Labor Cites $950,000 Cost in Cancelling Mount Gambier By-Election

The South Australian Labor government have opted not to hold a by-election in the state seat of Mount Gambier, leaving residents without a representative for several months before the next election on March 21, 2026.

This comes after independent Troy Bell resigned from the SA’s House of Assembly after losing an appeal against criminal convictions. In turn, Labor’s House of Assembly Speaker Leon Bignell announced he would not be issuing a writ for a by-election.

The move has drawn criticism from the Liberal Party opposition with leader Vincent Tarzia calling it “unprecedented.”

“For the people of Mount Gambier to now not have a member of parliament for over six months is just absolutely scandalous, it is absolutely outrageous,” Tarzia told reporters.

“And from my point of view, if you are a person in Mount Gambier, well you should be absolutely outraged, we think this is a very very big hit to democracy for the south east.”

The state seat of Mount Gambier is located in South Australia’s south-east area, known as the Limestone Coast region. It borders Victoria.

Labor Points to Costs, Limited Timeframe

Labor’s Speaker Bignell said he had sought advice before making the decision.

“I exercise my discretion to not issue a writ prior to the general election. In reaching this decision, I sought advice and had discussions with the South Australian Electoral Commissioner and the Clerk of the House of Assembly, Bignell told Parliament (pdf).

The speaker said there were concerns about the school holidays, long weekend, and not enough sitting days in parliament before the next election.

“Oct. 4 and 11 are in the school holidays and Oct. 4 is on a long weekend. If 18 or 25 October were selected, by the time the election was conducted and a result determined it would be likely the new member for Mount Gambier would serve for between six and eight days in this place,” he said.

Bignell also highlighted the $950,000 cost (US$622,000) to taxpayers.

“The potential cost of a Mount Gambier by-election would be approximately $950,000. This is a higher cost than the recent Black by-election due to travel and accommodation costs associated with a regional by-election and additional staff required to avoid impacting on preparations for the upcoming state election,” he said.

Bignell said the Mount Gambier electorate office staff would remain in their roles until the declaration of the poll for the wider state election in March.

Concerns With Lack of Representation

Tarzia said not having an MP for an extended period would be detrimental to voters.

“This whole notion that there might be eight or nine sitting days left. Well, at the end of the day, a member of parliament exercises their duty as an MP every single day, whether you are in parliament or also out of parliament,” Tarzia said.

“In fact some days, you actually do more outside of parliament that actually in parliament, because the constituents are constantly coming through the door, the phone rings, the emails come through,” he said.

“And when you are out and about there are always people out there that need help, they need advocacy, especially now when they are seeing one of the worst droughts in living memory.”

The South Australian Liberal Party has selected lawyer Lamorna Alexander to contest the seat next year, while Labor has yet to select a candidate.

Mount Gambier has swung between Liberal or independent hands since 1975.

In 2014, Bell was elected as a Liberal before resigning from the party in 2017 to become an independent after he was formally charged.

Following a three month trial, Bell was found guilty of 20 counts of theft and five counts of dishonest dealing with documents.