Australian federal election, 1958

Australian federal election, 1958
All 122 seats of the House of Representatives ; 62 seats were needed for a majority in the House ; 32 (of the 60) seats of the Senate
Prime Minister before election; Robert Menzies ; Liberal/Country coalition	Subsequent Prime Minister; Robert Menzies ; Liberal/Country coalition

Last updated March 12, 2019

Federal elections were held in Australia on 22 November 1958. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives and 32 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies defeated the opposition Labor Party, led by H. V. Evatt.

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.

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.

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.

Issues

In spite of a major global downturn in early 1958, the Coalition was returned to power and there was an even swing against the Labor Party. This was due largely to support for the breakaway Democratic Labor Party. This was the first Australian election campaign to be fought using television as a medium for communicating with voters. Menzies was interviewed on television, while opposition figures H. V. Evatt and Arthur Calwell took part in debates with ministers Harold Holt and William McMahon. Somewhat surprising Menzies emerged as a confident and effective television performer. This may have contributed to the better than expected result for the government.

The Recession of 1958, also known as the Eisenhower Recession, was a sharp worldwide economic downturn in 1958. The effect of the recession spread beyond United States borders to Europe and Canada, causing many businesses to shut down. It was the most significant recession during the post-World War II boom between 1945 and 1970 and had a sharp economic decline that only lasted eight months. By the time recovery began in May 1958, most lost ground had been regained. As 1958 ended, the economy was heading towards new high levels of employment and production. Overall, the recession was regarded as a moderate one based on the duration and extent of declines in employment, production, and income.

The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) was an Australian political party. The party came into existence following the 1955 Labor split as the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), was renamed the Democratic Labor Party in 1957 and continued to exist until 1978.

Herbert Vere Evatt,, usually known as H. V. Evatt or Bert Evatt, and often as "Doc" Evatt on account of his Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree, was an Australian judge, lawyer, parliamentarian and writer.

Results

House of Representatives

House of Reps (IRV) — 1958–61—Turnout 95.48% (CV) — Informal 2.87%
Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal–Country coalition		2,298,512	46.55	–1.12	77	+2
		Liberal	1,859,180	37.23	−2.52	58	+1
		Country	465,320	9.32	+1.41	19	+1
	Labor		2,137,890	42.81	−1.84	45	−2
	Democratic Labor		389,688	7.80	+2.63	0	0
	Queensland Labor		80,035	1.60	+1.60	0	0
	Communist		26,337	0.53	–0.63	0	0
	Nationalist		3,577	0.07	+0.07	0	0
	Independent		31,466	0.63	–0.74	0	0
	Total		4,993,493			122
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
	Liberal–Country coalition		WIN	54.10	−0.10	77	+2
	Labor			45.90	+0.10	45	−2

Popular Vote

Labor			42.81%
Liberal			37.23%
DLP/QLP			9.41%
Country			9.32%
Other			1.23%

Two Party Preferred Vote

Coalition			54.10%
Labor			45.90%

Parliament Seats

Coalition			63.11%
Labor			36.89%

Senate

Senate (STV) — 1958–61—Turnout 95.48% (CV) — Informal 10.29%
		Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
Liberal–Country coalition		2,084,193	45.19	–3.49	16	32	+2
	Liberal–Country joint ticket	1,077,586	23.36	–16.02	9	N/A	N/A
	Liberal	953,856	20.68	+12.02	6	25	+1
	Country	52,751	1.14	+0.51	1	7	+1
Labor		1,973,027	42.78	+2.17	15	26	–2
Democratic Labor		314,755	6.82	+0.72	1	2	0
Communist		134,263	2.91	−0.73	0	0	0
Queensland Labor		73,037	1.66	+1.66	0	0	0
Other		12,511	0.27	+0.27	0	0	0
Independents		20,273	0.44	–0.46	0	0	0
Total		4,612,059			32	60

Notes

The Democratic Labor Party was the renamed "Anti-Communist Labor Party" from the 1955 election.
"Other" includes 4,459 votes for "Loyalist" candidates, 4,337 for "True Democrat" candidates, and 3,715 for "Republican" candidates.

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1958				Swing	Post-1958
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Braddon, Tas		Liberal	Aubrey Luck	8.9	9.3	0.4	Ron Davies	Labor
Griffith, Qld		Labor	Wilfred Coutts	1.3	1.4	0.1	Arthur Chresby	Liberal
Herbert, Qld		Labor	Bill Edmonds	6.6	8.1	1.5	John Murray	Liberal
Indi, Vic		Liberal	William Bostock	N/A	28.6	6.5	Mac Holten	Country
Kalgoorlie, WA		Labor	Herbert Johnson	N/A	11.4	0.3	Peter Browne	Liberal
Moore, WA		Country	Hugh Leslie	100.0	52.9	2.9	Hugh Halbert	Liberal
St George, NSW		Liberal	Bill Graham	2.4	2.5	0.1	Lionel Clay	Labor
Stirling, WA		Labor	Harry Webb	2.8	3.0	0.2	Doug Cash	Liberal
Wimmera, Vic		Liberal	William Lawrence	N/A	22.7	5.9	Robert King	Country

Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Notes

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References

University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
AEC 2PP vote
Prior to 1984 the AEC did not undertake a full distribution of preferences for statistical purposes. The stored ballot papers for the 1983 election were put through this process prior to their destruction. Therefore, the figures from 1983 onwards show the actual result based on full distribution of preferences.

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