14.5% swing to LIB
Preference count
Liberal
Monica Tudehope
Vote: 69.2%
27,010
Greens
Duncan Voyage
Vote: 30.8%
12,011
- Previously held by LIB with margin of 4.8%.
- Monica Tudehope succeeds former Premier Dominic Perrottet.
First preference
LiberalLiberal
Monica Tudehope
- Vote:57.1%25,439Swing: +8.1%
GreensGreens
Duncan Voyage
- Vote:24.3%10,851Swing: +13.8%
IndependentIndependent
Edgar Lu
- Vote:10.3%4,602Swing: +10.3%
IndependentIndependent
Dezhong (Jerry) Wang
- Vote:5.5%2,435Swing: +5.5%
LibertarianLibertarian
Rob Cribb
- Vote:2.8%1,240Swing: +2.8%
LaborLabor
-
- Vote:0.0%0Swing: -33.9%
OthersOthers
-
- Vote:0.0%0Swing: -6.6%
(Last updated 913October 2024)
Party Status: Marginal Liberal 4.8%
Date - Saturday 19 October 2024
The by-election has been caused by the retirement of former Premier Dominic Perrottet and will be held in conjunction with by-elections in two other North Shore Liberal seats, Hornsby and Pittwater.
Writs will be issued and rolls close on Friday 27 September. Nominations will close on Thursday 3 October, early voting begin Saturday 12 October, with polling day on Saturday 19 October. More information on when and where to vote can be found at the NSW Electoral Commission's website.
Electorate Description
The electorate of Epping lies in north-west Sydney and includes the suburbs of Epping, Beecroft, Cheltenham, Carlingford, North Rocks, Dundas Valley, Telopea and Oatlands. It covers 37.1 square kilometres. (Map)
Map courtesy of the NSW Electoral Commission
Former Member
Dominic Perrottet
Perottet grew up in West Pennant Hills and studied Law at Sydney University. He was President of the NSW Young Liberals in 2005 and served on the NSW Liberal Party's State Executive 2008-11. Perrottet worked as a lawyer in commercial litigation and insolvency law before winning the state seat of Castle Hill in 20. Redistributions and Liberal internal disputes saw him move to the seat of Hawkesbury in 2015 and then back towards his home base of Epping in 2019. Perrottet was appointed Finance and Services Minister when Mike Baird became Premier in 2014, with Property added after the 2015 election. When Gladys Berejiklian succeeded Baird as Premier in early 2017, Perrottet was elected Deputy Leader and appointed Treasurer and Industrial Relations Minister. Perrottet succeeded Berejiklian as Premier when she was forced to resign in October 2021. Less popular then Berejiklian, and dealing with post-Covid economic problems as well as the Coalition's inevitable accumulated problems from 12 years in government, Perrottet's government was defeated in March 2023. Perrottet has resigned to take up a post working in corporate and external affairs for BHP in Washington.
Background
Epping was first contested at the 1999 election, a new name for the abolished seat of Eastwood. The name change reflected a northward shift for the electorate's boundaries, a drift repeated by three subsequent redistributions.
Eastwood existed for 72 years from 1927 to 1999 and Epping for the 25 years since. That's close to a century in which this part of northern Sydney has always elected an MP representing the Liberal Party or one of its political antecedents.
The Labor Party has announced it will not be contesting the Epping by-election.
2023 Polling Place Results
Liberal two-party preferred majorities were recorded at 15 of the 24 polling places used in 2023. Three small external polling places recorded Labor two-party votes above 55%, amongst them Labor's best result of 58.8% at Dundas Public School. Within the electorate the best Labor result was 56.0% at James Ruse Agricultural High School in Carlingford.
The Liberal results were stronger in the electorate's north and west, the best Liberal results recorded in Oatlands with 65.9% at Oatlands Public School and 71.0% at nearby at Burnside Gardens Community Centre. The Liberal Party also recorded majorities at the two biggest Early Voting Centres with 57.3% of more than five thousand votes at Caringford EVC and 54.6% of more than eight thousand at Epping EVC.
