Australian federal election, 1975

Australian federal election, 1975
All 127 seats of the House of Representatives ; 64 seats were needed for a majority in the House ; All 64 seats of the Senate
Prime Minister before election; Malcolm Fraser ; Liberal/NCP coalition	Subsequent Prime Minister; Malcolm Fraser ; Liberal/NCP coalition

Last updated March 12, 2019

Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution.

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.

Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned as caretaker prime minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's three-year-old Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. The same day, Fraser advised an immediate double dissolution, in accordance with Kerr's stipulated conditions (see 1975 Australian constitutional crisis).

John Malcolm Fraser was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1975 to 1983 as leader of the Liberal Party.

A caretaker government is a government that rules on a temporary basis, due to the loss of election or a pending transition of power.

The Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of State, the leader of the Federal Cabinet. The Prime Minister also has the responsibility of administering the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is the chair of the National Security Committee and the Council of Australian Governments. The office of Prime Minister is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia but exists through Westminster political convention. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia and at the Governor-General's pleasure subject to the Constitution of Australia and constitutional conventions.

The Coalition of Fraser's Liberal Party of Australia and Doug Anthony's National Country Party secured government in its own right, winning the largest majority government to date in Australian history. The Liberals actually won a majority in their own right, with 68 seats–the first time that the main non-Labor party had done so since adopting the Liberal banner in 1944. Although Fraser had no need for the support of the National Country Party, the Coalition was retained.

The Coalition is an alliance of centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. Its main opponent is the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and the two forces are often regarded as operating in a two-party system. The Coalition has been in government since the 2013 federal election. The party is currently led by Scott Morrison as Prime Minister of Australia since August 2018.

The Liberal Party of Australia is a major centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party (ALP). It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Australia Party (UAP).

John Douglas Anthony, is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.

Labor suffered a 30-seat swing and saw its lower house caucus cut almost in half, to 36 seats—fewer than it had when Whitlam became leader in the aftermath of the Coalition landslide nearly 10 years earlier, in the 1966 election.

Results

House of Representatives results

House of Reps (IRV) – 1975–77—Turnout 95.39% (CV) – Informal 1.89%
Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal–NCP coalition		4,102,078	53.05	+7.32	91	+30
		Liberal	3,232,159	41.80	+6.85	68	+28
		National Country	853,943	11.04	+0.28	22	+1
		Country Liberal	15,976	0.21	+0.21	1	+1
	Labor		3,313,004	42.84	−6.46	36	−30
	Democratic Labor		101,750	1.32	−0.10	0	0
	Workers		60,130	0.78	+0.78	0	0
	Liberal Movement		49,484	0.64	–0.14	0	0
	Australia		33,630	0.43	−1.89	0	0
	Communist		9,393	0.12	+0.11	0	0
	Independent		63,109	0.82	+0.42	0	0
	Total		7,732,578			127
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
	Liberal–NCP coalition		WIN	55.70	+7.40	91	+30
	Labor			44.30	−7.40	36	−30

Popular Vote

Labor			42.84%
Liberal			41.80%
National			11.25%
DLP			1.32%
Other			2.79%

Two Party Preferred Vote

Coalition			55.70%
Labor			44.30%

Parliament Seats

Coalition			71.65%
Labor			28.35%

Senate results

Senate (STV) – 1975–77—Turnout 95.39% (CV) – Informal 9.10%
		Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
Liberal–NCP coalition (total)		3,706,989	51.74	+7.85	35	35	+6
	Liberal–NCP joint ticket	2,855,721	39.86	+5.09	17	*	*
	Liberal	793,772	11.08	+3.26	16	26	+3
	National Country	41,977	0.59	−0.71	1	8	+2
	Country Liberal	15,519	0.22	+0.22	1	1	+1
Labor		2,931,310	40.91	−6.38	27	27	−2
Democratic Labor		191,049	2.67	−0.89	0	0	0
Liberal Movement		76,426	1.07	+0.11	1	1	0
Workers		62,385	0.87	+0.87	0	0	0
Family Movement		45,658	0.64	+0.64	0	0	0
Australia		34,632	0.48	–0.91	0	0	0
United Tasmania		1,227	0.02	–0.01	0	0	0
Socialist		727	0.01	+0.01	0	0	0
Independents		114,310	1.60	–0.52	1	1	0
Total		7,164,713			64	64	+4

Notes

Independent: Brian Harradine (Tasmania)

