1988 Barambah state by-election

Election in an Australian state August 2019 1988 Barambah state by-election Queensland parliamentary Primary no 1986 Queensland state election 1986 16 April 1988 1989 Queensland state election 1989 84.90% ( 8.63) Electoral district of Barambah in the Queensland Legislative Assembly Warren Truss Portrait 2010.jpg 130 120 160 5 5 Warren Truss National Party of Australia – Queensland 4,754 41.27% 36.20 CEC Citizens Electoral Council Trevor Perrett CEC Citizens Electoral Council 3,639 31.59% 31.59 Labor Placeholder.png 120 120 160 0 0 John Lang Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch) 2,033 17.65% 4.88 2CP 2CP swing 45.89% 31.58 54.11% 54.11 MP Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen National Trevor Perrett Citizens Electoral Council The 1988 Barambah state by-election was held on 16 April 1988 to elect the member for Barambah in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of resignation of National MP and former premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Until the by-election, the seat had been considered the Nationals' safest seat in Queensland. Candidates The candidates were:December 1988 Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1988 Australian Journal of Politics and History 34 3 418–419 0004-9522 10.1111/j.1467-8497.1988.tb01188.x Warren Truss of the National Party, the chairman of the Shire of Kingaroy; Trevor Perrett, a Kingaroy grazier and former National Party member"Vote for Libs, says Joh, the Nats are lost", The Courier-Mail, 15 March 1988, pg 2. who represented the Citizens Electoral Council, a conservative party; John Lang of the Labor Party; and Kevin Polzin, a Wondai peanut farmer who used the title "New Country Party" (not related to the New Country Party which was formed by former One Nation members in 2003). Results The result was a shock to most observers, and came about largely because 89% of Labor voters' preferences went to the CEC. It was seen by contemporary observers as a clear setback to new party leader Mike Ahern in his efforts to stabilise the party ahead of the 1989 election. Barambah state by-election, 1988Details of polling at general election held on 2 December 1989 Queensland Legislative Assembly 6 March 1990 70 Nationals QLD Warren Truss 4,754 41.27 −36.20 CEC Trevor Perrett 3,639 31.59 +31.59 Labor QLD John Lang 2,033 17.65 −4.88 |- | New Country width:1px |   | style="text-align:left;"| New Country Party | style="text-align:left;"| Kevin Polzin | style="text-align:right;"| 1,092 | style="text-align:right;"| 9.48 | style="text-align:right;"| +9.48 |- 11,518 98.15 +0.88 216 1.85 −0.88 11,734 84.90 −8.63 CEC Trevor Perrett 6,232 54.11 +54.11 Nationals QLD Warren Truss 5,286 45.89 −31.58 CEC Nationals QLD N/A Aftermath Though elected as a Citizens Electoral Council candidate, Trevor Perrett defected to the National Party in December 1988, and was re-elected as a National candidate at the 1989 state election. Perrett became a minister in the Coalition government of Rob Borbidge and held the seat of Barambah until his defeat at the 1998 state election. Defeated National Party candidate Warren Truss was elected as the member for the division of Wide Bay at the 1990 Australian federal election. He served as a minister in the government of John Howard and became federal leader of the National Party in 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia in 2013 and served as a minister in the governments of Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull. See also List of Queensland state by-elections References Barambah state by-election Category:Queensland state by-elections Barambah state by-election