1981 Oxley state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Oxley on 21 February 1981 following the resignation of Bruce Cowan (National Country) to successfully contest the federal seat of Lyne at the 1980 election.^[1]

By-elections for the seats of Cessnock, Maitland and Sturt were held on the same day.

Dates

Date	Event
29 August 1980	Resignation of Bruce Cowan.[1]
18 October 1980	1980 Australian federal election
22 January 1981	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls.[2]
29 January 1981	Day of nomination
21 February 1981	Polling day
13 March 1981	Return of writ

Results

1981 Oxley by-election 
Saturday 21 February ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Country	Peter King	15,562	61.7	−0.8
	Labor	John Eastman	9,675	38.34	+0.8
Total formal votes			25,237	98.85	+0.4
Informal votes			165	0.9	−0.4
Turnout			25,531	79.7	−15.0
	National Country hold		Swing	−0.8

Aftermath

Peter King's career was to be short-lived.^[4] The electoral redistribution for the 1981 state election abolished the nearby electorate of Raleigh, and its Country Party MLA, Jim Brown,^[5] chose to challenge King for Oxley preselection rather than contest the new electorate of Coffs Harbour. Brown emerged successful after a controversial preselection campaign, and King was forced to retire at the 1981 election.^[4]

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Oxley
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

References

1. "Mr David Bruce Cowan (1926–2011)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
2. "Writ of election: Oxley". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 15. 22 January 1981. p. 419. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via Trove.
3. Green, Antony. "1981 Oxley by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
4. "Mr Peter Maurice King". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
5. "Mr James Hill Brown (1918 - 1999)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 April 2019.