1996 Lindsay by-election

April 2022 June 2023 New South Wales parliamentary no 19 October 1996 Jackie Kelly Liberal Party of Australia 34,840 49.21% 6.69pp 150x150px Ross Free Australian Labor Party 23,758 33.56% 3.76pp 150x150px TPP TPP swing 56.55% 4.97pp 43.45% 4.97pp MP Jackie Kelly Liberal Party of Australia Jackie Kelly Liberal Party of Australia The 1996 Lindsay by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Lindsay in New South Wales on 19 October 1996. The by-election was triggered by a ruling of the Court of Disputed Returns that the election of the Liberal Party candidate Jackie Kelly was invalid, due to her citizenship status and employment by the Royal Australian Air Force. The writ for the by-election was issued on 16 September 1996. Background Jackie Kelly won the seat of Lindsay from Labor's Ross Free at the 1996 federal election – a surprise win as Lindsay was considered a safe Labor seat.Election 2007 Guide - Retiring MPs, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. However, Kelly's election was challenged on two counts: that she had not renounced her New Zealand citizenship (Section 44 of the Australian Constitution states that "a subject or citizen of a foreign power" is ineligible to stand for federal parliament),Mckeown, Dierdre: Changes in the Australian Oath of Citizenship https://web.archive.org/web/20080131170634/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn20.htm 31 January 2008 , Parliament of Australia, 19 November 2002. and that at the time of her nomination as a candidate she was employed as a legal officer for the Royal Australian Air Force (s. 44 also prohibits any person who "holds any office of profit under the Crown" from election to parliament).Holland, Ian: Section 44 of the Constitution https://web.archive.org/web/20070611113451/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/POL/Section44.htm 2007-06-11 , Parliament of Australia, March 2002. The Court of Disputed Returns ruled on 11 September 1996 that Kelly's election was indeed constitutionally invalid, and a by-election was called several days later. Kelly, by this time, had resigned from the RAAF and renounced her New Zealand citizenship, and was eligible to stand as a candidate in the by-election. Results Lindsay by-election, 1996 Jackie Kelly Liberal 34,840 49.21 +6.69 Ross Free Labor 23,758 33.56 −6.76 Vince Townsend AAFI 4,224 5.97 +3.24 Rodney Franich Shooters 2,042 2.88 +2.88 Lesley Edwards Greens 1,502 2.12 −2.29 Brian Grigg Call to Australia 1,254 1.77 −0.39 Stephen Lear Democrats 1,182 1.67 −4.92 Kay Anne Vella Independent 933 1.32 +1.32 Vicki Aird Independent 488 0.69 +0.69 Steve Grim-Reaper Independent 270 0.38 +0.38 Robert Frank Peacey Independent 156 0.22 +0.22 David Archibald Family Law Reform 150 0.21 +0.21 70,799 96.36 −0.06 2,678 3.64 +0.06 73,477 89.98 −6.14 Liberal Jackie Kelly 40,037 56.55 +4.97 Labor Ross Free 30,762 43.45 −4.97 Liberal Labor +4.97 Aftermath Jackie Kelly won the by-election with an even larger majority – a swing of 4.97% in her favour. See also List of Australian federal by-elections References External links Lindsay (NSW) By-Election (19 October 1996), Australian Electoral Commission Category:1996 elections in Australia Category:New South Wales federal by-elections