1981 Maitland state by-election
# 1981 Maitland state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Maitland on 21 February 1981 following the resignation of Milton Morris (Liberal) to unsuccessfully contest the federal seat of Lyne at the 1980 election.

By-elections for the seats of Cessnock, Oxley and Sturt were held on the same day.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 29 August 1980 | Resignation of Milton Morris. |
| 18 October 1980 | 1980 Australian federal election |
| 22 January 1981 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls. |
| 29 January 1981 | Day of nomination |
| 21 February 1981 | Polling day |
| 13 March 1981 | Return of writ |

## Result

1981 Maitland by-election  Saturday 21 February :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Peter Toms | 13,014 | 48.0 | -6.3 |
| | Labor | Allan Walsh | 12,201 | 45.0 | -0.7 |
| | Independent | Daphne Unicomb | 1,887 | 7.0 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 27,102 | 98.8 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 319 | 1.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,421 | 90.1 | |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Peter Toms | 13,750 | 51.5 | -2.8 |
| | Labor | Allan Walsh | 12,963 | 48.5 | +2.8 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -2.8 | |

## Aftermath

Peter Toms' career was to be short-lived, as he was defeated by Allan Walsh in the Labor "Wranslide" at the election in September 1981.

