Australian general election, 1975
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Federal elections were held in Australia on December 13, 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on November 11, 1975. The incumbent Australian Labor Party, in power since 1972 under Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam, was defeated by the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug Anthony.
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[edit] Issues
The election followed the dramatic dismissal of the Whitlam Government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. Labor supporters hoped that the electorate would punish the Coalition for their part in bringing down the Government, using the slogan "Shame Fraser, Shame". However, the economy was poor in the wake of the 1973 oil shock, with high inflation and rising unemployment. In addition, in 1975 the Whitlam Government had been troubled by scandals, such as the Loans Affair. The Coalition focused on these issues, with the campaign slogan "Turn on the lights, Australia".
[edit] Territory Senate representation
Following legislation introduced in 1974, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory elected Senate representatives for the first time (two each). The Country Liberal Party which joined the coalition, founded in 1974 when territories obtained self-government, contested the NT elections as well as the Liberal Party in the ACT elections, with Labor running in both. Both territories elected a coalition and Labor candidate each. [1]
[edit] Significance
The 1975 election remains the most one-sided result since Federation. The Coalition won close to three times as many seats as the ALP in the House of Representatives, and a sizeable majority in the Senate. The result was a great disappointment to many Labor supporters, as it seemed to affirm the Governor-General’s decision to dismiss the Prime Minister.
[edit] Results
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| Australian Labor Party | 3,313,004 | 42.84 | -6.46 | 36 | -30 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 3,232,159 | 41.80 | +6.85 | 68 | +28 | |
| National Country Party | 869,919 | 11.25 | +1.29 | 23 | +2 | |
| Democratic Labor Party | 101,750 | 1.32 | -0.10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Australia Party | 33,630 | 0.43 | -1.89 | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 182,116 | 2.36 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7,732,578 | 127 | ||||
| LPA/NAT coalition | WIN | 55.70 | +7.40 | 91 | +30 | |
| Australian Labor Party | 44.30 | -7.40 | 36 | -30 |
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats Won | Seats Held | |
| Australian Labor Party | 2,931,310 | 40.91 | -6.38 | 27 | 27 | |
| Liberal/National (Joint Ticket) | 2,855,721 | 39.86 | * | 17 | ||
| Liberal Party of Australia | 793,772 | 11.08 | +3.26 | 16 | 26 | |
| Democratic Labor Party | 191,049 | 2.67 | -0.89 | 0 | 0 | |
| Liberal Movement | 76,426 | 1.07 | +0.11 | 1 | 1 | |
| National Country Party | 38,366 | 0.54 | * | 1 | 8 | |
| Country Liberal Party | 15,519 | 0.22 | -0.01 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independents | 114,310 | 1.60 | -0.24 | 1 | 1 | |
| Other | 148,240 | 2.07 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7,164,713 | 64 | 64 |
[edit] References
- University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
- AustralianPolitics.com 1975 election details
- 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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