2014 Vasse state by-election

A by-election for the seat of Vasse in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly was held on 18 October 2014.^[1] The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal MLA and former Liberal leader Troy Buswell on 3 September 2014, who won the seat at the 2013 election with a 57.3 percent primary and a 71.2 percent two-party vote.^[2]^[3] It was held on the same day as the 2014 Casuarina by-election in the Northern Territory.

Candidates

The writ for the by-election was issued on 18 September 2014, and candidate nominations were open until 26 September.^[4]

The six candidates in ballot paper order were as follows:

Candidate nominations
Party		Candidate	Background
	Christians	Wayne Barnett	Horticulture manager. Resident of Busselton, contested Collie-Preston for the Christian Democrats at the 2008 state election and Forrest for the Australian Christians at the 2013 federal election.^[5]
	Nationals	Peter Gordon	Businessman. Resident of Busselton.^[5]
	Independent	Peter Johnson	Life member and former state president of the Rebels Motorcycle Club.^[5]
	Liberal	Libby Mettam	Former journalist and current media adviser for Barry House, MLC. Resident of Dunsborough.^[5]
	Greens	Michael Baldock	Structural engineer. Resident of Busselton, contested Vasse for the Greens at the 2013 state election.^[5]
	Independent	Teresa van Lieshout	Perennial candidate.^[5]

The Labor Party declined to field a candidate at the by-election.^[6]

Vasse state by-election, 2014^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Libby Mettam	8,805	44.3	−13.0
	National	Peter Gordon	5,656	28.5	+21.2
	Greens	Michael Baldock	3,567	18.0	+7.9
	Independent	Peter Johnson	873	4.4	+4.4
	Christians	Wayne Barnett	686	3.5	+3.5
	Independent	Teresa van Lieshout	274	1.4	+1.4
Total formal votes			19,861	97.2	+1.2
Informal votes			569	2.8	–1.2
Turnout			20,430	82.6	−8.6
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Liberal	Libby Mettam	10,520	53.0	−18.2
	National	Peter Gordon	9,328	47.0	+47.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

^ Joe Spagnolo (18 September 2014). "Vasse by-election to replace former treasurer Troy Buswell set on Saturday, October 18" – PerthNow. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
^ "Troy Buswell has quit politics, effective immediately". PerthNow. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
^ Green, Antony (4 September 2014). "Vasse By-election to follow Troy Buswell's resignation". Antony Green's Election Blog. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
^ Writ issued for the 2014 Vasse by-election – WA Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 2014 Vasse state by-election: Antony Green ABC
^ Dalzell, Stephanie (9 September 2014). "Labor not standing candidate in Vasse by-election for Troy Buswell's former seat". ABC News. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
^ "2014 Vasse By-election". www.elections.wa.gov.au. Western Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
^ Green, Antony (18 October 2014). "Results: 2014 Vasse By-election". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 October 2014.