Australian federal election, 1996

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Federal election major party leaders
< 1993 1996 1998 >

Labor
Paul Keating
Prime Minister
Parliament: 27 years
Leader since: 1991
Division: Blaxland


Liberal
John Howard
Opposition leader
Parliament: 22 years
Leader since: 1995
Division: Bennelong

WIN

Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 March 1996. All 148 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party in power since 1983 led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating were defeated by the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by Tim Fischer.

House of Reps (IRV) — 1996-98 — Turnout 95.77% (CV) — Informal 3.20%
  Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Liberal Party of Australia 4,248,991 39.04 +1.94 75 +26
  Australian Labor Party 4,217,765 38.75 -6.17 49 -31
  National Party of Australia 893,170 8.21 +1.04 19 +3
  Australian Democrats 735,848 6.76 +3.01 0 0
  Australian Greens 317,654 2.92 +1.06 0 0
  Independents 253,894 2.33 -0.77 5 +3
  Other 216,530 1.99 -0.11 0 0
  Total 10,883,852     148 +1
  Liberal/National coalition WIN 53.63 +5.07 94 +29
  Australian Labor Party   46.37 -5.07 49 -31

Independents: Peter Andren, Pauline Hanson, Allan Rocher, Graeme Campbell, Paul Filing (ex-Liberal)

Senate (STV GV) — 1996-99 — Turnout 96.20% (CV) — Informal 3.50%
  Party Votes % Swing Seats Won Seats Held
  Australian Labor Party 3,940,150 36.15 -7.35 14 29
  Liberal/National (Joint Ticket) 2,669,377 24.49 +0.09 6  
  Liberal Party of Australia 1,770,486 16.24 +0.65 12 31
  Australian Democrats 1,179,357 10.82 +5.51 5 7
  National Party of Australia 312,769 2.87 +0.15 1 5
  Australian Greens 261,677 2.40 -0.03 0 0
  WA Greens 57,006 0.52 +0.02 0 1
  Country Liberal Party 40,050 0.37 +0.04 1 1
  Tasmanian Greens 26,830 0.25 * 1 1
  Harradine Group * * -0.30 0 1
  Other 641,335 5.88 +1.02 0 0
  Total 10,899,037     40 76

Independents: Mal Colston (resigned from ALP in August 1996)

[edit] House of Reps preference flows

  • The Democrats contested 138 electorates with preferences slightly favouring Labor (54.02%)
  • The Greens contested 102 electorates with preferences favouring Labor (67.10%)

