Results of the 1981 New South Wales state election (Legislative Council)

Last updated

New South Wales state election, 19 September 1981
Legislative Council

Contents

Enrolled voters3,212,657
Votes cast2,927,971 Turnout 91.14–1.63
Informal votes200,367Informal6.84+2.79
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeats
won
Seats
held
  Labor 1,412,42651.78–3.13824
  Liberal/National Coalition 921,08133.77–2.49518
  Call to Australia 248,4259.11+7.8011
  Democrats 109,9394.03+1.2511
 Environmental Action18,0560.66+0.6600
  Republican 10,1840.37+0.3700
  Progress 3,1210.11+0.1100
  Social Democrats 2,5120.09+0.0900
  Independent 24,7860.07–0.8300
Total2,727,604  15 

This is a list of results for the Legislative Council at the 1981 New South Wales state election.

Results

1981 New South Wales state election: Legislative Council [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Quota 170,476
Labor 1. Paul Landa (elected 1)
2. Jack Hallam (elected 4)
3. Jack Garland (elected 6)
4. Barney French (elected 8)
5. Franca Arena (elected 10)
6. George Brenner (elected 12)
7. Ken Reed (elected 13)
8. Bryan Vaughan (elected 14)
9. Ann Symonds
10. Fred Hankinson
1,412,42651.8-3.1
Liberal/National Coalition 1. Max Willis (elected 2)
2. Jack Doohan (elected 5)
3. Ted Pickering (elected 7)
4. John Matthews (elected 9)
5. Richard Killen (elected 11)
6. Derek Freeman
7. Judy Jakins
8. Bronwyn Bishop
9. John Hagan
10. Doug Moppett
921,08133.8-2.4
Call to Australia 1. Fred Nile (elected 3)
2. Graham McLennan
3. Kevin Hume
4. Thomas Toogood
5. Percy Everingham
248,4259.1+9.1
Democrats 1. Elisabeth Kirkby (elected 15)
2. Paul McLean
3. James Boow
4. Christine Townend
5. Laurence Bourke
6. Ray Griffiths
7. Ross McInnes
8. Richard Beazley
9. Joe Lake
10. Elizabeth Poppleton
109,9394.0+1.2
Environmental Action1. Keith Suter
2. Dudley Leggett
3. Jennifer Quealy
4. Quentin Jacobsen
18,0560.7+0.7
Republican 1. Brian Buckley
2. Marie McKern
10,1840.4+0.4
Progress 1. Henry Soper
2. Marjorie Wisby
3. William More
3,1210.1+0.1
Social Democrats 1. Walter Roach
2. Johann Liszikam
2,1520.1+0.1
Independent Louis Patmoy9940.04+0.04
Independent Rudolph Dezelin8660.030.00
Total formal votes2,727,60493.2-2.8
Informal votes200,3676.8+2.8
Turnout 2,927,97191.1-1.6

Continuing members

The following MLCs were not up for re-election this year.

MemberPartyTerm
  Roy Turner Labor 1976–1984
  Peter Baldwin Labor 1976–1982
  Don Burton Labor 1976–1984
  John Morris Labor 1976–1984
  Delcia Kite Labor 1976–1984
  Johno Johnson Labor 1976–1984
  Clive Healey Labor 1978–1988
  Joe Thompson Labor 1978–1988
  Peter Watkins Labor 1978–1988
  Barrie Unsworth Labor 1978–1986
  Dorothy Isaksen Labor 1978–1988
  Marie Fisher Labor 1978–1988
  Norm King Labor 1978–1988
  Deirdre Grusovin Labor 1978–1988
  Jim Kaldis Labor 1978–1988
  Ron Dyer Labor 1979–1984
  Fred Duncan Liberal 1976–1984
  John Holt Liberal 1976–1984
  Bill Sandwith Liberal 1976–1984
  Nathanael Orr Liberal 1976–1984
  Virginia Chadwick Liberal 1978–1988
  Frank Calabro Liberal 1978–1988
  Lloyd Lange Liberal 1978–1986
  Peter Philips Liberal 1978–1988
  Derek Freeman* Liberal 1981–1984
  Adrian Solomons National Country 1976–1984
  Bill Kennedy National Country 1976–1984
  Bob Rowland Smith National Country 1978–1988
  Toby MacDiarmid National Country 1978–1988

See also

Related Research Articles

New South Wales Legislative Council Upper house of the Parliament of New South Wales

The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. It is normal for legislation to be first deliberated on and passed by the Legislative Assembly before being considered by the Legislative Council, which acts in the main as a house of review.

