# 2012 Sydney state by-election

A by-election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Sydney was held on Saturday 27 October 2012. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of independent MP Clover Moore due to the legislation preventing dual membership of state parliament and local council.
Following the 2012 local government elections in which Moore was re-elected for a third term as Lord Mayor of Sydney, Moore resigned from NSW Parliament. Laws passed through NSW Parliament in 2012 ceased dual state parliament and local council representation.
Alex Greenwich, an independent candidate backed by Moore easily won the seat.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| 8 October 2012 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls. |
| 10 October 2012 | Close of party nominations |
| 11 October 2012 | Close of independent nominations, ballot paper order draw conducted |
| 15 October 2012 | Early voting began |
| 27 October 2012 | Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm |

## Background

Moore was first elected to the marginal seat of Bligh at the 1988 election. Her largest primary vote was 43.7 percent in 1991, while her largest two-candidate preferred vote was 64.7 percent in 2003. The seat was replaced by Sydney at the 2007 election, where Moore retained the seat with a primary vote of 39.6 percent (+7.2) and a two-candidate preferred vote of 66.6 percent (+1.6) against Labor. At the 2011 election, Moore retained the seat with a primary vote of 36.3 percent and a two-candidate vote of 53.1 percent against the Liberals with a primary vote of 36.2 percent (+14.6), the Greens on 12.8 percent (−2.8), and Labor on 11.3 percent (−8.7). In two-party preferred terms, the seat had a Liberal vote of 65.5 percent (+22.4) against Labor.
There was a 16.3 percent two-party preferred swing away from the Coalition government at the 2011 Clarence by-election. The Coalition did not contest the 2012 Heffron by-election which Labor retained with an increased margin. Labor strategically chose not to contest the Sydney by-election.

## Candidates

The five candidates in ballot paper order were as follows:
Candidates :
| Christian Democratic Party | Robyn Peebles | Pastor of West Ryde Church of the Good Shepherd, state and federal serial candidate. |
| Independent | Alex Greenwich | LGBT rights campaigner, leader of Australian Marriage Equality. Endorsed by Clover Moore. |
| Greens | Chris Harris | Councillor for City of Sydney 2004–2012. Contested Sydney in 2007. |
| Liberal Party | Shayne Mallard | Councillor for City of South Sydney 2000–2004 and City of Sydney 2004–2012. LGBT rights campaigner. Contested Bligh in 2003. |
| Independent | Glenn Wall | Long-term local activist, most recently involved with the Occupy Sydney movement. |

## Polling

* On 26 September 2012, 422 voters (5% MoE) in the seat were robocall polled by ReachTel. Greenwich was on a primary vote of 31.4 percent, the Liberals were on 30.6 percent, the Greens were on 25.4 percent, with 'others' on 12.5 percent (respondents were told Labor was not fielding a candidate). Although no two-candidate preferred vote was given, the ABC's election analyst Antony Green said Greenwich would have been favoured to win on preferences given that Labor decided not to run a candidate.

## Results

2012 Sydney by-election Saturday 27 October :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Alex Greenwich | 17,687 | 47.3 | +47.3 |
| | Liberal | Shayne Mallard | 11,543 | 30.9 | –5.3 |
| | Greens | Chris Harris | 6,616 | 17.7 | +4.9 |
| | Independent | Glenn Wall | 825 | 2.2 | +2.2 |
| | Christian Democrats | Robyn Peebles | 724 | 1.9 | +0.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 37,395 | 97.2 | –0.6 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,062 | 2.8 | +0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,457 | 62.6 | –21.3 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Independent | Alex Greenwich | 21,283 | 63.7 | +63.7 |
| | Liberal | Shayne Mallard | 12,120 | 36.3 | –10.6 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | N/A | |