Braddon electors will not be heading to the polls for a byelection for another two months, 80 days after former member Justine Keay resigned on May 9.
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The byelection, which was sparked by former Braddon Labor MHR Justine Keay’s resignation due to citizenship issues, will be held on Saturday, July 28.
Federal Labor said the decision was a deliberate attempt to disadvantage the ALP, as the chosen date was the same day as its national conference.
The Braddon byelection will be held on what is being dubbed as a “super Saturday”, alongside byelections in the electorates of Fremantle, Perth, Longman and Mayo.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Tony Smith said the Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers had nominated July 28 as the “optimal” date, given it enabled the commission to make sure candidates complied with new citizenship requirements arising from a parliamentary inquiry and would not coincide with school holidays.
Ms Keay said it was “an insult” to leave the Braddon electorate without representation in the Federal Parliament for nearly three months.
“[Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull] can rig the rules all he wants – this byelection will be fought on the issues that matter to our community,” she said.
But Braddon Liberal candidate Brett Whiteley said “a long campaign is a good campaign”.
“[Because] every day that passes is another day that people get to see the increasingly unpopular [Opposition Leader] Bill Shorten,” he said.