2001 Australian federal election

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2001 Australian federal election
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
  1998 10 November 2001 (2001-11-10) 2004  

All 150 seats in the House of Representatives
76 seats were needed for a majority in the House
40 (of the 76) seats in the Senate
Registered12,708,837 Increase2.svg 4.56%
Turnout12,054,664 (94.85%)
(Decrease2.svg0.14 pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Howard John BANNER b.jpg Kim Beazley crop.jpg
IND
Leader John Howard Kim Beazley N/A
Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Independents
Leader since 30 January 1995 (1995-01-30) 19 March 1996 (1996-03-19) N/A
Leader's seat Bennelong (NSW) Brand (WA)N/A
Last election80 seats67 seats1 seats
Seats won82 seats65 seats3 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 2Increase2.svg 2
First preference  vote4,934,9594,341,420332,118
Percentage42.92%37.84%2.89%
SwingIncrease2.svg 3.41%Decrease2.svg 2.26%Increase2.svg +1.00
TPP 51.03%48.97%
TPP swingIncrease2.svg 2.01Decrease2.svg 2.01

2001 Australian federal election.svg
Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.

Prime Minister before election

John Howard
Liberal/National coalition

Subsequent Prime Minister

John Howard
Liberal/National coalition

The 2001 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Kim Beazley. As of 2024, this was the most recent election to feature a rematch of both major party leaders. Future Opposition Leader Peter Dutton entered parliament at this election.

Contents

Background

ABC news report of the Tampa affair and its political context, October 2001.

Throughout much of 2001, the Coalition had been trailing Labor in opinion polls, thanks to dissatisfaction with the government's economic reform programme and high petrol prices.[ citation needed ] The opposition Australian Labor Party had won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote at the previous election and had won a series of state and territory elections. Labor also recorded positive swings in two by-elections, taking the Queensland seat of Ryan and coming close in Aston.

However following the September 11 attacks, and the Children Overboard and Tampa affairs, Polls swung strongly toward the coalition after the "Tampa" controversy but before the 11 September attacks. [1]

In fact, voter concern with terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States was noted, with the rise in the combined primary votes of the major parties from 79.61% at the previous election in 1998, to 81.17% at this election. There would be further increases in the combined major party primary vote in 2004 and 2007.

Another major issue was the collapse of the country's second-biggest airline Ansett Australia and the question of whether it should be given a bailout. The Coalition was opposed to any bailout because the collapse was not the government's fault.[ citation needed ] However, Labor supported a bailout, because the company's collapse was about to result in the biggest mass job loss in Australian history, whilst also arguing that the government was partially responsible for allowing Ansett to be taken over by Air New Zealand, a move which had caused Ansett's failure. [2] Although the two-party preferred result was reasonably close, the ALP recorded its lowest primary vote since 1934. [3]

During the 2001 election campaign, Labor made a 'GST rollback' a centrepiece of its election platform. Labor attempted to reprise the effects of the birthday cake interview by deriding the application of GST to cooked and uncooked chickens, but failed to ignite public response to the limited scope of the rollbacks applying only to gas and electricity bills. the election loss of Labor in 2001, would effectively end all serious opposition to GST.

Political scientists[ who? ] have suggested that television coverage has subtly transformed the political system, with a spotlight on leaders rather than parties, thereby making for more of an American presidential-style system. In this election, television news focused on international issues, especially terrorism and asylum seekers. Minor parties were largely ignored as the two main parties monopolised the media's attention. The election was depicted as a horse-race between Howard and Beazley, with Howard running ahead and therefore being given more coverage than his Labor rival. [4]

The election-eve Newspoll forecast that the Liberal/National Coalition would get 53 percent of the two-party-preferred vote. [5]

Results

House of Representatives results

Government (82)
Coalition

.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{}
Liberal (68)

National (13)

CLP (1)

Opposition (65)

Labor (65)

Crossbench (3)

Independent (3)
.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman} Australian House of Representatives elected members, 2001.svg
Government (82)
Coalition
  Liberal (68)
  National (13)
  CLP (1)

Opposition (65)
  Labor (65)

Crossbench (3)
  Independent (3)
    The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2004 election was 8.67 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Liberal and Green Parties. 2004 Election Australia Gallagher Index.png
    The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2004 election was 8.67 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Liberal and Green Parties.
    The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2001 election was 9.43 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Coalition and Labor Parties. 2001 Election Australia Gallagher Index.png
    The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2001 election was 9.43 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Coalition and Labor Parties.
    House of Reps (IRV) — 2001–04 – Turnout 94.85% (CV) — Informal 4.82% 2001 Australian House.svg
    PartyVotes%SwingSeatsChange
       Liberal 4,254,07237.08+3.1968Increase2.svg 4
      National 643,9265.61+0.3213Decrease2.svg 3
      Country Liberal 36,9610.32–0.001Increase2.svg 1
    Liberal–National coalition 4,934,95942.92+3.4182Increase2.svg 2
      Labor 4,341,42037.84−2.2665Decrease2.svg 2
      Democrats 620,1975.41+0.280Steady2.svg
      Greens 569,0744.96+2.820Steady2.svg
      One Nation 498,0324.34−4.090Steady2.svg
      Independents 332,1182.89+1.003Increase2.svg 2
    Others178,2741.640Steady2.svg
    Total11,474,074  150Increase2.svg 2
    Two-party-preferred vote
      Coalition 5,655,79151.03+2.0182Increase2.svg 2
      Labor 5,427,56948.97−2.0165Decrease2.svg 2
    Invalid/blank votes580,3624.81+1.04
    Turnout12,054,45595.39
    Registered voters12,636,631
    Source: AEC Tally Room
    Independents: Peter Andren, Tony Windsor, Bob Katter
    Popular vote
    Labor
    37.84%
    Liberal
    37.40%
    National
    5.61%
    Democrats
    5.51%
    Greens
    4.96%
    One Nation
    4.34%
    CLP
    0.32%
    Independents
    2.71%
    Other
    1.41%
    Two-party-preferred vote
    Coalition
    50.95%
    Labor
    49.05%
    Parliament seats
    Coalition
    54.67%
    Labor
    43.33%
    Independents
    2.00%

