2023 Warrandyte state by-election


The 2023 Warrandyte state by-election was held on 26 August 2023 to elect the next member for Warrandyte in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of [Victorian Victorian Liberal Party|Liberal Party|Liberal] MP Ryan Smith.

Background

The electoral district of Warrandyte was established in 1976 and has consistently been a safe seat for the Liberal Party except from 1982 to 1988 when it was held by Lou Hill of the Labor Party. According the 2021 Census, Warrandyte's median age is 43 with a weekly median household income of $2,134 while more than 37% of residents attaining a bachelor's degree or higher. The district is characterised by the southern banks of the Yarra River, rolling hills, lush greenery, and pockets of bushland.

Resignation of Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith was first elected at the 2006 Victorian state election, replacing long-serving member Phil Honeywood who had held the seat since the 1988 election. Smith would continue to keep Warrandyte as a safe Liberal seat barring the 2018 and 2022 elections where it became marginal following the successes of the Australian Labor Party. Smith retained the seat at the 2022 election with a two-party-preferred vote of 54.2%, a slight swing from the previous election where there was a swing of over 7 per cent against him. Following the election of John Pesutto as leader, he was dropped from the shadow cabinet, having been a shadow minister under Matthew Guy and Michael O'Brien.
Smith announced his retirement in May 2023 after 16 years in parliament, with effect from 7 July. Smith did not tell leader John Pesutto of his resignation, with Pesutto instead learning about it through the media. He said that he had “become increasingly uncomfortable with the growing negative tone of politics, both internally and more broadly,” generally interpreted as Smith’s disquiet over Pesutto’s handling of the Moira Deeming-related leadership tensions that embroiled the Victorian Liberal Party in early and mid-2023.

Candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot.

Liberal

The Liberal Party preselected Nicole Werner to run in the by-election. Werner stood as a candidate for Box Hill in 2022.
Nicole is a former Pentecostal youth pastor and charity business developer.
Eight other candidates also nominated for the Liberal Party preselection, including:
There was also speculation that Tim Smith, the former MP for Kew would stand for preselection but no nominations were received on the cutoff date of 7 June 2023. Other speculated candidates for included 2022 candidates Lucas Moon and Cynthia Watson as well as Caroline Inge, federal vice-president of the Liberal Party.

Labor

On 26 July 2023, it was reported that the Victorian Labor Party would not contest the by-election to instead focus their resources for the 2026 Victorian state election. In the 2022 state election, the Labor Party ran Naomi Oakley who received 33.16% of the primary vote.

Greens

Tomas Lightbody is running as the Greens' candidate in the by-election. Lightbody was elected to Manningham City Council at the age of 22 and has since been elected as Deputy Mayor of Manningham council.

Other

Maya Tesa stood as an independent. She has previously run in the Aston federal by-election where she received 7% of the primary vote and as a candidate for the LDP in Jagajaga and the North-Eastern Metropolitan Region in 2022.
Victorian Socialists candidate Colleen Bolger is calling for a rent freeze. Greg Cheesman is running with the Freedom Party of Victoria.
Family First Party candidate Richard Griffith-Jones has promised to introduce if elected legislation to ban drag queen storytime in public venues.
Raymond Hoser, a Snake Catcher and Whistleblower, announced his intention to run as an independent candidate, however this did not materialise.