Australian general election, 1996

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Federal election major party leaders
< 1993 1996 1998 >
Labor Paul Keating Prime Minister Parliament: 27 years Leader since: 1991 Division: Blaxland
Liberal John Howard Opposition leader Parliament: 22 years Leader since: 1995 Division: Bennelong

Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 March 1996. All 148 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party in power since 1983 led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating were defeated by the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by Tim Fischer.

**House of Reps — 1996-98 — Turnout 95.77% — Informal 3.20%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Liberal Party of Australia	4,248,991	39.04	+1.94	75	+26
Australian Labor Party	4,217,765	38.75	-6.17	49	-31
National Party of Australia	893,170	8.21	+1.04	19	+3
Australian Democrats	735,848	6.76	+3.01	0	0
Australian Greens	317,654	2.92	+1.06	0	0
Independents	253,894	2.33	-0.77	5	+3
Other	216,530	1.99	-0.11	0	0
Total	10,883,852			148	+1
LPA/NAT coalition	WIN	53.63	+5.07	94	+29
Australian Labor Party		46.37	-5.07	49	-31

**Senate — 1996-98 — Turnout 96.20% — Informal 3.50%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held
Australian Labor Party	3,940,150	36.15	-7.35	14	29
Liberal/National (Joint Ticket)	2,669,377	24.49	+0.09	6
Liberal Party of Australia	1,770,486	16.24	+0.65	12	31
Australian Democrats	1,179,357	10.82	+5.51	5	7
National Party of Australia	312,769	2.87	+0.15	1	5
Australian Greens	261,677	2.40	*	0	0
WA Greens	57,006	0.52	+0.02	0	1
Country Liberal Party	40,050	0.37	+0.04	1	1
Tasmanian Greens	26,830	0.25	*	1	1
Harradine Group	*	*	-0.30	0	1
Other	641,335	5.88	+1.02	0	0
Total	10,899,037			40	76

1 References

Labor's primary vote was the lowest recorded by the ALP since 1934. The Liberal Party leader, John Howard, had resumed the leadership of his party in January 1995, following a disastrous 8 months under the leadership of Alexander Downer. Downer and Peter Costello had succeeded Dr. John Hewson early in 1994 and were touted as the leaders of the new-generation Liberals. In the end, the party opted for the seasoned Howard, perhaps an acknowledgement that he was the only one left standing after a decade of party infighting.

Howard approached the campaign with a determination to present as small a target as possible. Throughout 1995, he refused to detail specific policy proposals. By 1996, however, it was clear that the electorate had tired of the Labor government and Paul Keating in particular. "The recession we had to have" line resonated with deadly force throughout the electorate, although Keating also attracted much support and adoration from supporters attracted by his republicanism and internationalist approach to Australia's future.

[edit] References

University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
AustralianPolitics.com 2PP vote
AustralianPolitics.com election details

Australian general elections

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