Pittwater by-election, 2024

Cause of by-election
Sitting Liberal MP Rory Amon resigned from parliament on 30 August 2024 after being charged with a number of crimes.

Margin – LIB 0.7% vs IND

Incumbent MP
Rory Amon, since 2023.

• Geography
• History
• Candidates
• Assessment
• 2022 results
• Booth breakdown
• Results maps

Geography
Northern beaches of Sydney. The seat covers the former Pittwater council area and northern parts of the former Warringah council area. The seat covers Narrabeen, Warriewood, Elanora Heights, Mona Vale, Newport, Avalon and Scotland Island.

History
The seat of Pittwater has existed since the 1973 election. It has been dominated by the Liberal Party throughout that period. The Liberal Party has won the seat at every general election, although it was won by an independent at the 2005 by-election, and he held the seat until 2007.

The seat was first won in 1973 by Liberal Premier Robert Askin. He had first been elected to Parliament in 1950 as the member for the new seat of Collaroy. He became Leader of the Opposition in 1959, and ended 24 years of Labor rule in NSW when he became Premier at the 1965 election.

Collaroy was abolished in 1973, and Askin moved to the new seat of Pittwater, covering much of the same territory as his former seat. Askin retired as Premier and from Parliament in 1975.

The 1975 Pittwater by-election was won by Liberal candidate Bruce Webster. He held the seat until 1978.

Pittwater was won in 1978 by Liberal candidate Max Smith. He won re-election in 1981 and 1984, but after winning a third term in 1984 he resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent. He resigned from Parliament in 1986.

The 1986 by-election was won by Liberal candidate Jim Longley. He served as a minister from 1992 to 1995, and retired in 1996.

Another by-election was held in 1996, and was won by John Brogden. He was promoted to the Coalition frontbench after the 1999 election. In March 2002, he challenged Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski and won a narrow party room vote. He led the Liberal Party to a landslide defeat in 2003, but later in the term appeared on track to win the next election.

Following the retirement of Premier Bob Carr in 2005, Brogden was exposed for offensive comments he made about the retiring Premier’s wife, and he was forced to resign as Liberal leader. Shortly after, he made an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and resigned as Member for Pittwater.

At the following by-election, the Liberals were hit hard by accusations that Brogden’s opponents in the party had pursued him and brought about the end of his political career. The seat was won by independent candidate Alex McTaggart, the Mayor of Pittwater.

At the 2007 election, McTaggart lost to Liberal candidate Rob Stokes, a former advisor to John Brogden. Stokes was re-elected three times.

Stokes served as a Parliamentary Secretary in the O’Farrell government, and served as a minister from 2014 until 2023.

Stokes retired in 2023, and was succeeded by Northern Beaches councillor Rory Amon.

Candidates
Independent candidate Jacqui Scruby has already registered to run in 2027 so will presumably run.

Assessment
The Liberal Party very narrowly won this seat in 2023 and will be going into this by-election in a weak position. The independent candidate Scruby would have a good chance at winning.

2023 result

2023 two-candidate-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths in Pittwater have been split into four areas based around key suburbs. From north to south these are: Avalon, Newport, Mona Vale, Narrabeen.

The Liberal Party won a majority of the two-candidate-preferred vote in Mona Vale and Narrabeen, while Scruby won a majority in Avalon and Newport.

The ALP came third, with a primary vote ranging from 7.8% in Avalon to 11.3% in Narrabeen.

Election results in Pittwater at the 2023 New South Wales state election
Toggle between two-candidates-preferred votes (Liberal vs Independent) and primary votes for the Liberal Party, independent candidate Jacqui Scruby and Labor.

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