page_title: 2009 Higgins by-election
section_title: Campaign
hierarchical_section_title: 2009 Higgins by-election / Campaign
caption_attribution_description: English: A polling station for the 2009 by-election in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak.
context_page_description: The 2009 Higgins by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives Division of Higgins on 5 December 2009. This was triggered by the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello. The by-election was held on the same day as the Bradfield by-election.
  It was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Higgins at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party with 57.04 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, the closest result in the seat's 60-year history. The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.
  The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed 12 November, and were announced the following day. The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate.
  Both the Higgins and Bradfield by-elections were the last by-elections for the House of Representatives until the 2014 Griffith by-election.
context_section_description: The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate for the by-election.
  The Higgins and Bradfield by-election campaigns were overshadowed by Liberal infighting over Labor Party government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, culminating in the replacement of Malcolm Turnbull with Tony Abbott as Liberal leader. Although fairly safe on paper, some commentators including Malcolm Mackerras tipped the Greens to defeat the Liberals in Higgins, and force the Liberals to preferences in Bradfield.
  Liberal Party candidate Kelly O'Dwyer focussed her campaigning on local issues and attempted to distance herself from federal affairs, whereas the Greens Clive Hamilton campaigned primarily for stronger action on climate change.
caption: A polling booth at Toorak on polling day
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