2009 Higgins by-election

2009 Higgins by-election

← 2007 5 December 2009 2010 →
Division of Higgins
First party Second party   Candidate Kelly O'Dwyer Clive Hamilton Party Liberal Greens Popular vote 36,421 21,628 Percentage 54.6% 32.4% Swing 0.96pp 21.65pp TPP 60.23% 39.77% TPP swing 3.19pp 39.77pp
Location of Higgins within metropolitan Melbourne
MP before election Peter Costello Liberal Elected MP Kelly O'Dwyer Liberal

The 2009 Higgins by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives Division of Higgins on 5 December 2009.^[1] This was triggered by the resignation of former treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello.^[2] The by-election was held on the same day as the Bradfield by-election.

It was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Higgins at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party with 57.04 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, the closest result in the seat's 60-year history. The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.

The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed 12 November, and were announced the following day.^[3] The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate.

Both the Higgins and Bradfield by-elections were the last by-elections for the House of Representatives until the 2014 Griffith by-election.