(Click on polling place for results)
The Liberal Party recorded 53.7% on election day, 55.5% with Pre-Polls, 61.4% for Postals but only 49.1% for Absent votes and 46.3% for the much smaller category of new enrolment and provisional votes.
Click for table of 2023 polling place and count centre two-party preferred results.
Past Election Results
| Year | Winning Party |
|---|---|
| 1999 | LIB |
| 2003 | LIB |
| 2007 | LIB |
| 2011 | LIB |
| 2015 | LIB |
| 2019 | LIB |
| 2023 | LIB |
(Victories by a party of government are indicated by thick coloured underlining.)
Past Voting Trends
The boundaries and Eastwood and Epping have undergone significant change over recent decades, but with few political consequences for the Liberal Party in an area of Sydney where Liberal support is strong. The seat has consistently recorded Liberal two-party preferred results 10% stronger than the Coalition's state-wide two-party preferred vote. Results 1984-2023
Candidates (5) in Ballot Paper Order
| Candidate Name | Party |
|---|---|
| TUDEHOPE, Monica | Liberal |
| LU, Edgar | Independent |
| VOYAGE, Duncan | The Greens |
| WANG, Dezhong (Jerry) | Independent |
| CRIBB, Rob | Libertarian Party (formerly Liberal Democrats) |
Note: The Labor Party has announced it will not be contesting the Epping By-election.
More Information
Monica Tudehope
Liberal
Tudehope describes herself as having a lifelong connection to the local community, growing up in West Pennant Hills and attending the Tangara School for Girls at Cherrybrook. In the last Coalition government, Tudehope worked as deputy chief-of-staff for Premier Perrottet and was previously head of policy when Perrottet was Treasurer. She is the daughter of Damien Tudehope, who was previously member for Epping 2015-19, has served in the Legislative Council since 2019 and is currently Shadow Treasurer. Monica Tudehope previously lost to Dave Sharma in a Liberal Senate vacancy contest in late 2023.
Edgar Lu
Independent
Lu runs the 'Sydney Daddy' YouTube channel which has more than 280,000 subscribers. They tune in each week to hear Lu discuss the issues of the day, including politics. Lu describes himself as the 'most influential Mandarin political commentator in the southern hemisphere'. He took up vlogging after leaving his job to become a stay-at-home dad after his wife returned to work after their second child.
Duncan Voyage
The Greens
Voyage lives in Epping and has a background in logistics, human resources and project management. He spent eight years in various roles with the Department of Defence, and more recently has worked for Médecins Sans Frontières in the International Services Team looking after the administrative and welfare needs of Australian and New Zealand Mobile Staff as they work on assignment around the globe.
Dezhong (Jerry) Wang
Independent
Wang holds a Master of Engineering and has worked with Tier 1 firms and NSW government agencies for decades, contributing to major transport and infrastructure projects in Sydney. His campaign focuses on upgrading key roads and infrastructure in the Epping area, including Epping Road, Epping Bridge, and Carlingford Road. He is the strata committee chairman of a large unit community.
Information on candidates and how-to-vote material can be sent to 
2023 Election Result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Bradley | GRN | 5,489 | 10.6 | +0.7 |
| Alan Mascarenhas | ALP | 17,599 | 33.9 | +5.4 |
| Victor Waterson | IND | 1,322 | 2.5 | +0.9 |
| Bradley Molloy | SAP | 1,045 | 2.0 | +1.1 |
| Dominic Perrottet | LIB | 25,439 | 48.9 | -5.4 |
| Carmen Terceiro | AJP | 1,091 | 2.1 | +1.7 |
| .... | OTH | 0 | 0.0 | -4.4 |
| After Preferences | ||||
| Alan Mascarenhas | ALP | 22,013 | 45.2 | +6.5 |
| Dominic Perrottet | LIB | 26,648 | 54.8 | -6.5 |
| Exhausted | 3,324 | 6.4 | ||
Page Updates
- 13 October 2024 - Final how-to-votes added.
- 9 October 2024 - Links and several how-to-votes added.
- 4 October - close of nominations, candidates re-arranged in ballot paper order
- 2 October 2024 - Libertarian and second Independent candidate added
- 24 September 2024 - First published