1979 Victorian state election

Last updated

1979 Victoria state election
Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg
  1976 5 May 1979 (1979-05-05)1982 

All 81 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
and 22 (of the 44) seats in the Victorian Legislative Council
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Dick Hamer.jpg
ALP
NAT
Leader Rupert Hamer Frank Wilkes Peter Ross-Edwards
Party Liberal Labor National
Leader since23 August 197229 June 19771970
Leader's seat Kew Northcote Shepparton
Last election52 seats21 seats7 seats
Seats won41 seats32 seats8 seats
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 11Increase2.svg 11Increase2.svg 1
Percentage41.44%45.23%5.61%
SwingDecrease2.svg 4.44Increase2.svg 2.80Decrease2.svg 1.46

Victorian Legislative Assembly election 1979.png
Results by winning party by electorate for the Legislative Assembly.

Premier before election

Rupert Hamer
Liberal

Elected Premier

Rupert Hamer
Liberal

The 1979 Victoria state election, held on Saturday, 5 May 1979, was for the 48th Parliament of Victoria. It was held in the Australian state of Victoria to elect 81 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council.

Contents

The incumbent Liberal government led by Rupert Hamer was returned with a significantly reduced majority.

Results

Legislative Assembly

Victorian state election, 5 May 1979 [1]
Legislative Assembly
<< 19761982 >>

Enrolled voters2,350,407
Votes cast2,193,037 Turnout 93.300.62
Informal votes66,016Informal3.010.47
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeatsChange
  Labor 962,12345.23+2.8032+11
  Liberal 881,36641.44-4.4441-11
  National 119,3855.61-1.468+1
  Democrats 114,0535.36+5.360±0
  Independent 30,1021.42-0.310-1
  Democratic Labour 10,9070.51-2.060±0
  Australia 5,2220.25+0.080±0
  Communist 2,3050.11+0.110±0
  Socialist Workers 1,5580.07+0.070±0
Total2,127,021  81 
Two-party-preferred
  Liberal 1,073,41550.5–5.3
  Labor 1,053,60649.5+5.3

Legislative Council

Victorian state election, 5 May 1979 [2]
Legislative Council
<< 19761982 >>

Enrolled voters2,350,407
Votes cast2,191,128 Turnout 93.22+0.03
Informal votes77,361Informal3.53+0.41
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeats
won
Seats
held
  Labor 958,15845.33+2.72813
  Liberal 924,52543.74–4.561227
  National 124,0505.87–1.9824
  Democrats 60,3922.86+2.8600
  Democratic Labour 3,2120.15–0.4700
  Independent 43,4302.05+1.5600
Total2,113,767  2244

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1979SwingPost-1979
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Bentleigh  Liberal Bob Suggett 9.3-9.50.2 Gordon Hockley Labor 
Coburg  Independent Jack Mutton 5.4-6.61.2 Peter Gavin Labor 
Essendon  Liberal Kenneth Wheeler 0.1-1.61.5 Barry Rowe Labor 
Geelong East  Liberal Phil Gude 1.5-3.21.7 Graham Ernst Labor 
Glenhuntly  Liberal Joe Rafferty 8.1-9.71.6 Gerard Vaughan Labor 
Heatherton  Liberal Llew Reese 5.4-6.41.0 Peter Spyker Labor 
Lowan  Liberal Jim McCabe 11.7-12.20.5 Bill McGrath National 
Oakleigh  Liberal Alan Scanlan 1.3-3.01.7 Race Mathews Labor 
Prahran  Liberal Sam Loxton 5.7-6.60.9 Bob Miller Labor 
Springvale  Liberal Norman Billing 4.4-5.10.7 Kevin King Labor 
Werribee  Liberal Neville Hudson 0.1-8.28.1 Ken Coghill Labor 

