1922 Australian federal election

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1922 Australian federal election
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
←  1919 16 December 1922 (1922-12-16) 1925  →
All 76 [a] seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
Registered2,980,424 Increase2.svg4.58%
Turnout1,646,863 (59.36%) [b]
(Decrease2.svg18.94 pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Matthew Charlton 1925.jpg Billy Hughes 1919.jpg Earle Page 1929 02 (cropped).jpg
Leader Matthew Charlton Billy Hughes Earle Page
Party Labor Nationalist Country
Leader since 16 May 1922 14 November 1916 5 April 1921
Leader's seat Hunter (NSW)won North Sydney (NSW) [c] Cowper (NSW)
Last election26 seats37 seats11 seats
Seats won29 + NT 2614 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg4Decrease2.svg11Increase2.svg 3
Popular vote665,145553,920197,513
Percentage48.80%51.20%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.90%Decrease2.svg2.90%
1922 Australian federal election.svg
Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.
Prime Minister before election

Billy Hughes
Nationalist

Subsequent Prime Minister

Stanley Bruce
Nationalist/Country coalition

The 1922 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 16 December 1922. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Billy Hughes lost its majority. However, the opposition Labor Party led by Matthew Charlton did not take office as the Nationalists sought a coalition with the fledgling Country Party led by Earle Page. The Country Party made Hughes's resignation the price for joining, and Hughes was replaced as Nationalist leader by Stanley Bruce.

Contents

Future Prime Minister Frank Forde and future opposition leader John Latham both entered parliament at this election.

At this election, Hughes as the sitting prime minister made his second seat transfer, in this case, from Bendigo to North Sydney. Hughes had held Bendigo since transferring there from West Sydney at the 1917 election also as the sitting prime minister.

Hughes remains the only sitting Prime Minister to transfer to another seat, not once but twice.

Aside from the 1917 and 1922 elections, all other elections have seen the sitting prime minister recontest the seat that they held prior to the election.

Background

The 1919 federal election had resulted in a hung parliament, with the newly formed Country Party holding the balance of power. Prime Minister Billy Hughes' Nationalist Party government was reliant on the support of the Country Party to pass legislation. Country Party leader Earle Page used the situation to his advantage, bargaining for concessions and refusing to guarantee support for confidence motions. A vote of confidence held in October 1921 on the government's budget passed by only a single vote, when Country MP Alexander Hay abstained from voting. [1]

ALP leader Frank Tudor died in office in January 1922, after a long period of ill health. [2] He was replaced as party leader and opposition leader by New South Wales MP Matthew Charlton, who had been acting leader for some time, although he was not formally confirmed in the position until May 1922. [3] [4]

Campaign

Charlton and the ALP presented "policies of national development under a unified government with regional devolution of powers, tariff protection and limited immigration". He was briefly hospitalised during the campaign. [5]

Page presented the Country Party platform in October 1922, which included decentralisation, reduction in government expenditure and public debt, tariff and agricultural marketing reforms, and rural credits (a form of government subsidy for primary producers). [6] He also supported placing the Commonwealth Bank under an independent board, tasked with supporting national development projects. [7] His speech was critical of Hughes, alleging broken promises and describing the prime minister as having "total disregard of the financial position of the country". [8]

Results

House of Representatives

.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Labor: 29 seats Nationalist: 26 seats Country: 14 seats Independent: 1 seat Liberal: 5 seats Australian House of Representatives, 1922.svg
  Labor: 29 seats
  Nationalist: 26 seats
  Country: 14 seats
  Independent: 1 seat
  Liberal: 5 seats
House of Reps (IRV) – 1922–25—Turnout 59.36% (Non-CV) – Informal 4.51%
1922 Australian House.svg
PartyVotes %SwingSeatsChange
  Labor 665,14542.30−0.1930 [d] Increase2.svg 4
  Nationalist 553,92035.23−9.8526Decrease2.svg 11
  Country 197,51312.56+3.3014Increase2.svg 3
  Liberal Union 37,9042.41+2.413Increase2.svg 3
  Liberal 32,1672.04+2.042Increase2.svg 2
 Constitutionalist11,8120.75+0.750Steady2.svg
  Majority Labor 10,3030.66+0.660Steady2.svg
  Industrial Labor 4,3310.28+0.090Steady2.svg
  Protestant Labor 3,6310.23+0.230Steady2.svg
 NT Representation League3620.02+0.020Steady2.svg
  Independents 51,5383.28+1.861Steady2.svg
 Total1,572,514  76Increase2.svg 1
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
  Nationalist Win51.20−2.9040+3
  Labor 48.80+2.90290

