2024 Cook by-election

A by-election to elect the next member of the Australian House of Representatives in the electorate of Cook was held on 13 April 2024, following the resignation of sitting Liberal member and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Morrison's resignation was first announced on 23 January 2024, and came into effect on 28 February 2024.

Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy succeeded Morrison as the new member for Cook. It was the fourth federal by-election to have taken place since the first sitting of the 47th Parliament.

Background

Seat details

Much of Cook's boundaries are within the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's southern suburbs. It was first contested at the 1969 Australian federal election and named after naval captain and explorer James Cook. Politically, the division has been a traditionally conservative stronghold, with a history of consistently electing representatives from the Liberal Party, except for 1972-1975 when the Australian Labor Party held the seat.

Demographics

During the 2021 Australian census, Cook's median age of 42 exceeded both the national (38) and state (39) medians. In the realm of economic indicators, the median personal weekly income in Cook amounted to $991, surpassing the corresponding figures for the state and nation, which stood at $813 and $805 respectively. Additionally, the demographic composition of the electorate saw over 60 percent identifying their ancestry as English or Australian.

Electoral history

2022 election results

Morrison retained the seat with a 62.44% two-party-preferred vote and a 6.58% swing against him. His primary vote had a decrease of 8.17%. On the other hand, all other parties who contested the election (Labor, Greens, One Nation and United Australian Party) had increases in their primary votes, being 1.89%, 3.09%, 1.61% and 3.27% respectively. Only Labor had a primary vote of more than 10% (24.99%), while the Green's primary vote was just below 10% (9.90%).

Candidates

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

Labor

On 22 March the Labor Party announced they would not run a candidate in the by-election. This is the first time since the 2015 North Sydney by-election that they have not contested a federal by-election.

Liberal

On 4 March former Bennelong candidate Simon Kennedy won Liberal Party preselection. Other candidates were Sutherland Shire mayor Carmelo Pesce, Veteran Family Advocate Commissioner Gwen Cherne (endorsed by former prime minister John Howard) and former United Australia Party candidate Benjamin Britton.

Results

On 16 April 2024 the Australian Electoral Commission declared Simon Kennedy officially elected as the new member for Cook.

Opinion polling

See also

• List of Australian federal by-elections
• Electoral results for the Division of Cook

Notes

References