse completely in
South East Queensland
South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...
, Labor rather than the Liberals could become the key beneficiaries of the changing political tide.
Mike Ahern, whose leadership of the Nationals was being questioned by conservatives within his party, survived as
Premier of Queensland
The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.
By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...
for another four months before being replaced by
Russell Cooper
Theo Russell Cooper (born 4 February 1941) is an Australian retired National Party politician.
He was Premier of Queensland for a period of 73 days, from 25 September 1989 to 7 December 1989. His loss at the state election of 1989 ended 32 ...
.
At the December 1989 state election, Labor under
Wayne Goss
Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, an ...
won the election with 54 of the Assembly's 89 seats, mainly on the strength of taking all but five seats in Brisbane. Santoro was nearly swept up in this massive Labor wave, surviving by only 164 votes after preferences were distributed. He held Merthyr and its successor seat,
Clayfield
Clayfield is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,897 people.
Geography
Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane CBD. Clayfield is bordered to ...
, for 12 years until losing it at the
2001 election. He later served as a
Federal Senator and a minister in the
Howard government
The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...
.
See also
*
List of Queensland state by-elections
The following is a list of state by-elections for the Queensland Legislative Assembly held in the Australian state of Queensland:
2020–2029
2010–2019
2000–2009
1990–1999
1980–1989
1970–1979
1960–1969
1950–1959
194 ...
References
{{Qld by-elections 45th parl
Merthyr state by-election
Queensland state by-elections
Merthyr state by-election, 1989
Merthyr state by-election