# 2014 Newcastle state by-election

A by-election for the seat of Newcastle in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 25 October 2014. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal-turned-independent MP Tim Owen, who won the seat at the 2011 election with a 36.7 percent primary and 52.6 percent two-party-preferred vote.
The previous New South Wales by-election had seen a 26-point two-party-preferred swing to Labor.

## Background

Newcastle, located in the traditional Labor heartland of the Hunter Region, was won for the Liberals by Owen at the 2011 election on a swing of 26.9 points. Owen was the first Liberal to win the seat since its re-creation in 1927. Before Owen's win, Newcastle had only been out of Labor hands twice in its current incarnation; independent George Keegan held it from 1988 to 1991, and Bryce Gaudry sat as an independent for part of 2007 after losing Labor preselection.
In May 2014, after admitting that he had probably received illegal donations in the 2011 campaign, Owen announced he would not re-nominate for Newcastle in the next state election. On 6 August 2014, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence that illegal donations from Newcastle-area developers had funded Owen's campaign, prompting the commission's counsel to question the validity of Owen's victory. Following this disclosure, Owen resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent pending the results of the inquiry. A week later, on 12 August, Owen admitted he had lied to the ICAC about returning one of the illicit donations. He resigned from parliament hours later under pressure.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| 3 October 2014 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls. |
| Noon, 8 October 2014 | Close of nominations for party-endorsed candidates |
| Noon, 9 October 2014 | Close of nominations for other candidates |
| 25 October 2014 | Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm |

## Candidates

The eight candidates in ballot paper order are as follows:
Candidate nominations :
| Socialist Alliance | Steve O'Brien | Socialist campaigner and unionist. |
| Labor Party | Tim Crakanthorp | Newcastle City Council Councillor. |
| Greens | Michael Osborne | Former Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle City Council. |
| Independent | Jacqueline Haines | Contested Lord Mayoral election in 2012. |
| Palmer United Party | Jennifer Stefanac | Palmer United Party candidate. |
| Independent | Karen Howard | Graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. |
| Christian Democratic Party | Milton Caine | Has contested seats for 30 years as a Christian Democrat, Liberal, and independent. |
| Independent | Brian Buckley Clare | Contested federal seat of Lyne for Katter's Australian Party at previous election. |
The Liberals declined to contest the by-election, and also declined to field a candidate in the by-election in Charlestown held on the same day. NSW Liberal director Tony Nutt stated that the Liberals would not contest either by-election "as an explicit act of atonement" for the revelations, and Premier Mike Baird said that the Liberals didn't deserve to contest the seats while they were "getting (their) house in order." According to ABC election analyst Antony Green, it was the first known occasion of a sitting government in NSW opting not to contest by-elections in seats that it previously held.

## Results

2014 Newcastle by-election Saturday 25 October :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Tim Crakanthorp | 15,253 | 36.9 | +6.3 |
| | Independent | Karen Howard | 10,796 | 26.1 | +26.1 |
| | Greens | Michael Osborne | 8,236 | 19.9 | +5.1 |
| | Independent | Jacqueline Haines | 3,019 | 7.3 | +7.3 |
| | Palmer United | Jennifer Stefanac | 1,332 | 3.2 | +3.2 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Steve O'Brien | 1,086 | 2.6 | +1.0 |
| | Christian Democrats | Milton Caine | 834 | 2.0 | +1.2 |
| | Independent | Brian Buckley Clare | 762 | 1.8 | +1.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 41,318 | 94.7 | −2.5 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,327 | 5.3 | +2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,645 | 80.6 | −11.8 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Tim Crakanthorp | 18,785 | 58.7 | +11.2 |
| | Independent | Karen Howard | 13,243 | 41.3 | +41.3 |
| | Labor gain from Liberal | Labor gain from Liberal | | | |