A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Groom on 9 April 1988. It was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Tom McVeigh.
The by-election was won by Liberal Party candidate Bill Taylor.
A month before the poll, Taylor was publicly backed by former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who had been forced to resign as premier several months earlier, after losing the support of his National Party colleagues. Bjelke-Petersen said the Nationals had lost their way and turned their backs on traditional conservative policies."Vote for Libs, says Joh, the Nats are lost", The Courier-Mail, 15 March 1988, pg 2.
Candidates
Australian Democrats – Mark Carew, the party's 1987 candidate. Australian Labor Party – Linda Dwyer, the party's 1987 candidate. Liberal Party of Australia – Bill Taylor, an officer in the Royal Australian Navy. National Party of Australia – David Russell. Independent – Peter Consandine, republican campaigner who later founded the Republican Party of Australia. Independent – Vincent Burke. Burke later contested the Australian Senate as an ungrouped independent in 1990.
Results
See also List of Australian federal by-elections
References