South Australian state election, 1938

South Australian state election, 1938

19 March 1938 (1938-03-19)

All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly 20 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party   Leader Richard L. Butler Andrew Lacey Party Liberal and Country League Labor Leader since 1925 1933 Leader's seat Wooroora Port Pirie Last election 29 seats 6 seats Seats won 15 seats 9 seats Seat change 14 3 Percentage 33.44% 26.16% Swing 1.18 1.61

Premier before election Richard L. Butler Liberal and Country League Elected Premier Richard L. Butler Liberal and Country League

State elections were held in South Australia on 19 March 1938. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League government led by Premier of South Australia Richard L. Butler defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Andrew Lacey.

Background

This election saw the start of the Playmander. It consisted of rural districts enjoying a 2-to-1 advantage in the state parliament, even though they contained less than half of the population, as well as a change from multi-member to single-member electorates, and the number of MPs in the lower house was reduced from 46 to 39. Labor remained out of power until the 1965 election.

Tom Stott was one of 14 of 39 lower house MPs to be elected as an independent, which as a grouping won 40 percent of the primary vote, more than either of the major parties. Stott was the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament. The incumbent Butler LCL minority government only won 15 of 39 seats, which led to uncertainty over which party, if any, could form government. This confusion led Stott, as the most experienced and well known of the independent MPs, to believe that he could become Premier of South Australia. He failed to gain the support of sufficient independents and LCL members to achieve this but, as the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament, the LCL government were often forced to rely on his support.

See also

• Candidates of the South Australian state election, 1938
• Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1938-1941
• Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1938–1941
• Playmander

References

• History of South Australian elections 1857-2006, volume 1: ECSA
• State and federal election results in Australia since 1890

Elections and referendums in South Australia General elections 1857 1860 1862 1865 1868 1870 1871 1875 1878 1881 1884 1887 1890 1893 1896 1899 1902 1905 1906 1910 1912 1915 1918 1921 1924 1927 1930 1933 1938 1941 1944 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1970 1973 1975 1977 1979 1982 1985 1989 1993 1997 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 by-elections Referendums 1896 1898 1899 1911 1915 1965 1970 1982 1991