1972 Queensland state election

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1972 Queensland state election
Flag of Queensland.svg
  1969 27 May 1972 (1972-05-27) 1974  

All 82 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
42 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Turnout92.41 (Increase2.svg 0.64 pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Joh Bjelke-Petersen 1968 (cropped).jpg Jack Houston 1973 (1) (cropped).jpg
QLP
Leader Joh Bjelke-Petersen Jack Houston No leader
Party Country–Liberal Coalition Labor Queensland Labor
Leader since8 August 196812 October 1966 (1966-10-12)
Leader's seat Barambah Bulimba
Last election45 seats, 44.70%31 seats, 44.99%1 seat, 7.24%
Seats won47330
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 2Increase2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 1
Popular vote383,000424,00269,757
Percentage42.23%46.75%7.69%
SwingDecrease2.svg 2.47Increase2.svg 1.76Increase2.svg 0.46

1972 Queensland state election.svg
Winning margin by electorate.

Premier before election

Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Country–Liberal Coalition

Elected Premier

Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Country–Liberal Coalition

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 27 May 1972 to elect the 82 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. [1]

Contents

The Country-Liberal Coalition won its sixth consecutive victory since it won government in 1957 and also its second victory under Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Key dates

DateEvent
18 April 1972The Legislative Assembly was dissolved. [2]
18 April 1972Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. [3]
27 April 1972Close of nominations.
27 May 1972Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. [4]
20 June 1972The Bjelke-Petersen Ministry was reconstituted. [5]
24 June 1972The writ was returned and the results formally declared. [6]
10 July 1972Deadline for return of the writs.
1 August 1972Parliament resumed for business. [7]

Results

Queensland state election, 27 May 1972
Legislative Assembly
<< 19691974 >>

Enrolled voters997,489
Votes cast921,763 Turnout 92.41%+0.64%
Informal votes15,566Informal1.61%-0.18%
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeatsChange
  Labor 424,00246.75%+1.76%33+ 2
  Liberal 201,59622.23%-1.45%21+ 2
  Country 181,40420.00%-1.02%26± 0
  Queensland Labor 69,7577.69%+0.46%0- 1
  Independent 30,1873.33%+0.48%2+ 1
Total906,946  82 
Popular vote
Labor
46.75%
Liberal
22.23%
Country
20.00%
Democratic Labor
7.69%
Independents
3.33%
Seats
Labor
40.24%
Country
31.71%
Liberal
25.61%
Independents
2.44%

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1972SwingPost-1972
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Albert Liberal Bill Heatley *0.5-4.64.1 Bill D'Arcy Labor 
Ipswich  Labornotional - new seat4.5-5.71.2 Llew Edwards Liberal 
Mackay  Labor Ed Casey 6.7-20.113.4 Ed Casey Independent 

