2000 Benalla state by-election
13 May 2000
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District of Benalla in the Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 89.6% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Boundaries of the district of Benalla (highlighted in green) at the time of the by-election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2000 Benalla state by-election was held on 13 May 2000, to elect a new member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly in the district of Benalla. The by-election was triggered by the resignation on 12 April of Pat McNamara, the sitting member who was Deputy Premier of Victoria until the defeat of the Kennett government at the 1999 state election.
Contested by Labor candidate Denise Allen and Nationals candidate Bill Sykes, as well as a number of independents and minor party candidates, the election campaign received attention from statewide party leaders, with local issues such as a review of the Delatite Shire and the future of Benalla College's Dunlop campus receiving attention.
The by-election was won by Allen, who became the first Labor member to represent Benalla since its creation in 1904. Allen's victory was widely regarded as a political upset, and gave the Labor Party 44 seats in the 88-member Legislative Assembly. The result in Benalla sparked recriminations within the Liberal–National Coalition, with the Nationals voting to leave the Coalition in July 2000 following an internal review.