South Australian general election, 1975

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State election major party leaders
< 1973 1975 1977 >
Australian Labor Party Don Dunstan Premier Parliament: 22 years Leader since: 1967 Division: Norwood
Liberal Movement Robin Millhouse LM leader Parliament: 20 years Leader since: 1973 Division: Mitcham
Liberal Party of Australia Bruce Eastick Opposition Leader Parliament: 5 years Leader since: 1972 Division: Light

State elections were held in Australia on July 12, 1975. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan defeated the Liberal Party of Australia led by Bruce Eastick.

**House of Assembly — 1975-1977 — Turnout 93.56% — Informal 3.85%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Australian Labor Party	321,481	46.32	-5.20	23	-3
Liberal Party of Australia	218,820	31.53	-8.26	20	0
Liberal Movement	126,820	18.27	*	2	+2
Nationals SA	19,208	2.77	-1.18	1	0
Independent	6,281	0.91	-3.41	1	+1
Other	1,375	0.20		0	0
Total	693,985			47
Australian Labor Party	WIN	49.20	-5.30	24	-2
Liberal Party of Australia		50.80	+5.30	23	+2

Independent: Ted Connelly

1 Legislative Council Results
2 See also
3 References

The drop in the Liberal Party primary vote was due to the socially progressive Liberal Movement (LM) led by Robin Millhouse who achieved 18.3 percent of the primary vote and 2 seats. The party was a breakaway faction of the Liberal and Country League (LCL) which disbanded in 1973, the party which was the predecessor to the South Australian Liberal Party of Australia. Stemming from discontent within the ranks of the LCL, it was first formed by former Premier Steele Hall as an internal group in 1972 in response to a lack of social and acceptance of electoral reform within the LCL. A year later, when tensions heightened between the LCL's conservative wing and the LM, it was established on its own in as a progressive liberal party. When still part of the league, it had eleven representatives; on its own, it initially had three.

The election was fought with the Liberal Party, the Liberal Movement, and the Nationals all competing for votes against Labor, in the background of the Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam scandals, with this election taking place six months before the Governor General dismissed the Whitlam government resulting in his defeat at the December 1975 federal election. The LPA and LM parties received 49.8 percent of their 50.8 percent two-party preferred vote, picking up one percent from minor parties and independents, with the ALP receiving 46.3 percent of their 49.2 percent vote as primary votes, picking up 2.9 percent from minor parties and independents. Nationals member Peter Blacker held Flinders since the previous election, leaving each party with 23 seats each. The balance of power remained with independent Labor Ted Connelly, the Mayor of Port Pirie. Connelly sided with Dunstan and accepted his offer of speaker in the House of Assembly. Following the close result of the election where Labor received 24 of the 47 seats despite only receiving 49.2 percent of the two-party preferred vote, initial one vote one value electoral reform was enacted by Dunstan which would later be amended by future Labor premier John Bannon, after winning the 1989 election on 48.1 percent of the two-party preferred vote.

This election would also see the introduction of universal suffrage for the Legislative Council and the introduction of a statewide single electorate, resulting in 11 members being elected around each election to the 22 member house, an increase from 20 seats which was dominated by an LCL 16 seat majority for decades due to the Playmander electoral malapportionment, however they were highly independent and often obstructive to both major parties. Originally the Legislative Council had fixed staggered terms and elections were held separately from lower house elections, which would later be changed by the introduction of joint elections in the 1980s.

[edit] Legislative Council Results

1975 Legislative Council Result
Party			Seats
	Australian Labor Party	47.3%	6
	Liberal Party of Australia	27.8%	3
	Liberal Movement	18.8%	2
	Nationals SA	2.1%
	Independents/Other	4.0%
1975-1979 Legislative Council
Party			Seats
	Australian Labor Party		10
	Liberal Party of Australia		9
	Liberal Movement		2

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Historical lower house results
Historical upper house results
State and federal election results in Australia since 1890

Government of South Australia

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