Nuclear Disarmament Party - Electoral Controversy: The 1985 Nunawading Re-election

Electoral Controversy: The 1985 Nunawading Re-election

Due to a tied vote in the upper house province of Nunawading, and having the winning vote drawn from a hat, a Labor government for the first time in its history had control of the Legislative Council. A fresh election ordered by the Court of Disputed Returns after it was found that the Chief Electoral Officer drew a name from a hat rather than caste the deciding vote. The Liberals won re-election and Labor lost its slim majority. Within a week of polling day Mr Martin Peake, Chairman of the Victorian Nuclear Disarmament Party, lodged an official complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of Victoria, about a deceptive NDP how to vote card handed out at the booths. In essence, the Victorian ALP state secretary organised forged NDP how-to-vote cards and members of the Labor Party were recognised handing out this card and that the allocation of preferences to the ALP on the card damaged the NDP. The government entered a cover-up to protect its state secretary Peter Batchelor and the Labor party. As police investigated the case, the culprits blamed the SWP.