1962 Batman by-election
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Batman on 1 September 1962. It was triggered by the death of Labor MP Alan Bird.
The by-election was won by Labor candidate Sam Benson. The governing Liberal Party did not nominate a candidate, leaving the Liberal Forum, formed in opposition to Australian involvement in the Vietnam War and one of the earliest precursors to the Australia Party (itself a predecessor of the Australian Democrats), to take second place.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Sam Benson | 21,776 | 60.1 | +5.2 | |
| Liberal Forum | Donald McLeod | 7,026 | 19.4 | +19.4 | |
| Democratic Labor | Jack Little | 6,811 | 18.8 | +4.4 | |
| Republican | John Phillips | 304 | 0.8 | +0.8 | |
| Independent | Stirling Davis | 302 | 0.8 | +0.8 | |
| Total formal votes | 36,219 | 97.5 | |||
| Informal votes | 939 | 2.5 | |||
| Turnout | 37,158 | 85.1 | |||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Sam Benson | 62.8 | +7.4 | ||
| Liberal Forum | Donald McLeod | 37.2 | +37.2 | ||
| Labor hold | Swing | +7.4 | |||