Notes

Popular vote
Labor
 
42.30%
Nationalist
 
35.23%
Country
 
12.56%
Liberal
 
4.70%
Independent/Others
 
5.22%
Two-party-preferred vote
Coalition
 
51.20%
Labor
 
48.80%
Parliament seats
Coalition
 
53.33%
Labor
 
38.67%
Liberal
 
6.67%
Independent
 
1.33%

Senate

Senate (P BV) – 1922–1925—Turnout 57.99% (Non-CV) – Informal 9.44%
1922 Australian Senate.svg
PartyVotes %SwingSeats wonSeats heldChange
  Labor 715,21945.70+2.861112+11
  Nationalist 567,08436.23−10.16824−11
  Country 203,26712.99+4.20000
  Liberal Union 43,7062.79+2.79000
  Socialist Labor 8,5510.55+0.55000
  Majority Labor 3,8130.24+0.24000
  Independents 23,4471.50+0.08000
 Total1,565,087  1936

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1922SwingPost-1922
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Adelaide, SA  Nationalist Reginald Blundell 0.88.03.6 George Edwin Yates Labor 
Balaclava, Vic  Nationalist William Watt N/A100.0100.0 William Watt Liberal 
Barker, SA  Nationalist John Livingston N/AN/A2.3 Malcolm Cameron Liberal Union 
Barton, NSW  Nationalistnotional – new seatN/A13.87.6 Frederick McDonald Labor 
Boothby, SA  Nationalist William Story N/AN/A4.7 Jack Duncan-Hughes Liberal Union 
Calare, NSW  Labor Thomas Lavelle 2.38.55.3 Neville Howse Nationalist 
Darwin, Tas  Nationalist George Bell 4.0N/A0.4 Joshua Whitsitt Country 
Denison, Tas  Nationalist William Laird Smith 3.94.30.4 David O'Keefe Labor 
Fremantle, WA  Nationalist Reginald Burchell N/A56.96.9 William Watson Independent 
Gippsland, Vic  Nationalist George Wise 5.218.112.9 Thomas Paterson Country 
Grey, SA  Nationalist Alexander Poynton 1.85.53.7 Andrew Lacey Labor 
Henty, Vic  Independent Frederick Francis 2.98.75.8 Frederick Francis Nationalist 
Kalgoorlie, WA  Nationalist George Foley 1.47.17.4 Albert Green Labor 
Kooyong, Vic  Nationalist Robert Best 14.314.90.6 John Latham Liberal 
Macquarie, NSW  Labor Samuel Nicholls 3.20.60.2 Arthur Manning Nationalist 
New England, NSW  Nationalist Alexander Hay*7.3N/A8.5 Victor Thompson Country 
Northern Territory, NT new division0.4 H. G. Nelson Labor 
Richmond, NSW  Nationalist Walter Massy-Greene 22.524.03.3 Roland Green Country 
Riverina, NSW  Nationalist John Chanter N/A54.34.3 William Killen Country 
Wakefield, SA  Nationalist Richard Foster N/AN/A5.3 Richard Foster Liberal Union 
Wannon, Vic  Nationalist Arthur Rodgers 4.14.90.8 John McNeill Labor 
Wilmot, Tas  Nationalist Llewellyn Atkinson 10.2N/A11.2 Llewellyn Atkinson Country 

