1977 Australian Senate election

1977 Australian Senate elections
← 1975 10 December 1977 1980 →
34 of the 64 seats in the Australian Senate ; 33 seats needed for a majority
	Senators elected in the 1977 federal election
Leader of the Senate before election; Reg Withers ; Liberal/National coalition	Elected Leader of the Senate ; Reg Withers ; Liberal/National coalition

Last updated January 12, 2026

The following tables show state-by-state results in the Australian Senate at the 1977 federal election. Senators total 34 coalition (27 Liberal, six coalition National, one CLP), 27 Labor, two Democrats and one Independent.^[1] Senator terms are six years (three for territories). Senators elected at this election began their terms on 1 July 1978, except for the territorial senators who took their seats at the election. This election marked the effective parliamentary debut of the Australian Democrats.^[2]^[3]

Australia

Senate (STV) — 1977–80—Turnout 95.08% (CV) — Informal 9.00%

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Seats held	Change
	Liberal–NCP Coalition (total)		3,369,843	45.56	–5.18	18	34	–1
		Liberal–NCP joint ticket	2,533,882	34.26	−5.60	7	*	*
		Liberal	783,878	10.60	−0.48	10	27	+1
		National Country	36,619	0.50	−0.04	0	6	–2
		Country Liberal	15,463	0.21	−0.01	1	1	0
	Labor		2,718,876	36.76	−4.15	14	27	0
	Democrats		823,550	11.13	+11.13	2	2	+2
	Democratic Labor		123,192	1.67	–1.00	0	0	0
	Progress		88,203	1.19	+0.32	0	0	0
	Call to Australia		49,395	1.12	+1.12	0	0	0
	Marijuana		44,276	0.60	+0.60	0	0	0
	Socialist		42,740	0.58	+0.57	0	0	0
	Australia		8,283	0.11	–0.37	0	0	0
	Independents		127,850	1.73	+0.13	0	1	0
	Total		7,396,207			34	64

Independent: Brian Harradine (Tasmania)
The Progress Party was the renamed "Workers Party" from the 1975 election.

New South Wales

Elected	#	Senator
1978
1978	1	Peter Baume	Liberal
1978	2	Tony Mulvihill	Labor
1978	3	Misha Lajovic	Liberal
1978	4	Arthur Gietzelt	Labor
1978	5	Colin Mason	Democrat
1976
1976	1	Bob Cotton	Liberal
1976	2	Doug McClelland	Labor
1976	3	John Carrick	Liberal
1976	4	Jim McClelland	Labor
1976	5	Douglas Scott	NCP

1977 Australian federal election: Senate, New South Wales
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			436,875
	Coalition	1. Peter Baume (Lib) (elected 1) 2. Misha Lajovic (Lib) (elected 3) 3. Dorothy Ross (NCP)	1,136,215	43.3	−6.1
	Labor	1. Tony Mulvihill (elected 2) 2. Arthur Gietzelt (elected 4) 3. Kerry Sibraa	1,050,672	40.1	−4.0
	Democrats	1. Colin Mason (elected 5) 2. Paul McLean 3. Malcolm Hilbery 4. Ronald Mallett 5. Patricia Clark	218,364	8.3	+8.3
	Progress	1. Barry Bracken 2. Robert Howard 3. Robert Schollbach	64,557	2.5	+1.4
	Group G	1. Bill Wentworth 2. Leah Young	55,230	2.1	+2.1
	Call to Australia	1. Fred Nile 2. Reuben Scarf 3. Patricia Judge	49,395	1.8	+1.8
	Marijuana	1. James Billington 2. Diana Fuller 3. Peter Livesey	22,879	0.9	+0.9
	Group E	1. Shirley Smith 2. Bruce Miles 3. Cecil Patten 4. Christos Roumeliotis	7,235	0.3	+0.3
	Socialist	1. Edgar Woodbury 2. Pat Clancy	5,437	0.2	+0.2
	Australia	1. John Notary 2. Clifford Willard 3. Allan Jones	4,454	0.2	−0.2
	Group C	1. Allan Chan 2. Chan Chung Ling	3,632	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	John Esposito	2,737	0.1	+0.1
	Independent	Henry Harding	442	0.0	0.0
Total formal votes			2,621,249	90.4	+0.1
Informal votes			278,196	9.6	−0.1
Turnout			2,899,445	95.0	−0.4

Victoria

Elected	#	Senator
1978
1978	1	Alan Missen	Liberal
1978	2	Gareth Evans	Labor
1978	3	David Hamer	Liberal
1978	4	John Button	Labor
1978	5	Don Chipp	Democrat
1976
1976	1	Ivor Greenwood	Liberal
1976	2	Jean Melzer	Labor
1976	3	Margaret Guilfoyle	Liberal
1976	4	Cyril Primmer	Labor
1976	5	James Webster	NCP

