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Labor holds seat
of Cunningham
SYDNEY: Mr Don
Chipp's Australian Demo
crats polled 8 per cent of the
vote in Saturday's Cun
ningham by-election, the new
party's first Federal showing.
Labor's Mr Stewart West easily
won the seat, which is based on
Wollongong, maintaining the
stranglehold held previously by the
late Mr Rex Connor.
But 35-ycar-old businessman Mr
Ross Sampson, an Australian Dem
ocrat running under Independent
colours, surprised both major
parties with his strong showing.
Mr Sampson is a member of Mr
Chipp's new party, but was refused
official backing when he sought
party endorsement.
Undeterred, he contested the
election as an Independent, and
notched up almost 8 per cent of the
vote.
His showing can almost certainly
be regarded as a strong de-facto
Democrats vote, despite nis otucal
ly Independent stance.
In late counting tonight the vote
was: West (Lab) 33,171; Griffin
(Lib) 18,756; Sampson (Ind Dem)
4,522; Nixon (Com) 1,125; Dczelin
(Ind) 935.
The Prime Minister, Mr Fraser,
said in Canberra yesterday he was
pleased with the result ol the bv
election of Cunningham.
Mr Fraser said the Liberal Parly
had maintained its voting level Irom
the 1975 general election.
He told the Federal Council of
the Liberal Party in Canberra that
in 1974 Labor took 72 per cent of
the vote and the Liberals 28 per
cent.
In 1975 the Labor vote dropped
to 62.5 per cent, with the Liberals
moving up to 37.5 per cent.
He said that with 80 per cent of
the vote counted the Liberals were
maintaining the 1975 percentage,
which he said he believed was a
mark of commonsense and a
judgment of the Australian people.
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