1988 Victorian state election

Last updated

1988 Victorian state election
Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg
  1985 1 October 1988 (1988-10-01) 1992  

All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
45 seats needed for a majority
and 22 (of the 44) seats in the Victorian Legislative Council
 First partySecond partyThird party
  John Cain Junior June 2016 (cropped).jpg Jeff Kennett b.jpg Nationals Placeholder.png
Leader John Cain Jr. Jeff Kennett Peter Ross-Edwards
Party Labor Liberal National
Leader since9 September 198126 October 198217 June 1970
Leader's seat Bundoora Burwood Shepparton
Last election47 seats31 seats10 seats
Seats won46 seats33 seats9 seats
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 1
Popular vote1,131,750986,311188,776
Percentage46.55%40.51%7.76%
SwingDecrease2.svg 3.46Decrease2.svg 1.30Increase2.svg 0.47
TPP 49.49%50.51%
TPP swingDecrease2.svg 1.21Increase2.svg 1.21

1988 Victorian state election.svg
Results in each electorate.

Premier before election

John Cain Jr.
Labor

Elected Premier

John Cain Jr.
Labor

The 1988 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 1 October 1988, was for the 51st Parliament of Victoria. It was held in the Australian state of Victoria to elect all 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council.

Contents

The incumbent Labor Party government led by Premier John Cain Jr. won a third term in office, despite a swing against it, and only lost the seat of Warrandyte in Melbourne's north-east. This was credited by commentators to a strong campaign targeting Liberal leader and future Premier Jeff Kennett whose aggressive leadership style was still seen as a liability, as well as continuing instability in the federal Coalition. [1] Labor's narrow wins in middle class marginal seats saw it retain its majority despite the Liberals winning a bare majority of the two party preferred vote. [2]

Results

Legislative Assembly

Victorian state election, 1 October 1988
Legislative Assembly
<< 19851992 >>

Enrolled voters2,739,614
Votes cast2,530,027 Turnout 92.35-0.86
Informal votes98,525Informal3.89+1.21
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeatsChange
  Labor 1,131,75046.55–3.4646– 1
  Liberal 986,31140.56–1.3033+ 2
  National 188,7767.76+0.479– 1
  Democrats 25,6111.05+1.050± 0
  Call to Australia 25,5431.05+1.050± 0
  Democratic Labour 6,0180.25+0.250± 0
  Independent 67,4932.78+1.940± 0
Total2,431,502  88 
Two-party-preferred
  Labor 1,202,29449.49–1.21
  Liberal 1,227,29550.51+1.21

Legislative Council

Victorian state election, 1 October 1988
Legislative Council

Enrolled voters2,739,614
Votes cast2,529,569 Turnout 92.33–0.86
Informal votes109,578Informal4.33+1.32
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeats
won
Seats
held
  Labor 1,164,79648.13+0.85919
  Liberal 1,052,59143.50+2.351019
  National 181,0747.48+0.8136
  Call to Australia 5,3630.22–0.4900
  Independent 16,1670.67+0.4500
Total2,419,991  2244

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1988SwingPost-1988
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Mildura  National Milton Whiting 23.0-24.01.0 Craig Bildstien Liberal 
Warrandyte  Labor Lou Hill 0.2-1.71.5 Phil Honeywood Liberal 

Key dates

DateEvent
29 August 1988The Legislative Council was prorogued and the Legislative Assembly was dissolved. [3]
29 August 1988Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. [3]
2 September 1988The Constitution Act Amendment (Electoral Procedures) Act 1988 (No.31) comes into operation. [4]
5 September 1988The electoral rolls were closed.
9 September 1988Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon.
1 October 1988Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
13 October 1988The Cain Ministry was reconstituted, with two new ministers sworn in. [5]
21 October 1988The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
25 October 1988Parliament resumed for business. [6]