    Senate results

    Government (35)
Coalition

Liberal (31)

National (3)

CLP (1)

Opposition (28)

Labor (28)

Crossbench (12)

Democrats (8)

Greens (2)

One Nation (1)

Independent (2) Australian Senate elected members, 2001.svg
    Government (35)
    Coalition
      Liberal (31)
      National (3)
      CLP (1)

    Opposition (28)
      Labor (28)

    Crossbench (12)
      Democrats (8)
      Greens (2)
      One Nation (1)
      Independent (2)
      Senate (STV GV) — Turnout 95.20% (CV) — Informal 3.89% [6] 2001 Australian Senate.svg
      PartyVotes %SwingSeats wonTotal seatsChange
        Liberal/National Coalition
        Liberal/National joint ticket2,776,05223.87+2.00611Steady2.svg
        Liberal 1,824,74515.69+2.061222Steady2.svg
        National 222,8601.92+0.0611Steady2.svg
        Country Liberal 40,6800.35+0.0311Steady2.svg
      Coalition total 4,863,33741.83+4.152035Steady2.svg
        Labor 3,990,99734.32-2.991428 [lower-alpha 1] Steady2.svg
        Democrats 843,1307.25-1.2048Decrease2.svg 1
        One Nation 644,3645.54-3.4401Steady2.svg
        Greens 574,5434.94+2.2222Increase2.svg 1
      Others630,6005.44+0.2202 [lower-alpha 1] Steady2.svg
      Total11,627,529  4076
      Invalid/blank votes470,5153.9
      Turnout12,098,32095.7
      Registered voters12,636,631
      Source: Federal Elections 1998

      House of Representatives preference flows

      Seats changing hands

      The following table indicates seats that changed hands from one party to another at this election. It compares the election results with the previous margins, taking into account redistributions in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories. As a result, it includes the seats of Macarthur and Parramatta, which were held by Liberal members but had notional Labor margins. The table also includes the new seat of Hasluck (retained by Labor); the abolished Northern Territory, which was divided into Lingiari (retained by Labor) and Solomon (retained by the CLP); and Paterson, a Labor seat made Liberal by the redistribution

      Seat1998 Notional
      margin [lower-alpha 2]
      Swing2001
      PartyMemberMargin [8] MarginMemberParty
      Ballarat, Vic   Liberal Michael Ronaldson 2.775.502.73 Catherine King Labor  
      Canning, WA   Labor Jane Gerick 3.520.040.420.38 Don Randall Liberal  
      Dickson, Qld   Labor Cheryl Kernot 0.126.095.97 Peter Dutton Liberal  
      Dobell, NSW   Labor Michael Lee 3.351.531.910.38 Ken Ticehurst Liberal  
      Farrer, NSW [lower-alpha 3]   National Tim Fischer 14.6214.18N/A16.37 Sussan Ley Liberal  
      Hasluck, WA Labor New seat2.55–0.771.78 Sharryn Jackson Labor
      Kennedy, Qld   National Bob Katter 11.19N/A19.69 Bob Katter Independent  
      Lingiari, NT Labor New seat3.531.765.29 Warren Snowdon Labor
      Macarthur, NSW Liberal John Fahey 5.63–1.69 [lower-alpha 4] 8.656.96 Pat Farmer Liberal  
      New England, NSW   National Stuart St. Clair 13.66N/A8.30 Tony Windsor Independent  
      Northern Territory Labor Warren Snowdon 0.57District abolished
      Parramatta, NSW   Liberal Ross Cameron 1.07–2.49 [lower-alpha 5] 3.641.15 Ross Cameron Liberal  
      Paterson, NSW Labor Bob Horne 1.22–1.26 [lower-alpha 6] 1.42 Bob Baldwin Liberal
      Solomon, NT Country Liberal New seat2.24–2.150.09 Dave Tollner Country Liberal
      Ryan, Qld Liberal John Moore 9.52−0.908.62 Michael Johnson Liberal
        Labor Leonie Short [lower-alpha 7] 0.179.69

      See also

      Notes

      1. 1 2 Shayne Murphy had resigned from the Labor Party on 2 October 2001 and served out the rest of his term as an independent.
      2. For seats that were affected by the redistribution the Australian Electoral Commission calculated "notional" margins for the redistributed divisions by modelling the outcome of the previous election as if the new boundaries had been in place. [7]
      3. Margin is over Labor.
      4. Macarthur had become a notional Labor seat as a result of the redistribution.
      5. Parramatta had become a notional Labor seat as a result of the redistribution.
      6. Patersonhad become a notional Liberal seat as a result of the redistribution.
      7. John Moore (Liberal) had won Ryan at the 1998 election, however he resigned in 2001 and Leonie Short (Labor) won the seat at the resulting by-election.

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      References

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      3. "australianpolitics.com". australianpolitics.com. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
      4. David Denemark, Ian Ward, and Clive Bean, Election Campaigns and Television News Coverage: The Case of the 2001 Australian Election. Australian Journal of Political Science. (2007) 42#1 pp: 89–109 online
      5. "Newspoll archive since 1987". Polling.newspoll.com.au.tmp.anchor.net.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
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      8. "Electoral Newsfile 97: Seat Status including notional seat status for SA, NSW, Tas, WA and NT Divisions". Australian Electoral Commission. 2001.