A by-election for the seat of South-West Coast in the Victorian Legislative Assembly was held on 31 October 2015. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Premier Denis Napthine on 3 September 2015. Former Transport Minister Terry Mulder resigned his seat representing the adjacent district of Polwarth on the same day as Napthine. The by-election for Polwarth was held on the same day.
Candidates 11 candidates in ballot paper order Party CandidateBackground Independent Rodney Van De Hoef Warrnambool engineer. Liberal Roma Britnell Dairy farmer. Vice President of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria. Independent Roy Reekie Labor candidate for Warrnambool in 1999 and South-West Coast in 2002, 2006 and 2014. Narrowly lost 2002 on a 49.3 percent two-party vote. CountryJim Doukas Shire of Moyne councillor.2015 Polwarth by-election: ABC National Michael Neoh Mayor of Warrnambool. Independent Pete Smith Independent Liberal. Dairy industry executive, advisor to BlueScope Steel, AWB and Australia Post, army press officer, naval officer. Greens Thomas Campbell Greens candidate for South-West Coast in 2014. Independent Swampy Marsh Warrnambool dairy and chicken farmer. Subject of the 2015 film Oddball. Animal Justice Jennifer Gamble Warrnambool nurse. Animal Justice candidate for Western Victoria Region in 2014. Christians Lillian Len Independent Michael McCluskey Former veterinarian. Independent candidate for South-West Coast in 2014.
The Labor government did not contest the by-elections in the safe Liberal seats of South-West Coast and Polwarth.
How-to-vote cards
How-to-vote cards are distributed to voters at polling stations to provide information with how the candidate suggests preferences be allocated. Candidates and parties suggesting preferences are shown in each column of the table below. Michael McCluskey ran an open card at this by-election. Van De HoefLiberalReekieCountryNationalSmithGreensMarshAJPChristiansMcCluskeyVan de Hoef1111044No card7975Liberal1111192811103Reekie261732639Country3341511292National425101910114Smith553665457Greens68211718211Marsh7106286148Animal Justice8778945110Christians94831010781McCluskey109951138661
Polling +South-West Coast pollingDatePrimary voteLIBReekieNATOTH23 October 2015 37% 24% 18% 21%
Result
Roma Britnell retained the seat on preferences for the Liberals. Roy Reekie was second in the primary count.2015 Polwarth by-election commentary, ABC.
See also 2015 Polwarth state by-election List of Victorian state by-elections
References
External links Victorian Electoral Commission: South-West Coast District by-election ABC Elections: 2015 South-West Coast by-election