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2008 Ryde state by-election

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However, the writ was issued at a very bad time for the government. Labor had been sinking in the polls since being reelected a year earlier. It had suffered from several months of bad press that had driven its poll numbers downward. It was only polling at 44% support, a swing of almost 8% from the
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since 1995. Labor sat on a margin of 10.1%, which would have been considered safe under normal conditions (any seat with a two-party margin greater than 10% is considered safe on paper). However, the seat had historically been marginal at the federal level. Combined with Labor's declining poll
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On paper, Dominello's victory turned Ryde from a safe Labor seat into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. At the time, it was the largest swing against a sitting government in New South Wales history; it has since been outdone by the
348:, who cited exhaustion and the lack of time spent with his family for his resignation. Watkins resigned as Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport and retired from parliament on 8 September 2008, prompting a Cabinet reshuffle. 1742: 1737: 1732: 1727: 1722: 1717: 1712: 1707: 1702: 1697: 1692: 1687: 1682: 1677: 1672: 1667: 1857: 1852: 1847: 1842: 1837: 1832: 1827: 1822: 1817: 1812: 1807: 1802: 1797: 952: 1406: 1882: 1029: 1218: 1213: 1208: 1025: 1384: 920: 814: 1481: 1471: 1466: 1399: 783: 1781: 1776: 1771: 1531: 1526: 1521: 1516: 1511: 1506: 1501: 1496: 1491: 1486: 1476: 1461: 1456: 1451: 1446: 352: 311: 138: 1016: 1392: 443: 1662: 1657: 1652: 1647: 1642: 1637: 1632: 1627: 1622: 1617: 1612: 1607: 1602: 1597: 1592: 1587: 1582: 1577: 1572: 1567: 1562: 1557: 1552: 1547: 907: 848: 945: 1414: 293: 143: 1909: 1877: 753: 748: 1919: 899: 806: 377:
Watkins had held Ryde without interruption or serious difficulty since its re-creation in 1999, having held its predecessor seat of
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2007 election. Additionally, Watkins' resignation had touched off a domino effect that ultimately resulted in
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by-elections. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting member and Deputy Premier
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numbers, commentators thought it was vulnerable to being taken by the Liberals.
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The loss of Ryde significantly weakened the standing of Iemma's successor,
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on a swing of 23%. This was a marked turnaround to the result at the
104: 911:. Sydney: Clerk of the Legislative Assembly. p. 9392. 863: 908:Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales 1896: 277: 394:(which saw a 26% swing against the Coalition). 934:– via Denis H. Helm, Government Printer. 766: 390:(which saw a 25% swing against Labor) and the 1400: 1010: 990:ABC District Profile & Election Coverage 807:"Watkins quits politics to put family first" 1407: 1393: 1017: 1003: 871:"The Hon. John Arthur Watkins AM (1955- )" 774:"Liberals 'a big chance' in Watkins' seat" 754:List of New South Wales state by-elections 749:Electoral results for the district of Ryde 332:on 18 October 2008 to coincide with the 958:from the original on 10 December 2023. 898:Grove, Russell D. (22 September 2008). 1897: 1388: 998: 926:from the original on 10 December 2023 897: 851:from the original on 10 December 2023 817:from the original on 10 December 2023 805:Smith, Alexandra (3 September 2008). 804: 786:from the original on 10 December 2023 644: 490: 946:"State By-Election Report Ryde 2008" 326:New South Wales Legislative Assembly 444:Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 13: 1910:New South Wales state by-elections 14: 1931: 983: 1920:October 2008 events in Australia 1416: 261: 245: 244: 237: 236: 207: 206: 199: 198: 191: 190: 110: 103: 96: 25: 1424:New South Wales State elections 1030:54th New South Wales parliament 324:A by-election was held for the 938: 891: 833: 798: 1: 877:Parliament of New South Wales 759: 486:2008 Ryde by-election  960:Dominello elected at count 1 841:"Ryde - 2007 (Roll: 46,237)" 7: 1905:2008 elections in Australia 742: 351:The by-election was won by 19:2008 Ryde state by-election 10: 1936: 480: 374:leaving politics as well. 65:Electoral district 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Index

2007
2011
Electoral district of Ryde
Legislative Assembly



Victor Dominello
Liberal
Labor
Greens
TPP

New South Wales
MP
John Watkins
Labor
MP
Victor Dominello
Liberal
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Ryde
Port Macquarie
Lakemba
Cabramatta
John Watkins
Liberal
Victor Dominello
2007 state election
Premier

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