1990 Fremantle state by-election


The 1990 Fremantle state by-election was a by-election held on 26 May 1990 for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Fremantle in the southern suburbs of Perth.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labor member and former Deputy Premier David Parker on 26 April 1990.
The seat of Fremantle, first established in 1890, was considered to be a safe seat for the Labor Party.

Timeline

DateEvent
26 April 1990David Parker resigned, vacating the seat of Fremantle.
26 April 1990Writs were issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to proceed with a by-election.
4 May 1990Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers.
26 May 1990Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
6 June 1990The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Candidates

The by-election attracted eleven candidates. Of these, four were notable—Jim McGinty, the Labor candidate, was the secretary of the Miscellaneous Workers' Union. Arthur Marshall, the Liberal candidate, was a veteran sports commentator for the Seven Network who had also founded a tennis academy. Christabel Chamarette, for the new Greens WA party, was a psychologist and social worker. John Troy was the former Labor member for the seat from 1977 to 1980.

Results

Jim McGinty held the seat for the Labor Party. Despite winning the seat comfortably, his votes trailed those of the Liberal candidate by several hundred votes until the tenth count, when the Greens preferences and through them the majority of John Troy's preferences were distributed.