1988 South Coast state by-election

August 2019 A by-election was held in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of South Coast on 28 August 1988. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting National Party member Russ Hinze. The seat was retained by the National Party with the election of candidate Judy Gamin. Background Russ Hinze was first elected to parliament at the 1966 state election as the Country Party member for South Coast. In 1974, he became a minister in the government of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, holding several portfolios up until the end of Bjelke-Petersen's reign in December 1987. Like Bjelke-Petersen, Hinze was disgraced by the revelations of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, a probe into government and police corruption. He was therefore left out of the new government led by Premier Mike Ahern. Hinze became a fierce critic of Ahern before resigning his seat on 24 May 1988.August 1989 Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1988 Australian Journal of Politics and History 35 2 262–263 0004-9522 10.1111/j.1467-8497.1989.tb00020.x Due to recent losses by the Nationals at the Barambah state and Groom federal by-elections, winning South Coast was seen as critical by the Nationals. Candidates The by-election attracted a field of ten candidates. With South Coast being a reliably conservative electorate, the two most notable candidates were therefore those of the National Party and the Liberal Party; businesswomen and regional party vice-president Judy Gamin and Bob Quinn respectively. Lindsay Hartwig, formerly a National Party and independent member for the rural seat of Callide, stood on behalf of the far right Citizens Electoral Council. Philip Black, a supporter of Joh Bjelke-Petersen and former Young Nationals president who had been expelled from the National Party, ran as an independent with Sir Joh's verbal endorsement.An embittered old warhorse sharpens his political knife for some scalping Roberts Greg 15 August 1988 13 Sydney Morning Herald Bruce Whiteside, founder of the anti-Japanese investment group "Heart of a Nation", also nominated, although his New Zealand citizenship posed a public perception problem for his campaign given the number of New Zealand companies buying up land in the Gold Coast. Results Judy Gamin of the National Party prevailed narrowly over the Liberal Party's Bob Quinn. South Coast state by-election, 1988Details of polling at general election held on 2 December 1989 Queensland Legislative Assembly 6 March 1990 68 Nationals QLD Judy Gamin 5,716 30.43 −19.26 Liberal QLD Bob Quinn 5,426 28.89 +8.86 Labor QLD Dallas Watson 4,293 22.85 −7.42 Independent Philip Black 1,488 7.92 +7.92 CEC Lindsay Hartwig 589 3.14 +3.14 Democrats Anthony William Kennedy 571 2.51 +2.51 Australian Independent Bruce Whiteside 420 2.30 +2.30 ASSP Ennis Groom 225 1.20 +1.20 Independent James Drabsch 83 0.44 +0.44 Independent John Kachel 61 0.32 +0.32 18,784 95.27 −2.75 932 4.73 +2.75 19,716 77.60 −10.22 Nationals QLD Judy Gamin 9,464 50.38 Liberal QLD Bob Quinn 9,320 49.62 Nationals QLD Aftermath Seeking a second term as the member for South Coast, Judy Gamin was defeated at the 1989 state election by Bob Quinn who was once again standing as the Liberal Party candidate. See also List of Queensland state by-elections References South Coast state by-election Category:Queensland state by-elections South Coast state by-election, 1988 South Coast state by-election