Australian federal election, 1928

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Australian federal election, 1928
Flag of Australia.svg
  1925 17 November 1928 (1928-11-17) 1929  

All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate

 First partySecond party
  Stanley Bruce - Stoneman.jpg James Scullin October 1928-02.jpg
Leader Stanley Bruce James Scullin
Party Nationalist/Country coalition Labor
Leader since9 February 192326 April 1928
Leader's seat Flinders (Vic.) Yarra (Vic.)
Last election51 seats23 seats
Seats won42 seats31 seats
Seat changeDecrease2.svg9Increase2.svg8
Percentage51.60%48.40%
SwingDecrease2.svg 2.20%Increase2.svg2.20

Prime Minister before election

Stanley Bruce
Nationalist/Country coalition

Subsequent Prime Minister

Stanley Bruce
Nationalist/Country coalition

Federal elections were held in Australia on 17 November 1928. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist–Country coalition, led by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, defeated the opposition Labor Party led by James Scullin.

Elections in Australia discussion of elections conducted in Australia

Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, though there are minor variations between them. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory.

Australian House of Representatives Lower house of Australia

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.

Australian Senate upper house of the Australian Parliament

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a total of 76 Senators: 12 are elected from each of the six states regardless of population and 2 from each of the two autonomous internal territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.

Contents

The election was held in conjunction with a referendum on Commonwealth–State relations, which was carried.

Results

Nationalist: 29 seats
Labor: 31 seats
Country: 13 seats
Country Progressive: 1 seat
Independent: 1 seat Australian Federal Election, 1928.svg
  Nationalist: 29 seats
  Labor: 31 seats
  Country: 13 seats
  Country Progressive: 1 seat
  Independent: 1 seat

House of Representatives

House of Reps (IRV) — 1928–29—Turnout 93.64% (CV) — Informal 4.90%
PartyVotes%SwingSeatsChange
  Nationalist–Country coalition 1,286,20849.56–3.6442–8
  Nationalist  1,014,52239.09–3.3729–8
  Country  271,68610.47–0.27130
  Labor 1,158,50544.64–0.4031+8
  Country Progressive 41,7131.61+1.611+1
  Protestant Labor 20,2120.78+0.7800
  Independents 88,4473.41+1.651–1
 Total2,595,085  75
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
  Nationalist–Country coalition WIN51.60−2.2042–8
  Labor 48.40+2.2031+8

Notes
William McWilliams Australian politician

William James McWilliams was an Australian politician who served as the inaugural leader of the Country Party, in office from 1920 to 1921. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1903 to 1922 and from 1928 to his death, on both occasions representing the Division of Franklin in Tasmania. He represented five different political parties during his time in parliament, eventually seeing out his final term as an independent.

Division of Franklin Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Franklin is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania.

Popular Vote
Labor
44.64%
Nationalist
39.09%
Country
10.47%
Country Progressive
1.61%
Independent/Other
4.19%
Two Party Preferred Vote
Coalition
51.60%
Labor
48.40%
Parliament Seats
Coalition
56.00%
Labor
41.33%
Country Progressive
1.33%
Independent
1.33%

Senate

Senate (P BV) — 1928–31—Turnout 93.61% (CV) — Informal 9.88%
PartyVotes%SwingSeats WonSeats HeldChange
  Nationalist–Country coalition 1,466,32350.46–4.351229+1
  Nationalist  1,141,40539.28–6.0710240
  Country  324,91811.18+1.7325+1
  Labor 1,422,41848.95+3.9377–1
  Independents 17,0920.59+0.42000
 Total2,905,833  1936

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1928SwingPost-1928
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Barton, NSW  Nationalist Thomas Ley 1.07.36.3 James Tully Labor 
Boothby, SA  Nationalist Jack Duncan-Hughes 7.67.70.1 John Price Labor 
Denison, Tas  Nationalist John Gellibrand 2.22.50.3 Charles Culley Labor 
Franklin, Tas  Nationalist Alfred Seabrook N/A7.21.6 William McWilliams Independent 
Fremantle, WA  Independent William Watson 8.11.22.1 John Curtin Labor 
Herbert, Qld  Nationalist Lewis Nott 0.30.50.2 George Martens Labor 
Indi, Vic  Country Robert Cook 6.7N/A(Unopposed) Paul Jones Labor 
Lang, NSW  Nationalist Elliot Johnson 5.99.43.5 William Long Labor 
Macquarie, NSW  Nationalist Arthur Manning 1.36.24.9 Ben Chifley Labor 
Wakefield, SA  Nationalist Richard Foster 14.824.49.6 Maurice Collins Country 
Wilmot, Tas  Country Llewellyn Atkinson 7.0N/A4.6 Llewellyn Atkinson Nationalist 

In the Division of Indi, the sitting candidate Robert Cook lost his seat after forgetting to file nomination papers, resulting in Labor candidate Paul Jones winning the seat unopposed.

Division of Indi Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Indi is an Australian Electoral Division in northeastern Victoria. The largest settlements in the division are the regional cities of Wodonga, Wangaratta, and Benalla. Other towns in the electorate include Rutherglen, Mansfield, Beechworth, Myrtleford, Bright, Alexandra, Tallangatta, Corryong and a number of other small villages. While Indi is one of the largest electorates in Victoria, much of it is located within the largely uninhabited Australian Alps. While Wodonga serves as a regional hub for much of the more heavily populated northern part of the electorate, the southern part is closer to Melbourne than Wodonga.

Robert Cook was an Australian politician. He was a Country Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1919 to 1928, representing the Victorian electorate of Indi.

Paul Jones (Australian politician) Australian politician, born 1878

Paul Jones was an Australian politician. Born in Gaffneys Creek, Victoria, he was educated at South Melbourne College before becoming a goldminer and teacher. He also studied at the University of Melbourne for a Master of Arts degree.

See also

This is a list of the members of the Australian House of Representatives in the 11th Australian Parliament, which was elected at the 1928 election on 17 November 1928. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Stanley Bruce in power since 1922 with coalition partner the Country Party led by Earle Page defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Matthew Charlton.

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1929 to 1932. Half of its members were elected at the 14 November 1925 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1926 and finishing on 30 June 1932; the other half were elected at the 17 November 1928 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1929 and finishing on 30 June 1935. The process for filling casual vacancies was complex. While senators were elected for a six year term, people appointed to a casual vacancy only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Notes

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    References