Post-election pendulum

Labor seats (46)
Marginal
Ballarat South Frank Sheehan ALP0.2%
Bellarine Graham Ernst ALP0.7%
Bendigo West David Kennedy ALP0.9%
Bentleigh Ann Barker ALP1.4%
Ringwood Kay Setches ALP1.7%
Box Hill Margaret Ray ALP2.1%
Mentone Peter Spyker ALP2.4%
Geelong Hayden Shell ALP2.5%
Morwell Keith Hamilton ALP2.8%
Wantirna Carolyn Hirsh ALP2.9%
Mitcham John Harrowfield ALP3.0%
Monbulk Neil Pope ALP3.5%
Pascoe Vale Kelvin Thomson ALP4.4%
Whittlesea Max McDonald ALP4.7%
St Kilda Andrew McCutcheon ALP5.6%
Fairly safe
Knox Steve Crabb ALP6.0%
Greensborough Pauline Toner ALP6.1%
Springvale Eddie Micallef ALP6.4%
Essendon Barry Rowe ALP6.7%
Oakleigh Race Mathews ALP7.3%
Carrum Mal Sandon ALP7.5%
Dandenong North Jan Wilson ALP8.1%
Niddrie Bob Sercombe ALP8.1%
Doveton Rob Jolly ALP8.3%
Frankston North Jane Hill ALP8.8%
Albert Park Bunna Walsh ALP8.9%
Clayton Gerard Vaughan ALP8.9%
Broadmeadows Jim Kennan ALP9.9%
Safe
Bundoora John Cain ALP10.2%
Werribee Ken Coghill ALP10.5%
Keilor George Seitz ALP11.4%
Dandenong Terry Norris ALP12.6%
St Albans Alex Andrianopoulos ALP12.7%
Derrimut David Cunningham ALP13.3%
Geelong North Neil Trezise ALP14.0%
Coburg Peter Gavin ALP15.3%
Reservoir Jim Simmonds ALP16.4%
Brunswick Tom Roper ALP16.7%
Richmond Demetri Dollis ALP17.3%
Williamstown Joan Kirner ALP17.7%
Melbourne Neil Cole ALP18.0%
Preston Michael Leighton ALP21.1%
Sunshine Ian Baker ALP21.5%
Northcote Tony Sheehan ALP21.7%
Thomastown Beth Gleeson ALP22.4%
Footscray Robert Fordham ALP23.7%
Liberal/National seats (42)
Marginal
Syndal Geoff Coleman LIB0.7%
Mildura Craig Bildstien LIB1.0% v NAT
Berwick Rob Maclellan LIB1.4%
Warrandyte Phil Honeywood LIB1.5%
Narracan John Delzoppo LIB1.7%
Dromana Ron Wells LIB1.8%
Mornington Robin Cooper LIB2.0%
Bennettswood Roger Pescott LIB2.2%
Ivanhoe Vin Heffernan LIB2.4%
Forest Hill John Richardson LIB2.9%
Ballarat North Steve Elder LIB3.5%
Evelyn Jim Plowman LIB4.0%
South Barwon Harley Dickinson LIB4.8%
Frankston South Graeme Weideman LIB4.9%
Caulfield Ted Tanner LIB5.1%
Burwood Jeff Kennett LIB5.6%
Bendigo East Michael John LIB5.7%
Fairly safe
Gisborne Tom Reynolds LIB6.4%
Sandringham David Lea LIB6.4%
Ripon Tom Austin LIB6.9%
Doncaster Victor Perton LIB7.4%
Prahran Don Hayward LIB7.4%
Hawthorn Phil Gude LIB8.0%
Glen Waverley Ross Smith LIB8.5%
Bulleen David Perrin LIB9.2%
Safe
Kew Jan Wade LIB11.0%
Portland Denis Napthine LIB11.2%
Malvern Geoff Leigh LIB11.9%
Gippsland West Alan Brown LIB12.6%
Brighton Alan Stockdale LIB13.0%
Balwyn Robert Clark LIB14.3%
Polwarth Ian Smith LIB16.1%
Benalla Pat McNamara NAT17.9%
Gippsland East Bruce Evans NAT19.4%
Gippsland South Tom Wallace NAT20.2%
Murray Valley Ken Jasper NAT21.4%
Shepparton Peter Ross-Edwards NAT21.5%
Benambra Lou Lieberman LIB21.6%
Warrnambool John McGrath NAT27.3%
Swan Hill Barry Steggall NAT28.0%
Rodney Eddie Hann NAT28.6%
Lowan Bill McGrath NAT32.0%

Aftermath

On 23 May 1989, Jeff Kennett was voted out of the Liberal leadership in favour of Alan Brown; Brown led the party until 23 April 1991 when he was also forced out after a successful comeback by Kennett. During Brown's period as Opposition Leader, the Liberals negotiated the first coalition agreement with the Nationals in over forty years, in part due to a belief by some (in spite of what political scientist Brian Costar called a "lack of psephological evidence to support this assertion") that had the parties been in coalition at the election, they would have won. [7]

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References

  1. Costar, Brian; Economou, Nick (1992). "Elections and Electoral Change 1982–92". In Considine, M.; Costar, B. J. (eds.). Trials in Power: Cain, Kirner and Victoria 1982–92. pp. 255–256.
  2. Shamshullah, Ardel (June 1989). "Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1988: Victoria". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 35 (2): 252–253. ISSN   0004-9522.
  3. 1 2 "Proroguing the Legislative Council and dissolving the Legislative Assembly: Proclamation". Victoria Government Gazette . Victorian Government Printer. 29 August 1988. p. 1988:S77 (Special).
  4. "Constitution Act Amendment (Electoral Procedures) Act 1988 (No.31): Proclamation of Commencement". Victoria Government Gazette . Victorian Government Printer. 2 September 1988. p. 1988:S79 (Special).
  5. "Ministers of the Crown". Victoria Government Gazette . Victorian Government Printer. 13 October 1988. p. 1988:S84 (Special).
  6. "Fixing the time for holding the first session of the Fifty-first Parliament of Victoria". Victoria Government Gazette . Victorian Government Printer. 13 October 1988. p. 1988:S83.
  7. B. J. Costar, 'Coalition Government: An Unequal Partnership' in B. J. Costar & N. Economou (eds) The Kennett Revolution: Victorian Politics in the 1990s, UNSW Press, Sydney, 1998, p. 89

See also