1977 Australian federal election: Senate, Victoria
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			331,739
	Coalition	1. Alan Missen (Lib) (elected 1) 2. David Hamer (Lib) (elected 3) 3. Tom Tehan (NCP)	833,477	41.9	−8.6
	Labor	1. Gareth Evans (elected 2) 2. John Button (elected 4) 3. Bill Brown	680,673	34.2	−7.1
	Democrats	1. Don Chipp (elected 5) 2. John Siddons 3. Janice Bateman 4. Harold Jeffrey 5. Neil Sleep	322,493	16.2	+16.2
	Democratic Labour	1. Jim Brosnan 2. Les Hilton 3. Paul McManus	123,192	6.2	+0.3
	Marijuana	1. Jay McRoach 2. Peter McKenzie	14,773	0.7	+0.7
	Group B	1. Carolyn Ingvarson 2. Elizabeth Morton 3. Marie Quinn	4,286	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	Terence Vine	4,023	0.2	+0.2
	Socialist	1. Ron Hearn 2. Trevor McCandless 3. Hariklia Kokkinos	3,593	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	Shane Watson	1,355	0.1	+0.1
	Australia	1. Derek Kruse 2. David Heath 3. Gail Farrell	1,351	0.1	−0.9
	Independent	Ronald Batey	729	0.0	0.0
	Independent	Peter Kavanagh	491	0.0	0.0
Total formal votes			1,990,436	90.9	−1.0
Informal votes			199,471	9.1	+1.0
Turnout			2,189,907	95.6	−0.1

Queensland

Elected	#	Senator
1978
1978	1	Kathy Sullivan	Liberal
1978	2	George Georges	Labor
1978	3	Stan Collard	NCP
1978	4	Mal Colston	Labor
1978	5	David MacGibbon	Liberal
1976
1976	1	Neville Bonner	Liberal
1976	2	Jim Keeffe	Labor
1976	3	Ron Maunsell	NCP
1976	4	Ron McAuliffe	Labor
1976	5	Glen Sheil	NCP

1977 Australian federal election: Senate: Queensland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			183,145
	Coalition	1. Kathy Sullivan (Lib) (elected 1) 2. Stan Collard (NCP) (elected 3) 3. David MacGibbon (Lib) (elected 5)	564,190	51.3	−6.0
	Labor	1. George Georges (elected 2) 2. Mal Colston (elected 4) 3. Verona Wake	380,418	34.6	−2.2
	Democrats	1. Paul Griffin 2. Michael Macklin 3. Maureen Burton	98,165	8.9	+8.9
	Socialist	1. Charles Murphy 2. David Ryan 3. Ivan Ivanoff	31,826	2.9	+2.9
	Progress	1. Vivian Forbes 2. Owen Pershouse 3. Suzanne Ham 4. Barrie Fulcher	8,376	0.8	−1.2
	Group C	1. Anne Glew 2. Geoffrey Crouch	6,674	0.6	+0.6
	Group D	1. James Drabsch 2. Lloyd Drabsch 3. Ace Drabsch	4,333	0.4	+0.4
	Independent	John Jones	3,730	0.3	+0.3
	Independent	Bruce Chambers	1,160	0.1	+0.1
Total formal votes			1,098,872	92.0	+0.3
Informal votes			95,003	8.0	−0.3
Turnout			1,193,875	94.8	−0.4

South Australia

Elected	#	Senator
1978
1978	1	Tony Messner	Liberal
1978	2	Geoff McLaren	Labor
1978	3	Harold Young	Liberal
1978	4	Ron Elstob	Labor
1978	5	Baden Teague	Liberal
1976
1976	1	Gordon Davidson	Liberal
1976	2	Reg Bishop	Labor
1976	3	Don Jessop	Liberal
1976	4	Jim Cavanagh	Labor
1976	5	Condor Laucke	Liberal

1977 Australian federal election, Senate, South Australia
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			117,036
	Liberal	1. Tony Messner (elected 1) 2. Harold Young (elected 3) 3. Baden Teague (elected 5)	344,351	49.0	−2.4
	Labor	1. Geoff McLaren (elected 2) 2. Ron Elstob (elected 4) 3. Nick Bolkus	258,643	36.8	−3.8
	Democrats	1. Ian Gilfillan 2. Michael Lee 3. Nicholas Theologou	78,496	11.2	+11.2
	Group F	1. George Jukes 2. Jean Jukes	5,255	0.8	+0.8
	Marijuana	Stephen Dimitriou	4,331	0.6	+0.6
	Independent	Andrew Jones	3,747	0.5	+0.5
	Progress	1. John Whiting 2. Verna Oakley	3,033	0.4	−0.2
	Australia	1. Colyn van Reenen 2. Kathy Dancer	2,478	0.4	+0.4
	Socialist	1. Alan Miller 2. Muriel Goss	1,884	0.3	+0.2
Total formal votes			702,218	89.6	−0.5
Informal votes			81,451	10.4	+0.5
Turnout			783,669	95.1	−1.1

