| Country: | New South Wales |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | 8 April 2017 |
| Candidate1: | Liesl Tesch |
| Party1: | Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) |
| Popular Vote1: | 22,931 |
| Percentage1: | 49.5% |
| Swing1: | 10.9pp |
| Candidate2: | Jilly Pilon |
| Party2: | Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division) |
| Popular Vote2: | 14,208 |
| Percentage2: | 30.7% |
| Swing2: | 11.9pp |
| 1Blank: | TPP |
| 2Blank: | TPP swing |
| 1Data1: | 62.5% |
| 2Data1: | 12.3pp |
| 1Data2: | 37.5% |
| 2Data2: | 12.3pp |
| MP | |
| Before Election: | Kathy Smith |
| Before Party: | Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) |
| After Election: | Liesl Tesch |
| After Party: | Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) |
A by-election was held in the state electoral district of Gosford on 8 April 2017. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Kathy Smith due to ill health.[1] It was held on the same day as the North Shore and Manly state by-elections.
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 March 2017 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker and close of electoral rolls | |
| Noon, 22 March 2017 | Close of nominations for party-endorsed candidates | |
| Noon, 23 March 2017 | Close of nominations for other candidates | |
| 8 April 2017 | Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm |
The candidates in ballot paper order were as follows:[2]
| Candidate nominations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Notes (not on ballot paper) | |||
| Greens | Abigail Boyd | Financial lawyer | |||
| Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) | Andrew Church | Gosford City Citizen of the Year 2016 and businessman[3] | |||
| Animal Justice Party | Skyla Wagstaff | ||||
| Labor Party | Paralympian and local teacher. Former federal MP Belinda Neal had expressed interest in running as a candidate; however, a preselection ballot was not held.[4] | ||||
| Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | Larry Freeman | Council worker | |||
| Liberal Party | Jilly Pilon | Businesswoman. She attracted criticism for residing in the adjoining electorate of Terrigal instead of Gosford.[5] | |||