Brendan Moylan the new MP for the Northern Tablelands

As expected, Brendan Moylan has been easily elected on primary votes to replace the outgoing Adam Marshall as the Member for the Northern Tablelands in yesterday’s by-election.

The Nationals candidate is a partner with well known Moree legal firm Webb and Boland. The Gunnedah boy moved to Moree after completing his studies in Armidale at the University of New England. He has followed the example of his predecessor on the campaign trail, furiously travelling to many of the small communities that make the rich tapestry of the Northern Tablelands.

Without Labor contesting the seat and with no strong independent, the result was always a foregone conclusion.

Voting is still continuing with postal votes yet to be added to the tally, but they will not change the result People who have postal votes must ensure they are received back at the NSW Electoral Commission by July 5 at 6pm.

As at the end of counting on Saturday night, the results were as follows:

A preference count was also done on Saturday night presuming that Dorothy Robinson of the Greens would come second, indicating Mr Moylan would have garnered 85.4% of the two-party preferred vote. This count will need to be redone, which will happen in the check count stage, and is likely to be considerably lower with SFF in the 2PP count instead of the Greens.

The formal result will not be formally declared by the NSW Electoral Commission July 10, after the preferences are distributed on July 9. The writs will be returned to the parliament on July 12, after which Mr Moylan will be able to take his seat in parliament.

The electoral offices for the Member for Northern Tablelands in both Armidale and Moree have remained open for business throughout this transition period, and no change is expected to their locations.

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