1985 Nunawading Province state by-election

April 2022 1985 Nunawading Provincestate by-election Victoria parliamentary no 1985 Victorian state election March 1985 1988 Victorian state election 1988 17 August 1985 Province of Nunawading in the Victorian Legislative Council Primary Liberal Party of Australia placeholder portrait.svg 120 120 160 0 0 Rosemary Varty Victorian Liberal Party 51,006 49.2% 3.1 Labor Placeholder.png 120 120 160 0 0 Bob Ives Victorian Labor Party 40,578 39.2% 6.6 MLC VacantAlthough Bob Ives had won the seat at the 1985 state election following the casting vote by the returning officer, this result had been overturned by the Court of Disputed Returns and the seat was vacant prior to the by-election. Rosemary Varty Liberal The 1985 Nunawading Province by-election was held on 17 August 1985 to elect the member for Nunawading Province in the Victorian Legislative Council. It was ordered by the Court of Disputed Returns after the 1985 Victorian state election had resulted in a tie between the top two candidates, and the Chief Electoral Officer drew a name at random. The Chief Electoral Officer drew the name of the ALP candidate Bob Ives. After the Court ordered a new election, the outcome was that the Liberal candidate Rosemary Varty was returned. Background In 1985, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members. They were elected for 8-year terms from 22 two-member provinces. Half of the Council retired every four years, so each election elected one member in each province. The Nunawading Province consisted of the Victorian Legislative Assembly seats of Box Hill, Mitcham, Ringwood and Warrandyte. Lawrence Alexander McArthur was the continuing member for Nunawading Province.http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/states/vic/historic/1985council.txt 2 January 2016 Victoria - Legislative Council - Election of 2 March 1985 Psephos Adam Carr In the 1985 general election held on 2 March 1985, the vote ended with a dead heat after distribution of preferences from the Australian Democrats candidate. The Labor candidate Bob Ives and the Liberal candidate Rosemary Varty received 54,821 votes each. The returning officer, Kathleen Leonard, was required by law to make a casting vote, which she did by drawing a name from a ballot box. The name drawn was Bob Ives and he was declared elected.Broadbent David Colebatch Tim Hawker Philippa 'Raffle' gives Labor Victory The Age 14 March 1985 1 January 2017 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=61BVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lZUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4077,8099315 The Age described the result as "the most sensational electoral finish in memory". Electing Ives to the Legislative Council would give the ALP control of the house, however the Court of Disputed Returns voided the result before he could take his seat.https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/bob-ives/ Robert Stuart Ives State Government of Victoria 17 July 2025 Varty disputed the result in the Court of Disputed Returns. Pinto Pamela Poll 'lottery' fairest way, official tells court The Age https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RzRVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ApUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4208,1914104 20 June 1985 2 January 2017 The court (Mr Justice Starke) found that there had been errors and omissions made by electoral officers, and these had not been found not to affect the result (i.e., they could have affected the outcome), and declared the election absolutely void on 25 July 1985.https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/4a8126/contentassets/3d8cba4c48f048ecba9694481101ec09/is_varty_rosemary.pdf Inaugural speech of Varty, Rosemary. State Government of Victoria 17 July 2025 Forty-four votes had been incorrectly excluded from the count. The court ordered a by-election Young Leith Judge rules court had no power to open sealed votes The Age https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h1BVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iJUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2354,5295305 25 July 1985 2 January 2017 which was won convincingly by Liberal candidate Rosemary Varty. Broadbent David Now we'll win government, says Kennett after 'stunning victory' The Age https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9TNVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=35QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2711,4160786 19 August 1985 2 January 2017 Controversy On the day of the by-election, the Nuclear Disarmament Party how-to-vote cards only showed a 1 in the box for their candidate, and encouraged voters to allocate their own preferences. Members of the Labor Party were accused of orchestrating that there were other "How to vote for Nuclear Disarmament" flyers distributed that showed a full set of preferences, with NDP first and Labor 2nd. Results 1985 Nunawading Province state by-election Liberal VIC Rosemary Varty 51,006 49.2 +3.1 Labor VIC Bob Ives 40,578 39.2 -6.6 Democrats Michael Nardella 4,760 4.6 -3.5 Call To Australia William Watson 2,682 2.6 +2.6 Nuclear Disarmament Jennifer Cotterell 2,530 2.4 +2.4 Democratic Labor Peter Ferwerda 1,361 1.3 +1.3 Independent Basil Smith 438 0.4 +0.4 Independent Brian Lumsden 204 0.2 +0.2 Independent Wilhelm Kapphan 75 0.1 +0.1 103,634 98.1 +0.4 2,055 1.9 −0.4 105,689 Liberal VIC Rosemary Varty 52,086 50.3 Labor VIC Bob Ives 40,818 39.4 Democrats Michael Nardella 4,947 4.8 Call to Australia William Watson 3,120 3.0 Nuclear Disarmament Jennifer Cotterell 2,649 2.6 Liberal VIC Labor VIC N/A A full distribution of preferences was not carried out, as Varty recorded a majority after the fifth count. Notes References Category:Victorian state by-elections Nunawading Province state by-election Nunawading Province state by-election, 1985 Nunawading Province state by-election