Post-election pendulum

Government seats
Nationalist/Country coalition
Marginal
Macquarie (NSW) Neville Howse NAT00.2
Darwin (Tas) Joshua Whitsitt CP00.4 v NAT
Corio (Vic) John Lister NAT00.8
Bendigo (Vic) Geoffry Hurry NAT01.7
Herbert (Qld) Fred Bamford NAT01.7
Brisbane (Qld) Donald Cameron NAT02.0
Richmond (NSW) Roland Green CP03.3
Oxley (Qld) James Bayley NAT03.3
Bass (Tas) Syd Jackson NAT03.6
Corangamite (Vic) William Gibson CP03.9
Riverina (NSW) William Killen CP04.3
Lang (NSW) Elliot Johnson NAT04.4
Maranoa (Qld) James Hunter CP04.4
Calare (NSW) Neville Howse NAT05.3
Flinders (Vic) Stanley Bruce NAT05.6 v LIB
Henty (Vic) Frederick Francis NAT05.8 v NAT
Fairly safe
Franklin (Tas) Alfred Seabrook NAT06.3
Fawkner (Vic) George Maxwell NAT08.0
North Sydney (NSW) Billy Hughes NAT08.2 v Const.
New England (NSW) Victor Thompson CP08.5
Darling Downs (Qld) Littleton Groom NAT08.6
Perth (WA) Edward Mann NAT08.9
Moreton (Qld) Josiah Francis NAT09.5
Safe
Wide Bay (Qld) Edward Corser NAT10.5
Eden-Monaro (NSW) Austin Chapman NAT11.1
Wilmot (Tas) Llewellyn Atkinson CP11.2
Robertson (NSW) Sydney Gardner NAT11.8
Parkes (NSW) Charles Marr NAT11.8
Wentworth (NSW) Walter Marks NAT11.9
Gippsland (Vic) Thomas Paterson CP12.9 v NAT
Indi (Vic) Robert Cook CP13.2
Lilley (Qld) George Mackay NAT15.2 v IND
Parramatta (NSW) Eric Bowden NAT15.4
Cowper (NSW) Earle Page CP17.3 v NAT
Very safe
Echuca (Vic) William Hill CP20.3 v NAT
Wimmera (Vic) Percy Stewart CP21.2 v IND
Forrest (WA) John Prowse CP29.5 v NAT
Martin (NSW) Herbert Pratten NATunopposed
Swan (WA) Henry Gregory CPunopposed
Warringah (NSW) Granville Ryrie NATunopposed
Non-government seats
Australian Labor Party and Liberal Party
Marginal
Gwydir (NSW) Lou Cunningham ALP00.1 v CP
Northern Territory (NT) H. G. Nelson ALP00.4 v IND
Denison (Tas) David O'Keefe ALP00.4
Kooyong (Vic) John Latham LIB00.6 v NAT
Wannon (Vic) John McNeill ALP00.8
Ballaarat (Vic) Charles McGrath ALP01.7
Barker (SA) Malcolm Cameron LIB02.3 v ALP
Capricornia (Qld) Frank Forde ALP02.5
Batman (Vic) Frank Brennan ALP03.3
Adelaide (SA) George Edwin Yates ALP03.6 v LIB
Grey (SA) Andrew Lacey ALP03.7
Werriwa (NSW) Bert Lazzarini ALP03.9
Boothby (SA) Jack Duncan-Hughes LIB04.7 v ALP
Hume (NSW) Parker Moloney ALP04.9
Wakefield (SA) Richard Foster LIB05.3 v ALP
Fairly safe
Kalgoorlie (WA) Albert Green ALP07.4
Barton (NSW) Frederick McDonald ALP07.6
Angas (SA) Moses Gabb ALP08.0 v LIB
Reid (NSW) Percy Coleman ALP08.6
East Sydney (NSW) John West ALP09.1
Safe
Kennedy (Qld) Charles McDonald ALP11.6
South Sydney (NSW) Edward Riley ALP11.7
Maribyrnong (Vic) James Fenton ALP13.2
Darling (NSW) Arthur Blakeley ALP15.1
Hindmarsh (SA) Norman Makin ALP18.6
Newcastle (NSW) David Watkins ALP19.4
Very safe
Bourke (Vic) Frank Anstey ALP20.1
Dalley (NSW) William Mahony ALP20.9
Melbourne Ports (Vic) James Mathews ALP23.1
Cook (NSW) Edward Charles Riley ALP24.9
West Sydney (NSW) William Lambert ALP25.4 v IND
Melbourne (Vic) William Maloney ALP27.2
Yarra (Vic) James Scullin ALP28.0
Balaclava (Vic) William Watt LIBunopposed
Hunter (NSW) Matthew Charlton ALPunopposed
Independents
Fremantle (WA) William Watson IND06.9 v ALP

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.
  2. ↑ Turnout in contested seats
  3. ↑ Hughes' seat prior to the election was Bendigo (Vic.). He ran for the New South Wales seat of North Sydney and won.
  4. ↑ Including Northern Territory

References

  1. ↑ Wilks, Stephen (2020). 'Now is the Psychological Moment': Earle Page and the Imagining of Australia (PDF). ANU Press. p. 79. ISBN   9781760463687.
  2. ↑ McCalman, Janet. "Tudor, Francis Gwynne (Frank) (1866–1922)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "Mr. Charlton Leader in the House". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 1922.
  4. ↑ "Federal Labour Party". The Argus. Melbourne. 17 May 1922.
  5. ↑ Perks, Murray (1979). "Matthew Charlton (1866–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 7. Melbourne University Press.
  6. ↑ Wilks 2020, p. 77.
  7. ↑ Wilks 2020, p. 98.
  8. ↑ Wilks 2020, p. 79.
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