South Australian general election, 1982

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State election major party leaders
< 1979 1982 1985 >
Liberal David Tonkin Premier Parliament: 12 years Leader since: 1975 Division: Bragg
Labor John Bannon Opposition Leader Parliament: 4 years Leader since: 1979 Division: Ross Smith

State elections were held in Australia on November 6, 1982. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Premier of South Australia David Tonkin was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by John Bannon.

**House of Assembly — 1982-1985 — Turnout 93.18% — Informal 5.78%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Australian Labor Party	353,999	46.28	+5.43	24	+5
Liberal Party of Australia	326,372	42.67	-5.27	21	-4
Australian Democrats	54,457	7.12	-1.18	0	-1
Nationals SA	17,782	2.32	+0.42	1	0
Independent	12,252	1.60	+0.60	1	0
Other	0	0.00		0	0
Total	764,862			47
Australian Labor Party	WIN	50.90	+5.90	25	+5
Liberal Party of Australia		49.10	-5.90	22	-5

Independent: Norm Peterson

1 Legislative Council Results
2 See also
3 References

Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of South Australia were held in South Australia in 1982, which saw John Bannon and the Australian Labor Party defeat the incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by David Tonkin, after one term in power.

As Premier, Tonkin combined fiscal conservatism with socially progressive reforms. In the former, Tonkin made significant cuts to the public service, earning him the enmity of the unions, while an example of the latter was the passage of the land rights bill and the return to the Pitjantjatjara people of 10 per cent of South Australia's area.

Prior to the election, Tonkin removed the Robin Millhouse (a former Liberal member who had defected to the Liberal Movement and then the Australian Democrats, and whose popularity enabled him to hold his seat of Waite) with an offer of a vacant seat in the Supreme Court[1]. However the subsequent by-election saw the seat retained by Democrats candidate Heather Southcott, although the Liberals claimed the seat at the 1982 general election.

One potential election factor was the copper and uranium mine at Olympic Dam, near Roxby Downs. Enabling legislation had been passed earlier in 1982, despite the opposition of the Labor Party. In what was a controverisal move in Labor circles, Bannon defused this as an election issue by promising that development would go ahead under a Labor government (a commitment which was honoured), despite having previously opposed it.

The Liberals' chances were not made easier by the poor economic conditions prevalent in Australia in 1982.

After the election loss, Tonkin resigned as Liberal leader and was succeeded by John Olsen. A heart complaint caused Tonkin to leave parliament soon after.

[edit] Legislative Council Results

1982 Legislative Council Result
Party			Seats
	Australian Labor Party	47.0%	5
	Liberal Party of Australia	42.1%	5
	Australian Democrats	5.5%	1
	Nationals SA	2.0%
1982-1985 Legislative Council
Party			Seats
	Liberal Party of Australia		11
	Australian Labor Party		9
	Australian Democrats		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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