[edit] Seats changing hands

Seat Party, pre-1996 Member, pre-1996 Margin, pre-1996 % Swing % Margin, post-1996 % Member, post-1996 Party, post-1996
Bass, Tas   Australian Labor Party Silvia Smith 0.03 4.60 4.57 Warwick Smith Liberal Party of Australia  
Bowman, Qld   Australian Labor Party Hon Con Sciacca 8.14 9.03 0.89 Andrea West Liberal Party of Australia  
Calare, NSW   Australian Labor Party vacant N/A N/A 13.32 Peter Andren Independent  
Canberra, ACT   Liberal Party of Australia Brendan Smyth  ???  ???  ??? Bob McMullan Australian Labor Party  
Canning, WA   Australian Labor Party Hon George Gear 0.19 0.88 0.69 Ricky Johnston Liberal Party of Australia  
Capricornia, Qld   Australian Labor Party Marjorie Henzell 2.78 6.40 3.62 Paul Marek National Party of Australia  
Curtin, WA   Liberal Party of Australia Allan Rocher N/A N/A 7.28 Allan Rocher Independent  
Dickson, Qld   Australian Labor Party Hon Michael Lavarch 2.55 5.72 3.17 Tony Smith Liberal Party of Australia  
Eden-Monaro, NSW   Australian Labor Party Jim Snow 4.27 9.03 4.76 Gary Nairn Liberal Party of Australia  
Gilmore, NSW   Australian Labor Party Peter Knott 0.45 6.69 6.24 Joanna Gash Liberal Party of Australia  
Griffith, Qld   Australian Labor Party vacant 5.90 7.37 1.47 Graeme McDougall Liberal Party of Australia  
Herbert, Qld   Australian Labor Party Hon Ted Lindsay 3.31 9.90 6.59 Peter Lindsay Liberal Party of Australia  
Hughes, NSW   Australian Labor Party Hon Robert Tickner 6.42 11.31 4.89 Danna Vale Liberal Party of Australia  
Isaacs, Vic   Liberal Party of Australia Rod Atkinson Greg Wilton Australian Labor Party  
Kalgoorlie, WA   Australian Labor Party Graeme Campbell N/A N/A 10.35 Graeme Campbell Independent  
Kingston, SA   Australian Labor Party Gordon Bilney 1.45 3.46 2.01 Susan Jeanes Liberal Party of Australia  
Leichhardt, Qld   Australian Labor Party Peter Dodd 1.33 5.51 4.18 Warren Entsch Liberal Party of Australia  
Lilley, Qld   Australian Labor Party Wayne Swan 6.18 6.91 0.73 Elizabeth Grace Liberal Party of Australia  
Lindsay, NSW   Australian Labor Party Ross Free 10.22 11.80 1.58 Jackie Kelly Liberal Party of Australia  
Lowe, NSW   Australian Labor Party Mary Easson 5.01 7.48 2.47 Paul Zammit Liberal Party of Australia  
Macarthur, NSW   Australian Labor Party vacant 1.28 11.97 10.69 John Fahey Liberal Party of Australia  
Macquarie, NSW   Australian Labor Party Maggie Deahm 0.12 6.48 6.36 Kerry Bartlett Liberal Party of Australia  
Makin, SA   Australian Labor Party Peter Duncan 3.71 4.79 1.08 Trish Draper Liberal Party of Australia  
McMillan, Vic   Australian Labor Party Barry Cunningham 0.53 2.60 2.07 Russell Broadbent Liberal Party of Australia  
Moore, WA   Liberal Party of Australia Paul Filing N/A N/A 15.48 Paul Filing Independent  
Moreton, Qld   Australian Labor Party Garrie Gibson 0.21 5.30 5.09 Gary Hardgrave Liberal Party of Australia  
Murray, Vic   National Party of Australia vacant N/A N/A 3.70* Sharman Stone Liberal Party of Australia  
North Sydney, NSW   Independent vacant 1.8 17.4 15.6 Joe Hockey Liberal Party of Australia  
Northern Territory, NT   Australian Labor Party Warren Snowdon 5.31 5.68 0.37 Nick Dondas Country Liberal Party  
Oxley, Qld   Australian Labor Party Les Scott 14.65 19.31** 4.66 Pauline Hanson Independent  
Page, NSW   Australian Labor Party Harry Woods 0.13 4.44 4.31 Ian Causley National Party of Australia  
Parramatta, NSW   Australian Labor Party vacant 3.24 7.11 3.87 Ross Cameron Liberal Party of Australia  
Paterson, NSW   Australian Labor Party Bob Horne 3.30 3.73 0.43 Bob Baldwin Liberal Party of Australia  
Petrie, Qld   Australian Labor Party Gary Johns 2.15 9.85 7.70 Teresa Gambaro Liberal Party of Australia  
Richmond, NSW   Australian Labor Party Neville Newell 1.78 8.53 6.75 Larry Anthony National Party of Australia  
Robertson, NSW   Australian Labor Party Frank Walker 5.56 9.12 3.56 Jim Lloyd Liberal Party of Australia  
Swan, WA   Australian Labor Party vacant 0.22 3.93 3.71 Don Randall Liberal Party of Australia  
  • *Figure is Liberal against Nationals.
  • **Figure is a swing compared to Liberal vote at the last election.


Overall the coalition won 29 seats from Labor while the ALP won 3 seats from the Liberals. These 3 seats where Canberra and Namadgi in the ACT and Isaacs in Victoria. The ACT seats fell to Labor due to a strong return to the ALP in a traditional Labor town by public servants fearing conservative cuts. The division of Brendan Smyth's seat of Canberra into the two new (of the three) ACT seats limited his campaign to the southernmost Tuggeranong seat of Namadgi where a lean and hungry ACT Labor right wing stood a not so lean but still very hungry Annette Ellis who ran a tight grassroots campaign. Isaacs fell to Labor due to demographic changes due to a redistribution of electoral boundaries.

Labor's primary vote was the lowest recorded by the ALP since 1934 (an additional eight percent coming from preferences). The Liberal Party leader, John Howard, had resumed the leadership of his party in January 1995, following a disastrous 8 months under the leadership of Alexander Downer. Downer and Peter Costello had succeeded Dr. John Hewson early in 1994 and were touted as the leaders of the new-generation Liberals. In the end, the party opted for the seasoned Howard, perhaps an acknowledgment that he was the only one left standing after a decade of party infighting.

Howard approached the campaign with a determination to present as small a target as possible. Throughout 1995, he refused to detail specific policy proposals. By 1996, however, it was clear that the electorate had tired of the Labor government and Paul Keating in particular. "The recession we had to have" line resonated with deadly force throughout the electorate. Although Keating's big picture approach to republicanism, reconciliation and engagement with Asia galvanized support within Labor's urban constituencies, Howard was able to attract support amongst disaffected mainstream Australians - including traditionally Labor-voting blue collar workers and middle class suburban residents.

[edit] References