List of New South Wales state elections

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This article provides a summary of results for elections to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly , the lower house in New South Wales's bicameral state legislative body, the Parliament of New South Wales, which came into being in 1856 when New South Wales achieved responsible government. New South Wales politics were initially non-partisan, with individual Members of Parliament choosing to align either with the Government or the Opposition. This changed at the 1887 election where, for the first time, candidates were members of official political parties. The first two major parties to form were the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party. The 1887 election saw the 79 members of the Free Trade Party elected form the government with the 37 elected Protectionist Party members form the opposition. The next election saw the Free Trade Party retain government but with a reduced majority. The 1891 saw the Labor Party for the first time. These three parties then fought out the next two elections through to 1898. After Federation in 1901, the Free Trade Party changed their name to the Liberal Reform Party with the Protectionists becoming the Progressive Party.

Contents

The 1904 election saw a massive defeat of the Progressive government and for the first time Labor became the major opposition party. Most of the Progressive members stood as the Liberals at the next election and the party folded not long after that. Labor won an outright majority for the first time at the 1910 election and increased it further in 1913. The Liberal Reform Party became the Nationalist Party of Australia in 1917 and Labor's main opposition through to 1932 when the conservatives became the United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party in 1945.

General election dates

By-election dates

Results

The table below shows the total number of seats won by the major political parties at each election. The totals of the winning party or coalition are shown in bold, while other parties in government are shown in bold italic. Full details on any election are linked via the year of the election at the start of the row.

YearTotal seats Labor Country
Labor
Liberal UAP Nationalist Progressive Liberal
Reform
[A]
Protectionist [B] Free Trade Country/
National
[C]
DLP Lang
Labor
Greens SFF IndependentOther
Parties
IndLabLibUAPNatProgLRProtFTPC/N
2023 9345361139
2019 93363513333
2015 9334371732
2011 9320511813
2007 9350222136
2003 9352320126
1999 935520135
1995 995029173
1991 994632174
1988 1094339207
1984 995822154
1981 986914142
1978 996318171
1976 995030181
1973 9944341812
1971 964532172
1968 943936172
1965 9445311611
1962 945425141
1959 944629172
1956 9450271511
1953 945722141
1950 944629172
1947 9052191522
1944 905612102541
1941 90541412415
1938 9028372212 Heffron Lab.
1935 90382329
1932 90432324
1930 90552312
1927 9040331322
1925 9046329111 Protestant Lab.
1922 903641921
1
Ind. Coalitionist
Democratic
1920 90432815121 Socialist Lab.
1917 903352311
1913 9049281111
1910 90463716
1907 903254544
1904 9025164522
1901 12524423712424
1898 125195245441
1895 125184258124
1894 1251537508411
1891 1413552441144
1889 1376671
1887 124377944

Notes

A At the 1913 election they dropped "and Reform" from their name and were known as simply as the Liberal Party.
B At the 1898 election they were known as the National Federal Party.
C Includes results for the Farmers and Settlers Association and the Country Party Association at the 1913 election as well for the second Progressive Party at the 1920, 1922 and 1925 elections. First contested as the Country Party at the 1927 election. At the 1981 election they were known as the National Country Party. From 1984 election onwards they been contesting as the National Party.

See also