Post-election pendulum

Liberal seats (41)
Marginal
St Kilda Brian Dixon LIB0.2%
Ballarat South Joan Chambers LIB0.4%
Mitcham George Cox LIB0.7%
Syndal Geoff Coleman LIB0.7%
Geelong West Hayden Birrell LIB0.8%
Noble Park Peter Collins LIB1.0%
Bendigo Daryl McClure LIB1.2%
Sandringham Max Crellin LIB1.6%
Gisborne Tom Reynolds LIB2.0%
Monbulk Bill Borthwick LIB2.2%
Ivanhoe Bruce Skeggs LIB3.4%
Box Hill Donald Mackinnon LIB3.6%
Caulfield Ted Tanner LIB3.8%
Evelyn Jim Plowman LIB3.8%
Ringwood Peter McArthur LIB4.1%
Forest Hill John Richardson LIB5.0%
Midlands Bill Ebery LIB5.0%
Narracan Jim Balfour LIB5.1%
Ripon Tom Austin LIB5.2%
Fairly safe
Bennettswood Keith McCance LIB6.1%
Warrandyte Norman Lacy LIB6.1%
Ballarat North Tom Evans LIB6.3%
Mentone Bill Templeton LIB6.5%
South Barwon Aurel Smith LIB6.6%
Dromana Roberts Dunstan LIB6.7%
Frankston Graeme Weideman LIB7.2%
Wantirna Geoff Hayes LIB7.6%
Portland Don McKellar LIB8.0%
Berwick Rob Maclellan LIB8.2%
Burwood Jeff Kennett LIB9.1%
Hawthorn Walter Jona LIB9.8%
Westernport Alan Brown LIB9.9%
Safe
Doncaster Morris Williams LIB10.9%
Kew Rupert Hamer LIB11.2%
Warrnambool Ian Smith LIB12.4%
Brighton Jeannette Patrick LIB12.7%
Malvern Lindsay Thompson LIB15.0%
Balwyn Jim Ramsay LIB16.0%
Polwarth Cec Burgin LIB18.7%
Benambra Lou Lieberman LIB19.1%
Swan Hill Alan Wood LIB24.8%
Labor seats (32)
Marginal
Bentleigh Gordon Hockley ALP0.2%
Springvale Kevin King ALP0.7%
Prahran Bob Miller ALP0.9%
Heatherton Peter Spyker ALP1.0%
Coburg Peter Gavin ALP1.2% v IND
Essendon Barry Rowe ALP1.5%
Glenhuntly Gerard Vaughan ALP1.6%
Geelong East Graham Ernst ALP1.7%
Oakleigh Race Mathews ALP1.7%
Greensborough Pauline Toner ALP3.9%
Fairly safe
Dandenong Rob Jolly ALP6.5%
Werribee Ken Coghill ALP8.1%
Knox Steve Crabb ALP8.4%
Niddrie Jack Simpson ALP9.7%
Safe
Bundoora John Cain ALP10.6%
Carrum Ian Cathie ALP11.9%
Albert Park Bunna Walsh ALP14.0%
Geelong North Neil Trezise ALP15.2%
Keilor Jack Ginifer ALP15.2%
Melbourne Keith Remington ALP16.0%
Morwell Derek Amos ALP16.6%
Glenroy Jack Culpin ALP16.7%
Williamstown Gordon Stirling ALP16.8%
Ascot Vale Tom Edmunds ALP16.8%
Richmond Theo Sidiropoulos ALP20.4%
Reservoir Jim Simmonds ALP21.0%
Preston Carl Kirkwood ALP21.5%
Northcote Frank Wilkes ALP21.9%
Footscray Robert Fordham ALP24.3%
Sunshine Bill Fogarty ALP24.5%
Brunswick Tom Roper ALP25.5%
Broadmeadows John Wilton ALP25.6%
National seats (8)
Lowan Bill McGrath NAT0.5% v LIB
Gippsland South Neil McInnes NAT6.9% v LIB
Benalla Tom Trewin NAT15.4%
Gippsland East Bruce Evans NAT17.3%
Murray Valley Ken Jasper NAT20.5%
Shepparton Peter Ross-Edwards NAT20.8%
Mildura Milton Whiting NAT22.3%
Rodney Eddie Hann NAT28.4%

See also

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References

  1. Election held on 5 May 1979, Australian Politics and Elections Database (University of Western Australia).
  2. Carr, Adam. "Victoria Legislative Council Election 1979". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 29 September 2015.