Western Australia

Elected	#	Senator
1978
1978	1	Fred Chaney	Liberal
1978	2	Peter Walsh	Labor
1978	3	Andrew Thomas	Liberal
1978	4	Ruth Coleman	Labor
1978	5	Allan Rocher	Liberal
1976
1976	1	Reg Withers	Liberal
1976	2	John Wheeldon	Labor
1976	3	Peter Durack	Liberal
1976	4	Gordon McIntosh	Labor
1976	5	Peter Sim	Liberal

1977 Australian federal election: Senate, Western Australia
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			100,026
	Liberal	1. Fred Chaney (elected 1) 2. Andrew Thomas (elected 3) 3. Allan Rocher (elected 5)	278,413	46.4	−5.3
	Labor	1. Peter Walsh (elected 2) 2. Ruth Coleman (elected 4) 3. Howard Olney	196,781	32.8	−3.7
	Democrats	1. Jack Evans 2. Uri Themal 3. Shirley de la Hunty	74,912	12.5	+12.5
	National Country	1. Donald Eckersley 2. Donald Thomas 3. Moira Jones	36,619	6.1	−0.8
	Progress	1. Peter Richardson 2. Robert Scott 3. Janet Beeck	10,412	1.7	+0.5
	Independent	John Cowley	1,078	0.2	+0.2
	Group E	1. Francesco Nesci 2. Nellie Stuart	1,014	0.2	+0.2
	Independent	Geoffrey Gray	929	0.2	+0.2
Total formal votes			600,158	91.8	+2.6
Informal votes			53,426	8.2	−2.6
Turnout			653,584	94.6	−0.1

Tasmania

Elected	#	Senator
1978
1978	1	Shirley Walters	Liberal
1978	2	Don Grimes	Labor
1978	3	Brian Archer	Liberal
1978	4	Michael Tate	Labor
1978	5	John Watson	Liberal
1976
1976	1	Peter Rae	Liberal
1976	2	Ken Wriedt	Labor
1976	3	Brian Harradine	Independent
1976	4	Michael Townley	Liberal
1976	5	Justin O'Byrne	Labor

1977 Australian federal election: Senate, Tasmania
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			39,238
	Liberal	1. Shirley Walters (elected 1) 2. Brian Archer (elected 3) 3. John Watson (elected 5)	117,217	49.8	+0.8
	Labor	1. Don Grimes (elected 2) 2. Michael Tate (elected 4) 3. John White	88,722	37.7	+2.5
	Group C	1. Rudge Townley 2. Ann Waterhouse	15,695	6.7	+6.7
	Democrats	1. Norman Siberry 2. Liz Holloway	13,793	5.9	+5.9
Total formal votes			235,427	92.9	+2.8
Informal votes			17,971	7.1	−2.8
Turnout			253,398	96.7	+0.1

Australian Capital Territory

Elected	#	Senator
1977
1977	1	Susan Ryan	Labor
1977	2	John Knight	Liberal

1977 Australian federal election: Senate, Australian Capital Territory
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			38,067
	Labor	1. Susan Ryan (elected 1) 2. Robert Smith	49,374	43.2	+6.2
	Liberal	2. John Knight (elected 2) 2. Stanley Sparrow	43,897	38.4	−5.2
	Democrats	Donald Evans	14,561	12.8	+12.8
	Group A	1. Anthony O'Dea 2. Noel McCann	4,075	3.6	+3.6
	Marijuana	Gerhard Zatschler	2,293	2.0	+2.0
Total formal votes			114,200	96.9	+0.6
Informal votes			3,702	3.1	−0.6
Turnout			117,902	92.6	−1.5

Northern Territory

Elected	#	Senator
1977
1977	1	Bernie Kilgariff	Country Liberal
1977	2	Ted Robertson	Labor

1977 Australian federal election: Senate, Northern Territory
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			11,216
	Country Liberal	1. Bernard Kilgariff (elected 1) 2. Barry Wyatt	15,463	46.0	−8.6
	Labor	1. Ted Robertson (elected 2) 2. Harry Maschke	13,593	40.4	+4.5
	Democrats	1. Dennis Booth 2. Peter Dean	2,766	8.2	+8.2
	Progress	1. Kenneth Kitto 2. David Cooper	1,825	5.4	+3.2
Total formal votes			33,647	93.5	+0.7
Informal votes			2,335	6.5	−0.7
Turnout			35,982	81.2	+6.3

References

↑ "Government Wins By Large Margin In AustralianVote". nytimes.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
↑ "1977". australianpolitics.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
↑ "Federal Election 1977". handbook.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 6 January 2026.

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[1] "Government Wins By Large Margin In AustralianVote". nytimes.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.

[2] "1977". australianpolitics.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.

[3] "Federal Election 1977". handbook.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 6 January 2026.

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