2026 Stafford state by-election

2026 Stafford state by-election
16 May 2026
Electoral district of Stafford in the
Queensland Legislative Assembly
Registered41,397
Turnout33,792 (81.6% Decrease 8.6)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Luke Richmond Fiona Hammond Jess Lane
Party Labor Liberal National Greens
Primary vote 10,034 13,146 4,777
Percentage 30.8% 40.3% 14.7%
Swing Decrease 7.9 pp Increase 2.3 pp Decrease 3.4 pp
TPP 16,738 15,852
TPP % 51.4% 48.6%
TPP swing Decrease 4.0 pp Increase 4.0 pp
MP before election

Jimmy Sullivan
Independent

 Elected MP

Luke Richmond
Labor

A state by-election for the seat of Stafford in the Queensland Legislative Assembly was held on 16 May 2026,[1] following the death of independent MP Jimmy Sullivan on 9 April 2026.[2][3] The seat was won by Queensland Labor Party candidate Luke Richmond, who held the seat for the party despite conceding a swing of approximately 4% on the two-party preferred vote.[4]

Background

Incumbent member of parliament

Sullivan had served as the member for Stafford since retaining the seat for the Labor Party at the 2020 state election.[5] He held the seat at the 2024 state election despite suffering a 6.6% swing against him on the two-party-preferred vote (TPP).[6] Shortly thereafter Sullivan was investigated by the Queensland Police Service over an alleged domestic incident, and in May 2025 he was expelled from the Labor Party caucus due to failing to adhere to "a safe return to work plan" as described by party leader Steven Miles, and as domestic allegations were levelled against Sullivan.[7][8] He served the remainder of his term as an independent MP on the crossbench, and died in office on 9 April 2026, with his death treated as "not suspicious" by police who discovered his body in his home.[2]

Seat details

The district or seat of Stafford is located in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, and incorporates the suburbs of Stafford, Gordon Park, Grange, Kedron, Stafford Heights, and parts of Chermside, Chermside West, McDowall, Alderley, Wilston, Newmarket and Windsor. Since its reincarnation as a seat in 2001, Stafford has usually been a fairly safe seat for the centre-left Labor Party, which has won the seat at every election with at least 55% of the TPP vote, with the exception of the landslide 2012 state election won by the centre-right to right-wing Liberal National Party (LNP). Labor and the LNP had always finished in the top two positions on the primary vote in the seat, and the Greens regularly registered primary votes of around 17%.

2024 election results

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 Queensland state election § Stafford.[edit]
2024 Queensland state election: Stafford[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Jimmy Sullivan 13,856 38.77 −6.83
Liberal National Fiona Hammond 13,605 38.06 +6.16
Greens Jess Lane 6,456 18.06 +1.66
One Nation Stuart Andrews 1,134 3.17 +0.17
Family First Alan Denaro 692 1.94 +1.94
Total formal votes 35,743 97.36
Informal votes 971 2.64
Turnout 36,714 90.23
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Jimmy Sullivan 19,774 55.32 −6.58
Liberal National Fiona Hammond 15,969 44.68 +6.58
Labor hold Swing –6.58

Key dates

Key dates in relation to the by-election are:[10][11]

  • 17 April 2026: Issue of the writ
  • 21 April 2026: Close of electoral roll
  • 24 April 2026: Close of candidate nominations
  • 5 May 2026: Early voting commences
  • 16 May 2026: Polling day
  • 9 July 2026: Last day for the return of the writ

Candidates

Candidates are listed in ballot order.