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1975				Swing	Post-1975
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Barton, NSW		Labor	Len Reynolds	5.1	10.0	4.9	Jim Bradfield	Liberal
Bowman, Qld		Labor	Len Keogh	1.3	8.4	7.1	David Jull	Liberal
Braddon, Tas		Labor	Ron Davies	4.8	8.6	3.8	Ray Groom	Liberal
Brisbane, Qld		Labor	Manfred Cross	1.1	5.0	3.9	Peter Johnson	Liberal
Canberra, ACT		Labor	Kep Enderby	7.1	10.4	3.3	John Haslem	Liberal
Capricornia, Qld		Labor	Doug Everingham	4.9	5.0	0.1	Colin Carige	National Country
Casey, Vic		Labor	Race Mathews	1.5	9.0	7.5	Peter Falconer	Liberal
Cook, NSW		Labor	Ray Thorburn	0.5	8.3	7.8	Don Dobie	Liberal
Dawson, Qld		Labor	Rex Patterson	0.6	4.2	3.6	Ray Braithwaite	National Country
Denison, Tas		Labor	John Coates	2.8	7.7	4.9	Michael Hodgman	Liberal
Diamond Valley, Vic		Labor	David McKenzie	0.7	9.8	9.1	Neil Brown	Liberal
Eden-Monaro, NSW		Labor	Bob Whan	0.1	5.6	5.5	Murray Sainsbury	Liberal
Evans, NSW		Labor	Allan Mulder	4.9	6.9	2.0	John Abel	Liberal
Franklin, Tas		Labor	Ray Sherry	12.9	14.7	1.8	Bruce Goodluck	Liberal
Henty, Vic		Labor	Joan Child	1.5	6.7	5.2	Ken Aldred	Liberal
Holt, Vic		Labor	Max Oldmeadow	6.9	8.5	1.6	William Yates	Liberal
Isaacs, Vic		Labor	Gareth Clayton	0.6	7.5	6.9	David Hamer	Liberal
Kalgoorlie, WA		Labor	Fred Collard	2.1	6.3	4.3	Mick Cotter	Liberal
Kingston, SA		Labor	Richard Gun	6.1	12.7	6.6	Grant Chapman	Liberal
La Trobe, Vic		Labor	Tony Lamb	4.6	8.9	4.3	Marshall Baillieu	Liberal
Leichhardt, Qld		Labor	Bill Fulton	3.3	5.7	2.4	David Thomson	National Country
Macarthur, NSW		Labor	John Kerin	4.4	8.5	4.1	Michael Baume	Liberal
Macquarie, NSW		Labor	Tony Luchetti	8.7	10.3	1.6	Reg Gillard	Liberal
McMillan, Vic		National Country	Arthur Hewson	N/A	2.1	6.7	Barry Simon	Liberal
Perth, WA		Labor	Joe Berinson	8.2	9.0	0.8	Ross McLean	Liberal
Phillip, NSW		Labor	Joe Riordan	4.5	7.1	2.6	Jack Birney	Liberal
St George, NSW		Labor	Bill Morrison	5.8	5.8	0.0	Maurice Neil	Liberal
Swan, WA		Labor	Adrian Bennett	5.6	7.7	2.1	John Martyr	Liberal
Tangney, WA		Labor	John Dawkins	3.1	9.7	6.6	Peter Richardson	Liberal

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

Issues and significance

The Gallagher Index result: 14.19 1975 Election Australia Gallagher Index.png — The Gallagher Index result: 14.19

The election followed the controversial dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr in the 1975 constitutional crisis. Labor campaigners hoped that the electorate would "maintain [its] rage" and punish the Coalition for its part in bringing down the government, proclaiming "Shame Fraser, Shame". However, the Coalition focused on economic issues following the 1973 oil crisis and 1973–75 recession, the so-called Loans Affair, alleged Labor mismanagement of inflation, and campaigned under the slogan "Turn on the lights, Australia" (drawing on a contemporary cynicism: "Would the last businessman leaving Australia please turn out the lights?").

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative of the Australian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. As the Queen is shared equally with the 15 other Commonwealth realms, and resides in the United Kingdom, she, on the advice of her prime minister, appoints a governor-general to carry out constitutional duties within the Commonwealth of Australia. The governor-general has formal presidency over the Federal Executive Council and is commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force. The functions of the governor-general include appointing ministers, judges, and ambassadors; giving royal assent to legislation passed by parliament; issuing writs for election; and bestowing Australian honours.

The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known simply as the Dismissal, has been described as the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australian history. It culminated on 11 November 1975 with the dismissal from office of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, who then commissioned the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser of the Liberal Party, as caretaker Prime Minister.

The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations perceived as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The initial nations targeted were Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States with the embargo also later extended to Portugal, Rhodesia and South Africa. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen from US$3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally; US prices were significantly higher. The embargo caused an oil crisis, or "shock", with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and the global economy. It was later called the "first oil shock", followed by the 1979 oil crisis, termed the "second oil shock."

The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory received an entitlement to elect two senators each as a consequence of the 1974 Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament.

The Australian Capital Territory is a federal territory of Australia, located in the south-east of the country and enclaved within the state of New South Wales. It contains Canberra, the capital city of Australia.

The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other Indonesian islands. The NT covers 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 246,700, making it the least-populous of Australia's eight states and major territories, with fewer than half as many people as Tasmania.

A joint sitting of the Australian parliament was convened in 1974, in which members of the Senate and House of Representatives sat together as a single legislative body. The joint sitting was held on 6 and 7 August 1974, following the double dissolution 1974 federal election, and remains the only time that members of both houses of the federal parliament have sat together as a single legislative body pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution.

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References

AustralianPolitics.com 1975 election details
University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
AEC 2PP vote

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