Australian federal election, 2001

Australian federal election, 2001

10 November 2001 (2001-11-10)

All 150 seats in the Australian House of Representatives 76 seats were needed for a majority in the House 40 (of the 76) seats in the Australian Senate   First party Second party   Leader John Howard Kim Beazley Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Leader since 30 January 1995 (1995-01-30) 19 March 1996 (1996-03-19) Leader's seat Bennelong Brand Last election 80 seats 67 seats Seats won 82 seats 65 seats Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 5,846,289 5,627,785 Percentage 50.95% 49.05% Swing 1.93 1.93

Prime Minister before election John Howard Liberal/National coalition Elected Prime Minister John Howard Liberal/National coalition

Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Kim Beazley.

Results

The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2001 election was 9.43 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Coalition and Labor Parties.

Independents: Peter Andren, Tony Windsor, Bob Katter

House of Representatives preference flows

• The Nationals had candidates in 14 seats where three-cornered-contests existed, with 87.34% of preferences favouring the Liberal Party.
• The Democrats contested 145 electorates with preferences favouring Labor (64.13%)
• The Greens contested 145 electorates with preferences strongly favouring Labor (74.83%)
• One Nation contested 120 electorates with preferences slightly favouring the Liberal/National Coalition (55.87%)

Seats changing hands

The following table indicates seats that changed hands from one party to another at this election. It compares the election results with the previous margins, taking into account redistributions in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories. As a result, it includes the seats of Macarthur and Parramatta, which were held by Liberal members but had notional Labor margins. The table does not include the new seat of Hasluck (retained by Labor); the abolished Northern Territory, which was divided into Lingiari (retained by Labor) and Solomon (retained by the CLP); or Paterson, a Labor seat made Liberal by the redistribution

• *Leonie Short was elected to Ryan in a by-election earlier in 2001.

Background and major issues

ABC news report of the Tampa affair and its political context, October 2001.

Throughout much of 2001, the Coalition had been trailing Labor in opinion polls, thanks to dissatisfaction with the government's economic reform programme and high petrol prices. The opposition Australian Labor Party had won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote at the previous election and had won a series of state and territory elections. Labor also recorded positive swings in two by-elections, taking the Queensland seat of Ryan and coming close in Aston.

The 11 September attacks and the so-called Children Overboard and Tampa affairs were strong influences in the minds of voters at this election, focusing debate around the issues of border protection and national security. Polls swung strongly toward the coalition after the "Tampa" controversy but before the 11 September attacks. Another major issue was the collapse of the country's second biggest airline Ansett Australia and whether it should be given a bailout; the Coalition was opposed to the bailout because it was not the government's fault. However, Labor was for a bailout because the company's collapse was about to result in the biggest mass job loss in Australian history, whilst also arguing that the government was partially responsible for allowing Ansett to be taken over by Air New Zealand who had caused Ansett's failure.^[2] Although the two-party preferred result was reasonably close, the ALP recorded its lowest primary vote since 1934.^[3]

Political scientists have suggested that television coverage has subtly transformed the political system, with a spotlight on leaders rather than parties, thereby making for more of an American-presidential-style system. In this election television news focused on international issues, especially terrorism and asylum seekers. Minor parties were largely ignored as the two main parties monopolized the camera's attention. The election was depicted as a horse race between the Howard, who ran ahead and was therefore given more coverage than his Labor rival.^[4]

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 2001
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2001-2004
• Members of the Australian Senate, 2002-2005

References

External links

• Australian Electoral Commission Results
• University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
• AEC 2PP vote
• AustralianPolitics.com election details
• Preference flows – ABC

Elections and referendums in Australia Federal elections 1901 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1964 1966 1967 1969 1970 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 next by-elections Referendums 1906 1910 1911 1913 1916 1917 1919 1926 1928 1937 1944 1946 1948 1951 1967 1973 1974 1977 1984 1988 1999 Elections in: Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia

Politics of Australia Commonwealth Monarch Governor-General Prime Minister Cabinet (Shadow Cabinet) Executive Council Ministry Foreign relations Parliament House of Representatives Senate Opposition Leader High Court Lower courts Constitution Statute of Westminster Australia Act Federal elections pre-1969 1969 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 next by-elections State/Territory governments Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Parliaments and Assemblies NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT State/Territory elections NSW 2015 Vic 2014 Qld 2015 WA 2013 SA 2014 Tas 2014 ACT 2012 NT 2012 NSW 2019 Vic 2018 Next Qld WA 2017 SA 2018 Next Tas ACT 2016 NT 2016 Local government NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas NT Political parties Coalition (Liberal, National, Liberal National, Country Liberal) Labor Greens Palmer United Liberal Democratic Family First Katter's Australian Australian Motoring Enthusiast Other parties