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A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Port Macquarie on 18 October 2008.[1] This was triggered by the resignation of independent MP Rob Oakeshott who was elected to the federal seat of Lyne at a by-election the previous month.[2]
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The writ for the Port Macquarie by-election was issued on 29 August, which was also when the rolls closed. Candidate nominations closed on 18 September. The by-election was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Port Macquarie at the 2007 state election. At that election, the independent MP won the seat over the Nationals by a two-party preferred margin of 78.2% to 21.8%.
Created in a 1988 redistribution, Port Macquarie has always been based on Port Macquarie and Laurieton–Camden Haven. It was a safe National Party seat prior to the election of Oakeshott, who was MP for Port Macquarie since 1996, becoming an independent in 2002.
The following candidates nominated for the election:[3]
Federal Hume MP Alby Schultz was seen campaigning a few times for Besseling, referring to him as "the pick of the candidates", with similar support from Senator Bill Heffernan, sparking anger and resentment within the coalition.[6]
Despite independent Rob Oakeshott moving into federal politics, another independent, Peter Besseling, retained the seat, winning on the primary and two party vote.[3][7]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Peter Besseling | 15,003 | 35.94 | +35.94 | |
National | Leslie Williams | 14,061 | 33.69 | +14.24 | |
Independent | Jamie Harrison | 3,484 | 8.35 | +8.35 | |
Independent | Lisa Intemann | 3,134 | 7.51 | +7.51 | |
Independent | James Langley | 2,045 | 4.90 | +4.90 | |
Greens | Susie Russell | 1,971 | 4.72 | +1.97 | |
Independent | Bob Sharpham | 795 | 1.90 | +1.90 | |
Christian Democrats | Bob Waldron | 514 | 1.23 | +1.23 | |
Independent | Tony Galati | 417 | 1.00 | +1.00 | |
Independent | Grant Rogers | 196 | 0.47 | +0.47 | |
Independent | Cameron Price | 129 | 0.31 | +0.31 | |
Total formal votes | 41,749 | 98.20 | −0.54 | ||
Informal votes | 765 | 1.26 | +0.54 | ||
Turnout | 42,514 | 88.21 | −5.27 | ||
Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
Independent | Peter Besseling | 20,068 | 54.52 | +54.52 | |
National | Leslie Williams | 16,741 | 45.48 | +23.70 | |
Independent hold | Swing | N/A |
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