Post-election pendulum

Country/Liberal seats (47)
Marginal
Murrumba Des Frawley CP1.0%
Ipswich Llew Edwards LIB1.2%
Kurilpa Clive Hughes LIB1.5%
Condamine Vic Sullivan CP1.8% v IND
Mansfield Bill Kaus LIB2.0%
Wavell Arthur Crawford LIB2.0%
Hinchinbrook Ted Row CP2.5%
Mount Gravatt Geoff Chinchen CP2.5%
Gregory Wally Rae CP2.6%
Maryborough Gilbert Alison LIB3.8%
Nundah William Knox LIB3.9%
Yeronga Norm Lee LIB4.3%
Ashgrove Douglas Tooth LIB4.8%
Greenslopes Keith Hooper LIB5.0%
Chatsworth Bill Hewitt LIB5.1%
Windsor Bob Moore LIB5.1%
Redcliffe Jim Houghton CP5.4%
Ithaca Col Miller LIB5.6%
Carnarvon Henry McKechnie CP5.9%
Fairly safe
Whitsunday Ron Camm CP6.9%
Clayfield John Murray LIB8.2%
Aspley Fred Campbell LIB8.3%
Mulgrave Roy Armstrong CP8.4%
Merthyr Don Lane LIB9.1%
Burdekin Val Bird CP9.2%
Surfers Paradise Bruce Small CP9.6%
Flinders Bill Longeran CP9.7%
Gympie Max Hodges CP9.7%
Sherwood John Herbert LIB9.8%
Safe
Callide Lindsay Hartwig CP10.3%
Townsville Norman Scott-Young LIB11.5%
Warwick David Cory CP11.5%
South Coast Russ Hinze CP11.7%
Mirani Tom Newbery CP12.1%
Lockyer Gordon Chalk LIB12.2%
Toowong Charles Porter LIB13.0%
Auburn Neville Hewitt CP13.4%
Roma Ken Tomkins CP14.0%
Balonne Don Neal CP15.6%
Fassifern Selwyn Muller CP15.7%
Landsborough Michael Ahern CP15.7%
Cooroora David Low CP15.8%
Mount Coot-tha Bill Lickiss LIB16.0%
Somerset Bill Gunn CP16.3%
Very safe
Burnett Claude Wharton CP20.5%
Barambah Joh Bjelke-Petersen CP23.7%
Cunningham Alan Fletcher CP26.4%
Labor seats (33)
Marginal
Rockhampton North Les Yewdale ALP1.1%
Belyando Eugene O'Donnell ALP1.3%
Stafford Roy Harvey ALP1.6%
Townsville West Perc Tucker ALP2.2%
Barron River Bill Wood ALP3.4%
Albert Bill D'Arcy ALP4.1%
Cook Edwin Wallis-Smith ALP4.2%
Redlands Ted Baldwin ALP5.1%
Rockhampton Keith Wright ALP5.9%
Fairly safe
Pine Rivers Kenneth Leese ALP6.8%
Toowoomba South Peter Wood ALP6.9%
Mourilyan Peter Moore ALP7.2%
Everton Gerry Jones ALP8.3%
Isis Jim Blake ALP8.3%
Brisbane Brian Davis ALP9.7%
Safe
South Brisbane Fred Bromley ALP11.0%
Ipswich West Vi Jordan ALP11.5%
Warrego Jack Aiken ALP13.4%
Sandgate Harold Dean ALP13.6%
Baroona Pat Hanlon ALP14.1%
Wynnum Edward Harris ALP14.5%
Belmont Fred Newton ALP14.5%
Toowoomba North Ray Bousen ALP14.9%
Nudgee Jack Melloy ALP15.4%
Bulimba Jack Houston ALP15.6%
Mount Isa Alex Inch ALP16.4%
Salisbury Doug Sherrington ALP16.7%
Cairns Ray Jones ALP18.8%
Bundaberg Lou Jensen ALP18.9% v DLP
Lytton Tom Burns ALP19.3%
Very safe
Wolston Evan Marginson ALP20.3%
Archerfield Kevin Hooper ALP23.3%
Port Curtis Martin Hanson ALP32.2% v DLP
Crossbench seats (2)
Townsville South Tom Aikens IND7.6% v ALP
Mackay Ed Casey IND13.4% v ALP

See also

References

  1. "Parliament of Queensland, Legislative Assembly election results for 27 May 1972". Australian Politics and Elections Archive 1856-2018. University of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. "A Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette . 18 April 1972. p. 239:1719.
  3. "Extraordinary". Queensland Government Gazette . 18 April 1972. p. 239:1721.
  4. Partridge, Des (27 May 1972). "State election will be tonight's scene-stealer". The Courier-Mail . p. 10.
  5. "Extraordinary". Queensland Government Gazette . 20 June 1972. p. 240:971–974.
  6. "Notices of Results of General Election". Queensland Government Gazette . 24 June 1972. p. 240:1067–1081.
  7. "A Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette . 22 June 1972. p. 240:979.