New South Wales Legislative Assembly One of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales

The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is presided over by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Parliament of New South Wales Australian legislative body

The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and the New South Wales Legislative Council. Each house is directly elected by the people of New South Wales at elections held approximately every four years. The Parliament derives its authority from the queen of Australia, Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the governor of New South Wales, who chairs the Executive Council of New South Wales. The parliament shares law making powers with the Australian Federal Parliament. The New South Wales Parliament follows the Westminster parliamentary traditions of dress, Green–Red chamber colours and protocol.

Michael Rueben Egan, a former union official and former Australian politician, served as Treasurer of New South Wales between 1995 and 2005. Egan served as the Chancellor of Macquarie University from 2008 until 2019 and currently sits on a number of government and non-government advisory boards.

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council who served in the 49th Parliament were elected at the 1981, 1984 and 1988 elections. Members served for three terms of the Legislative Assembly, which, as a result of the 1981 referendum meant the maximum term was twelve years. The 15 members elected in 1981 did not face re-election until 1992, the 15 members elected in 1984 did not face re-election until 1996 and the 15 members elected in 1988 did not face re-election until 2000. The terms of members were cut short by the 1991 referendum which reduced the term to two terms of the Legislative Assembly, a maximum of 8 years. The President was Johno Johnson.</ref>

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council who served in the 48th Parliament were elected at the 1978, 1981 and 1984 elections. Members served for three terms of the Legislative Assembly, which, as a result of the 1981 referendum meant the maximum term was twelve years. The 15 members elected in 1978 did not face re-election until 1988, the 15 members elected in 1981 did not face re-election until 1992 and the 15 members elected in 1984 did not face re-election until 1996. The President was Johno Johnson.</ref>

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council who served in the 47th Parliament were elected at the 1978 and 1981 elections. One third of the council faced re-election at each general election, however as a result of the 1981 referendum the maximum terms were extended from a maximum of nine to twelve years. The 14 members who had been indirectly elected in 1976 served an eight-year term and did not face re-election until 1984, the 15 members elected in 1978 did not face re-election until 1988, while the 15 members elected in 1981 did not face re-election until 1992. The President was Johno Johnson.</ref>

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1978 to 1981 held office following the 1978 referendum which reduced the number of members from 60 to 43, provided for the direct election of members of the Legislative Council and that members would serve for 3 terms of the Legislative Assembly. Only 15 of the 43 members had been elected at the 1978 Legislative Council election. Under the transitional arrangements, 28 members had been indirectly elected by joint sittings of the New South Wales Parliament, with 14 of those members to retire at the next general election, held in 1981, and the remaining 14 members would retire at the following general election, held in 1984.

A referendum concerning reform of the New South Wales Legislative Council was put to New South Wales voters on 25 May 1991. The referendum coincided with that year's New South Wales general election. The change passed comfortably. The text of the question was:

Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act:

(a) to reduce the number of politicians in the Legislative Council and to reduce their maximum term of office; and

(b) to apply to the Legislative Council the same method of filling casual vacancies as applies to the Senate ?

Clive Geoffrey Osborne was an Australian politician. He was a Country Party/National Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1981, representing the electorate of Bathurst.

Wran ministry (1980–1981)

The Wran ministry (1980–1981) or Third Wran ministry was the 73rd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the third of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Wran ministry (1981–1983)

The Wran ministry (1981–1983) or Fourth Wran ministry was the 74th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the fourth of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Wran ministry (1983–1984)

The Wran ministry (1983–1984) or Fifth Wran ministry was the 75th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the fifth of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Wran ministry (1984)

The Wran ministry (1984) or Sixth Wran ministry was the 76th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the sixth of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Wran ministry (1984–1986)

The Wran ministry (1984–1986) or Seventh Wran ministry was the 77th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the seventh of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Wran ministry (1986) 78th New South Wales government ministry, led by Neville Wran

The Wran ministry (1986) or Eighth Wran ministry was the 78th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the eighth of eight consecutive and final occasions when Wran was Premier.

The 1978 New South Wales state election was the first direct election for the Legislative Council since the council was reconstituted in 1856 and the creation of the Legislative Assembly. This was the result of the 1978 referendum which also reduced the number of members from 60 to 43 and that provided that members would serve for 3 terms of the Legislative Assembly. Under the transitional arrangements, 28 members had been indirectly elected by joint sittings of the New South Wales Parliament.

This is a list of results for the Legislative Council at the 1984 New South Wales state election.

This is a list of results for the Legislative Council at the 1991 New South Wales state election.

The 1978 New South Wales referendum was held on 17 June 1978 and contained a single question:

Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act to provide for the election of members of the Legislative Council directly by the people'.

References

  1. Green, Antony. "Electing the Legislative Council 1978-1995" (PDF). ABC Election Archives.