Pittwater by-election: Liberal Georgia Ryburn concedes defeat to independent Jacqui Scruby
After an intense and sometimes aggressive campaign, the Liberal Party has formally conceded defeat in the surprise Pittwater by-election. See the latest results.
Manly
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The Liberal Party has conceded defeat in the hard-fought Pittwater by-election, making “teal” Jacqui Scruby the first female independent to win the former blue-ribbon conservative seat.
In a phone call on Monday afternoon, Liberal candidate Georgia Ryburn congratulated Ms Scruby on her win.
The MP-in-waiting then vowed that lobbying for cash to complete the $340 million upgrade of Mona Vale Rd would be her number one priority.
While the by-election result will not be formally declared until electoral officials finish counting pre-poll and postal votes, the independent is well ahead.
Ms Scruby attracted 56.2 per cent of the two-party preferred vote of the 45,163 ballots counted so far. There are 56,345 people registered to vote in Pittwater.
One senior Liberal blamed the circumstances in which former Liberal MP Rory Amon had resigned for the result, along with brand damage from the council nominations fiasco, for Saturday’s result.
“We’ve been smashed,” the source said. “This was a referendum on Rory.”
The shock by-election was needed to replace Amon, who quit parliament after he was charged with child sex offences. He has vowed to defend the allegations.
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said on Sunday the combination of calamities was a “perfect storm” the Liberals could not overcome in Pittwater.
The “teal” was also accused of running an aggressive campaign, arguing that Ms Ryburn was not technically a “local” as she lived just outside the electorate, in Frenchs Forest.
And there were allegations from both camps that election posters had been systematically vandalised, destroyed or stolen.
But in a statement released on social media soon after making her concession phone call, Ms Ryburn revealed that “in the final minutes of voting on Saturday, I was proud to shake Jacqui’s hand with a sincere smile on my face”.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely disappointed.
“This isn’t the outcome I hoped for, but I know this isn’t the end of the road.”
Ms Scruby, who would be part of an influential crossbench in a minority Labor government, said that with just over two years remaining in the current parliamentary term, “work starts today”.
“I’m very keen to hit the ground running and deliver for Pittwater,” she said at a press conference.
“My platform that I’ve prioritised is securing the funding for Mona Vale Rd and getting that project happening. It’s something that unites the whole of the northern beaches community.”
During her campaign, Ms Scruby said, if elected, she would oppose the redevelopment of the “Lizard Rock” bushland at Belrose, owned by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, into a 450-home subdivision.
Chasing more funding for local schools would also be high on her agenda, along with pushing back against the government’s high-density housing plans, lobbying for more school funding, and ensuring public medical services at Northern Beaches Hospital were properly resourced.
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