Party Candidate Background
  Labor Luke Richmond Assistant secretary of Queensland Labor.[12]
  Legalise Cannabis Jacqueline Verne Medicinal cannabis patient.
  Independent People First Damian Smart
  Libertarian Daniel Selff Mathematics teacher.
  Independent Socialist Liam Parry Activist and University of Queensland student.[13]
  Greens Jess Lane School teacher and third-placing candidate at the 2024 election.[14]
  Animal Justice Lucy O'Brien Kindergarten Director & Teacher.
  Family First Alan Denaro Small business owner, and fifth-placing candidate at the 2024 election.
  Liberal National Fiona Hammond Former councillor and second-placing candidate at the 2024 election.[15]

The Labor candidate for Stafford was the party's assistant state secretary, Luke Richmond.[16] The Liberal candidate is Fiona Hammond, a former councillor who contested the seat at the 2024 state election.[16] Liam Parry stood for the Queensland Socialists.[16] Damian Smart contested the election on behalf of Gerard Rennick People First.[17] Both Queensland Socialists and People First lacked state-registered party recognition, and thus nominated their candidates as independents. Jess Lane, a school teacher endorsed by the Queensland Greens who stood for the seat at the 2024 state election, again contested the seat.

The One Nation party did not run a candidate, despite polling highly in national polls and at several recent elections, including the Farrer federal by-election, Nepean state by-election and South Australian state election. Party officials stated they intended to focus their efforts on the 2028 state election.[18][19]

Results

2026 Stafford state by-election[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Fiona Hammond 13,146 40.34 +2.27
Labor Luke Richmond 10,034 30.79 −7.98
Greens Jess Lane 4,777 14.66 −3.40
Independent Liam Parry 1,244 3.82 +3.82
Legalise Cannabis Jacqueline Verne 960 2.95 +2.95
Family First Alan Denaro 767 2.35 +0.42
Animal Justice Lucy O’Brien 680 2.09 +2.09
Independent Damian Smart 612 1.88 +1.88
Libertarian Daniel Selff 370 1.14 +1.14
Total formal votes 32,590 96.44 −0.91
Informal votes 1,202 3.56 +0.91
Turnout 33,792 81.63 −8.60
Registered electors 41,397
Two-candidate-preferred result
Labor Luke Richmond 16,738 51.36 −3.96
Liberal National Fiona Hammond 15,852 48.64 +3.96
Labor hold Swing−3.96

See also

References

  1. ↑ Alex Brewster (17 April 2026). "By-election called for seat of Stafford in Brisbane's north after Jimmy Sullivan's death". ABC News.
  2. 1 2 Jack McKay (10 April 2026). "Queensland independent MP Jimmy Sullivan found dead". ABC News.
  3. ↑ Richard Wood (10 April 2026). "Queensland MP Jimmy Sullivan found dead". 9news.com.au.
  4. ↑ Sarah Richards (16 May 2026). "Labor claims victory in Stafford by-election in Brisbane, LNP concedes candidate 'just won't get there'". ABC News.
  5. ↑ "Queensland Election 2020 Results". ABC News. 31 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "QLD Election 2024". ABC News. 13 November 2024.
  7. ↑ McKay, Jack (12 May 2025). "Queensland MP Jimmy Sullivan expelled from state Labor caucus". ABC News. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Messenger, Andrew (12 May 2025). "Queensland Labor expels MP after LNP raises domestic violence allegations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "Stafford – QLD Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "Writ for Election" (PDF). ecq.qld.gov.au. 17 April 2026. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Stafford State by-election". ecq.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 23 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "LNP names former city councillor as candidate in Stafford byelection". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Arrested for standing with Palestine, now running for parliament". Red Flag. 23 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Greens have announced Jess Lane (2024 candidate) to run in the Stafford by-election". 6 News Australia. 24 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "LNP names former city councillor as candidate in Stafford byelection". Brisbane Times. 19 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 Elks, Sarah; Scott, Mackenzie; McKenna, Stella (17 April 2026). "Parties finalise candidates for by-election triggered by death of MP". The Australian. Retrieved 21 April 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ Smart, Damian [@GetSmartVote_1] (22 April 2026). "As an independent candidate for Stafford supported by @PeopleFirstAus" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 April 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  18. ↑ Elks, Sarah; Scott, Mackenzie. "Hanson's One Nation bows out of by-election in major gift to Crisafulli". The Australian. Retrieved 24 April 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ↑ Dennis, Julius (23 April 2026). "One Nation pulls out of byelection test despite surging polls". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 24 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "2026 Stafford state By-election". Electoral Commission Queensland. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Stafford by-election 2026". ABC News. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
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