| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 127 seats of the House of Representatives 64 seats were needed for a majority in the House All 64 seats of the Senate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registered | 8,262,413 4.62% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 7,881,873 (95.39%) (0.03 pp) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 1975 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution.
Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned as caretaker prime minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's three-year-old Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. The same day, Fraser advised an immediate double dissolution, in accordance with Kerr's stipulated conditions (see 1975 Australian constitutional crisis).
The Coalition of Fraser's Liberal Party of Australia and Doug Anthony's National Country Party secured government in its own right, winning the largest majority government to date in Australian history. [lower-alpha 1] The Liberals actually won a majority in their own right, with 68 seats–the first time that the main non-Labor party had done so since adopting the Liberal banner in 1944. Although Fraser had no need for the support of the National Country Party, the Coalition was retained. It was also the first time a party won over 90 seats at an Australian election. This was the last federal election the Coalition won more than 50% of the primary vote.
Labor suffered a 30-seat swing and saw its lower house caucus cut almost in half, to 36 seats—fewer than it had when Whitlam became leader in the aftermath of the Coalition landslide nearly 10 years earlier, in the 1966 election. With only 28% of the House of Representatives seats, this is the worst seat share for Labor since the current Liberal-Labor party contest from 1946.
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal–NCP coalition | 4,102,078 | 53.05 | +7.32 | 91 | +30 | ||
Liberal | 3,232,159 | 41.80 | +6.85 | 68 | +28 | ||
National Country | 853,943 | 11.04 | +0.28 | 22 | +1 | ||
Country Liberal | 15,976 | 0.21 | +0.21 | 1 | +1 | ||
Labor | 3,313,004 | 42.84 | −6.46 | 36 | −30 | ||
Democratic Labor | 101,750 | 1.32 | −0.10 | 0 | 0 | ||
Workers | 60,130 | 0.78 | +0.78 | 0 | 0 | ||
Liberal Movement | 49,484 | 0.64 | –0.14 | 0 | 0 | ||
Australia | 33,630 | 0.43 | −1.89 | 0 | 0 | ||
Communist | 9,393 | 0.12 | +0.11 | 0 | 0 | ||
Independent | 63,109 | 0.82 | +0.42 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 7,732,578 | 127 | |||||
Two-party-preferred (estimated) | |||||||
Liberal–NCP coalition | Win | 55.70 | +7.40 | 91 | +30 | ||
Labor | 44.30 | −7.40 | 36 | −30 |
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal–NCP coalition (total) | 3,706,989 | 51.74 | +7.85 | 35 | 35 | +6 | ||
Liberal–NCP joint ticket | 2,855,721 | 39.86 | +5.09 | 17 | * | * | ||
Liberal | 793,772 | 11.08 | +3.26 | 16 | 26 | +3 | ||
National Country | 41,977 | 0.59 | −0.71 | 1 | 8 | +2 | ||
Country Liberal | 15,519 | 0.22 | +0.22 | 1 | 1 | +1 | ||
Labor | 2,931,310 | 40.91 | −6.38 | 27 | 27 | −2 | ||
Democratic Labor | 191,049 | 2.67 | −0.89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Liberal Movement | 76,426 | 1.07 | +0.11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Workers | 62,385 | 0.87 | +0.87 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Family Movement | 45,658 | 0.64 | +0.64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Australia | 34,632 | 0.48 | –0.91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
United Tasmania | 1,227 | 0.02 | –0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Socialist | 727 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Independents | 114,310 | 1.60 | –0.52 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 7,164,713 | 64 | 64 | +4 |
The election followed the controversial dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr in the 1975 constitutional crisis. Labor campaigners hoped that the electorate would "maintain [its] rage" and punish the Coalition for its part in bringing down the government, proclaiming "Shame Fraser, Shame". However, the Coalition focused on economic issues following the 1973 oil crisis and 1973–75 recession, the so-called Loans Affair, alleged Labor mismanagement of inflation, and campaigned under the slogan "Turn on the lights, Australia" (drawing on a contemporary cynicism: "Would the last businessman leaving Australia please turn out the lights?"). [1] [2]
The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory received an entitlement to elect two senators each as a consequence of the Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973, passed during the 1974 Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament.
The election was a highly significant one. The Coalition won a landslide victory and gained 30 seats from Labor. The Coalition had a higher two-party-preferred vote in every state and territory, even the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). This is the first time such a feat has been achieved. [3] The ACT was the only jurisdiction where Labor had a higher primary vote than the Coalition. Furthermore, it was the first time a party won 90 or more seats in an Australian legislature, the largest majority government in Australian history and the second-highest number won at any election in Australian history. The Coalition won 91 seats in the House of Representatives, while Labor won just 36, its lowest seat count since 1940 (under John Curtin). The Coalition would then go on to win 96 seats in 1996 (under John Howard) and 90 in 2013 (under Tony Abbott). Although Howard won three more seats than Fraser, the House of Representatives had 148 seats in 1996, while it only had 127 in 1975; additionally, in 2013 there was 150 and currently there is 151. Therefore, this was still the largest majority government in Australian history.
Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), of which he was the longest-serving. He was notable for being the head of a reformist and socially progressive administration that ended with his removal as prime minister after controversially being dismissed by the governor-general of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 constitutional crisis. Whitlam is the only Australian prime minister to have been removed from office by the governor-general.
John Malcolm Fraser was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. By virtue of holding the confidence of the House of Representatives, they chair the Cabinet and thus head the federal executive government. The prime minister and their party also generally hold predominant legislative influence through their numbers in Parliament.
The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known simply as the Dismissal, culminated on 11 November 1975 with the dismissal from office of the prime minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Sir John Kerr, the Governor-General who then commissioned the leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser of the Liberal Party, as prime minister. It has been described as the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australian history.
Sir John Robert Kerr, was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constitutional crisis, which culminated in his decision to dismiss the incumbent prime minister Gough Whitlam and appoint Malcolm Fraser as his replacement, which led to unprecedented actions in Australian federal politics.
This is a list of members of the Australian House of Representatives from 1975 to 1977. The 13 December 1975 election was a double dissolution of both Houses, with all 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election. Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned as prime minister following the dismissal of the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's three-year-old Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. The same day, Fraser advised the calling of the election, in accordance with Kerr's stipulated conditions. Thus the Liberal Party of Australia, led by Fraser, with coalition partner the National Country Party, led by Doug Anthony, went to the election as a minority caretaker government. The election resulted in the Coalition securing government with a 30-seat swing in the House of Representatives away from Labor.
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives and the Senate. A double dissolution is the only circumstance in which the entire Senate can be dissolved.
The 1974 Joint Sitting of the Parliament of Australia remains the only time that members of both houses of the federal parliament of Australia, the Senate and House of Representatives, have sat together as a single legislative body pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution. The joint sitting was held on 6 and 7 August 1974, following the double dissolution 1974 federal election.
The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 federal election, ending a record 23 years of continuous Coalition government. It was terminated by Governor-General Sir John Kerr following the 1975 constitutional crisis and was succeeded by the Fraser government—the sole occasion in Australian history when an elected federal government was dismissed by the head of state.
The 1963 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 30 November 1963. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, won an increased majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Arthur Calwell. This was the only time that a Federal Government won a seventh consecutive term in office.
The 1983 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, following a double dissolution. The incumbent Coalition government which had been in power since 1975, led by Malcolm Fraser and Doug Anthony, was defeated in a landslide by the opposition Labor Party led by Bob Hawke.
The 1977 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate were up for election.
The 1974 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam defeated the opposition Liberal–Country coalition led by Billy Snedden. This marked the first time that a Labor leader won two consecutive elections.
The 1972 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, as well as a single Senate seat in Queensland. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister William McMahon, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Labor's victory ended 23 years of successive Coalition governments that began in 1949 and started the three-year Whitlam Labor Government.
The 1969 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 25 October 1969. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister John Gorton, won the election with a severely diminished majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam despite losing the two party popular vote. Both major parties had changed their leaders in the run-up to the election, the first time this had occurred since 1946. The victory was the ninth consecutive general election won by the Coalition, and remains the record number of consecutive terms won by any Australian Federal Government.
Gordon Glen Denton Scholes AO was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1993, representing the Division of Corio. He served terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives (1975–1976), Minister for Defence (1983–1984), and Minister for Territories (1984–1987).
This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 1978. The 13 December 1975 election was a double dissolution of both houses, with all 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate up for election. Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned as prime minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. The same day, Fraser advised the calling of the election, in accordance with Kerr's stipulated conditions. Thus the Liberal Party of Australia, led by Fraser, with Coalition partner the National Country Party, led by Doug Anthony, went to the election as a caretaker government. The election resulted in the Coalition securing government with a 30-seat swing away from Labor in the House of Representatives.
The Fraser government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. It was made up of members of a Liberal–Country party coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Initially appointed as a caretaker government following the dismissal of the Whitlam government, Fraser won in a landslide at the resulting 1975 Australian federal election, and won substantial majorities at the subsequent 1977 and 1980 elections, before losing to the Bob Hawke–led Australian Labor Party in the 1983 election.
The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister. The McMahon government lasted from March 1971 to December 1972, being defeated at the 1972 federal election. Writing for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Julian Leeser describes McMahon's prime ministership as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".
The history of the Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation. Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia. Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia, 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies.