Australian general election, 1969
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Federal elections were held in Australia on October 25, 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, no Senate seats were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Even though the ALP lost, the election was seen as a good result as it made significant gains against the Coalition.
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[edit] Issues
The 1969 election centred heavily on the two leaders, John Gorton and Gough Whitlam. Both were leading their respective parties in an election for the first time. Gorton had initially been very popular, but he was gaining a reputation for being erratic. Whitlam, by contrast, had reformed the ALP and abandoned unpopular policies such as the White Australia Policy and the commitment to radical Socialism still held by many members on the left of the party. He presented a sleek and modern image which was able to win over new voters to his cause. In addition, the Coalition had been in office for 20 years and was seen as becoming tired and unfocused, and there were growing concerns over Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The ALP went into the election with a small caucus and could have a good hope of gaining seats.
[edit] Results
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| Australian Labor Party | 2,870,792 | 46.95 | +6.97 | 59 | +18 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 2,125,987 | 34.77 | -5.37 | 46 | -15 | |
| Country Party | 523,232 | 8.56 | -1.28 | 20 | -1 | |
| Democratic Labor Party | 367,977 | 6.02 | -1.29 | 0 | 0 | |
| Australia Party | 53,646 | 0.88 | * | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents | 141,090 | 2.31 | +0.85 | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 31,394 | 0.51 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6,114,118 | 125 | +1 | |||
| LPA/NAT coalition | WIN | 49.80 | -7.10 | 66 | -16 | |
| Australian Labor Party | 50.20 | +7.10 | 59 | +18 |
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats Won | Seats Held | |
| Australian Labor Party | 2,376,215 | 42.22 | -2.81 | 14 | 26 | |
| Liberal/National (Joint Ticket) | 1,098,134 | 19.51 | -14.31 | 4 | * | |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 991,473 | 17.61 | +9.47 | 8 | 21 | |
| Democratic Labor Party | 625,142 | 11.11 | +1.34 | 3 | 5 | |
| Australia Party | 163,343 | 2.90 | * | 0 | 0 | |
| Country Party | 59,416 | 1.06 | +0.24 | 1 | 5 | |
| Independents | 95,902 | 1.70 | +0.71 | 2 | 3 | |
| Other | 219,208 | 3.89 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5,628,833 | 32 | 60 |
[edit] References
- University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
- AustralianPolitics.com 2PP vote
- Prior to 1984 the AEC did not undertake a full distribution of preferences for statistical purposes. The stored ballot papers for the 1983 election were put through this process prior to their destruction. Therefore the figures from 1983 onwards show the actual result based on full distribution of preferences.
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Australian general elections
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