# 2018 Fremantle by-election

A by-election for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Fremantle took place on Saturday 28 July 2018, following the resignation of incumbent Labor MP Josh Wilson.
In early counting, within 90 minutes of the close of polls, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's psephologist Antony Green's electoral computer had predicted Labor to retain the electorate with an increased margin. This election is notable for being the first time that a Liberal Democrats candidate was included in the two-candidate-preferred counting in an Australian federal election.
The by-election occurred on the same day as four other by-elections for the House of Representatives, colloquially known as Super Saturday.

## Background

Due to the High Court ruling against Senator Katy Gallagher on 9 May 2018 as part of the ongoing parliamentary eligibility crisis, Wilson and three other MPs in the same situation announced their parliamentary resignations later that day, while the Perth incumbent resigned for family reasons. The Speaker announced on 24 May 2018 that he had scheduled the by-elections to occur on 28 July 2018. Popularly labelled "Super Saturday", the occurrence of five simultaneous federal by-elections is unprecedented in Australian political history. The others are:
* 2018 Braddon by-election
* 2018 Longman by-election
* 2018 Mayo by-election
* 2018 Perth by-election

## Key dates

Key dates in relation to the by-election are:
* Thursday, 10 May 2018 – Speaker acceptance of resignation
* Friday, 15 June 2018 – Issue of writ
* Friday, 22 June 2018 – Close of electoral rolls (8pm)
* Thursday, 5 July 2018 – Close of nominations (12 noon)
* Friday, 6 July 2018 – Declaration of nominations (12 noon)
* Tuesday, 10 July 2018 – Start of early voting
* Saturday, 28 July 2018 – Polling day (8am to 6pm)
* Friday, 10 August 2018 – Last day for receipt of postal votes
* Sunday, 23 September 2018 – Last day for return of writs

## Candidates

Candidates (7) in ballot paper order :
| Party | Candidate | Background |
| Christians | Mark Staer | Contested Cannington at the 2008 state election and Gosnells at the 2013 state election. |
| Greens | Dorinda Cox | Small business owner, former police officer, anti-domestic violence campaigner. |
| Animal Justice | Katrina Love | Party's national vice president and state convenor. |
| Labor | Josh Wilson | Previous MP for Fremantle elected at the 2016 federal election. |
| Liberal Democrats | John Gray | Former Navy officer, Notre Dame University law student, Starlight Children's Foundation entertainer. |
| People | James Harfouche | Curtin University commerce student. |
| Independent | Jason Spanbroek | Running on an anti-Labor platform. |
The Liberals declined to contest the Fremantle and Perth federal by-elections, but concentrated their resources on the Darling Range state by-election.

## Results

Fremantle by-election: 28 July 2018 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Josh Wilson | 33,277 | 52.62 | +11.63 |
| | Greens | Dorinda Cox | 10,456 | 16.53 | −1.21 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Gray | 8,916 | 14.10 | +14.10 |
| | Christians | Mark Staer | 3,350 | 5.30 | +5.30 |
| | Animal Justice | Katrina Love | 3,297 | 5.21 | +5.21 |
| | Independent | Jason Spanbroek | 3,239 | 5.12 | +5.12 |
| | People's Party | James Harfouche | 708 | 1.12 | +1.12 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 63,243 | 92.76 | −3.24 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,933 | 7.24 | +3.24 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 68,176 | 66.09 | −22.72 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Josh Wilson | 46,375 | 73.33 | +15.81 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Gray | 16,868 | 26.67 | +26.67 |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | N/A | |