1982 Lowe by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Lowe on 13 March 1982. This was triggered by the resignation of former Liberal Party Prime Minister and MP Sir William McMahon.

The by-election was won by Labor Party candidate Michael Maher.

The election occurred during the Franklin Dam controversy in Tasmania, which had broad national support; 12% of voters wrote 'No Dams' on their ballot papers.^[1]

Results

1982 Lowe by-election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Michael Maher	32,717	53.4	+7.0
	Liberal	Philip Taylor	23,637	38.6	-10.1
	Democrats	Stephen Kirkham	2,495	4.1	+1.1
	Independent	Maddalena Gustin	729	1.2	+1.2
	Independent	Katherine Wentworth	462	0.8	+0.8
	Independent	Charles Bellchambers	460	0.8	+0.8
	Republican	Peter Consandine	405	0.7	+0.7
	Independent	Maggie Lee	144	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	Robert Cameron	116	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	John Penninger	56	0.1	+0.1
	Independent	Frederick Martin	49	0.1	+0.1
	Independent	Robert Webeck	27	0.0	+0.0
Total formal votes			61,297	96.7	−0.4
Informal votes			2,091	3.3	+0.4
Turnout			63,388	89.1	−3.6
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Michael Maher		58.3	+9.4
	Liberal	Philip Taylor		41.7	-9.4
	Labor gain from Liberal		Swing	+9.4

See also

• List of Australian federal by-elections

References

1. Buckman, Greg (2008). Tasmania's Wilderness Battles. Allen&Unwin. p. 48. ISBN 9781741754643.
2. "1982 Lowe by-election". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 29 May 2022.