1986 Pittwater state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Pittwater on 31 May 1986. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting Liberal MP Max Smith.[1] The by-election was won by Liberal candidate Jim Longley.[2]

Background

Labor did not stand a candidate in the by-election, and as a result, this election was almost won by professional surfer and former world surfing champion Nat Young, who ran on a largely environmental ticket.[3][4]

Results

1986 Pittwater by-election [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jim Longley	10,922	42.8	-15.3
	Independent	Nat Young	6,177	24.2	+24.2
	Independent	Robert Grace	5,006	19.6	+19.6
	Call to Australia	Mark Donnelly	1,451	5.7	+5.7
	Democrats	Graeme MacLennan	1,290	4.9	+0.7
	Nuclear Disarmament	Virginia Rigney	643	2.5	+2.5
	Independent	Brett Monk	62	0.2	+0.2
	Labor	-	0	0.0	-25.4
Total formal votes			25,501	97.5	−0.3
Informal votes			649	2.5	+0.3
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Jim Longley	13,000	53.1	−12.4
	Independent	Nat Young	11,468	46.9	+46.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	−12.4

See also

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

References

1. "Mr Richard Max Smith". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
2. Green, Antony. "1986 Pittwater by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
3. Warshaw, Matt (29 April 2011). The History of Surfing. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452100944.
4. "Pittwater 2015". NSW Election 2015. ABC News. Retrieved 12 April 2017.