Victorian state election, 1917

Victorian state election, 1917

15 November 1917 (1917-11-15)

51 (of the 65) seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly   First party Second party Third party   Leader John Bowser George Elmslie Alexander Peacock Party Nationalist Labor Ministerial Leader since November 1917 September 1913 June 1914 Leader's seat Wangaratta Albert Park Allandale Last election 0 seats 22 seats 43 seats Seats won 27 seats 18 seats 13 seats Seat change 27 4 30 Percentage * 32.29% * Swing * 7.29 *

Premier before election Alexander Peacock Nationalist Elected Premier John Bowser Nationalist

The 1917 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of Victoria on Thursday 15 November 1917 to elect 51 of the 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.^[1]

Background

By 1917, World War I was placing an enormous strain on the Victorian economy. While the Liberal party had won the 1914 election with a large majority, many in the party were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the government's actions on difficulties in the rural areas. The Victorian Farmers' Union emerged as a party, was gathering support and would be running candidates for the first time.

The Labor Party had undergone a severe split the previous year over the Conscription debate and some of its pro-conscription members led by Prime Minister Billy Hughes left the party and joined with the Liberals to form the Nationalist Party. At the state level, however, some of these members ran as National Labor candidates.

The breaking point for the Nationalist government was Premier Alexander Peacock's decision to increase rail fares to rural areas. The party split into a pro-Peacock Ministerial faction (mostly composed of city-based MP's), and an opposition faction led by John Bowser, composed mostly of MP's in the country. The different factions ran candidates against each other in most Nationalist seats.

This did not effectively split the vote, as Victoria had introduced compulsory preferential voting for this election, and most of the preferences resulting from multiple Nationalist candidates were kept within the party.

Results

Legislative Assembly

Notes:

• While the Nationalist party was split into the Ministerialist Peacock and Opposition Bowser factions, statistical records show the Nationalist vote combined.

• Fourteen seats were uncontested at this election, and were retained by the incumbent parties:
  • Nationalist (7): Ballarat West, Castlemaine and Maldon, Gippsland West, Gunbower, Hawthorn, Lowan, Wangaratta
  • Labor (6): Abbotsford, Carlton, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Richmond
  • National Labor(1): Gippsland North

Aftermath

As the Bowser faction had won the most seats within the Nationalist party factions, Alexander Peacock resigned as Premier and John Bowser took his place. The previous government's increase on rail fares was reversed, but the issue of how the railways were to be financed remained unresolved. The opposition parties defeated a railway estimates bill in March 1918, and Bowser resigned as Premier in response, having little taste for the office. Bowser then eventually left the Nationalist party for the Victorian Farmers' Union. Peacock supporter Harry Lawson became Premier, after which the factions reunited and formed majority government with 40 of the 65 seats.

See also

• Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 1917–1920

References

Elections and referendums in Victoria General elections 1856 1859 1861 1864 1866 1868 1871 1874 1877 1880 (Feb) 1880 (Jul) 1883 1886 1889 1892 1894 1897 1900 1902 1904 1907 1908 1911 1914 1917 1920 1921 1924 1927 1929 1932 1935 1937 1940 1943 1945 1947 1950 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1992 1996 1999 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 by-elections Referendums 1898 1899