Sydney by-election, June 2019

The Sydney by-election, June 2019, is a by-election triggered by the ejection of Liberal MP stalintwo for inactivity in the Division of Sydney. It was be held on 15 June 2019, at the same time as the Moncrieff by-election, June 2019 and won by Horror-HQ.

Background
On 29 May 2019, it was ruled that stalintwo had contravened the Parliamentarian Participation Overhaul Act 2019 and was expelled from Parliament by the High Court of Australia. This came alongside the similar expulsion of his colleague PineappleCrusher_, MP for Moncrieff.

Candidates
On 30 May 2019, stalintwo announced he would be recontesting the seat of Sydney, tweeting that "I promise this time to be more active and be a better representative than I was before". He ultimately decided against it. The Liberal candidate was JohnVolser, ex-Social Democratic MP for Shortland. The Socialist candidate was announced as ex-Social Democratic MP for Parramatta and Wright, Horror-HQ. The Australian Whig candidate was party leader Plupsnup. Woof223, ex-minister, also made the decision to contest as an independent, but ultimately withdrew due to health issues. One additional candidate who has not yet campaigned was also revealed at the close of nominations- Green candidate bagolyalakuak.

Endorsements
Today Tonight, a media organisation, endorsed the Whigs at the by-election, stating that "all members of the Whigs show compassion for human rights around the world and in foreign policy...The Whigs support the implementation of a federal land value tax, diminishing the regressive hold that landlords have in this country and would also end the housing market bubble by ending speculation." They also dismissed the Socialists and Greens as "[caring] more about Australia’s international image than human rights, and [refusing] to get their hands dirty when necessary." The Guardian endorsed Horror-HQ, the Socialist candidate, stating that "Horror is a man who has, in the past worked to ensure that Australia is fair, he passed the Animal Welfare Act which has promoted the ethical treatment of animals, he's a man who has worked hard in parliament and won't be a voting drone like the Liberal or Whig candidates." The Guardian lambasted the Liberal campaign in Sydney, branding it "abysmal, however at least not as bad as in Moncrieff," adding that "the Liberals are out of touch with Australians and do not deserve to go anywhere near Kirribili." Both groups issued similar endorsements in the simultaneous Moncrieff by-election.