Australian federal election, 1983

5 March 1983

All 125 seats in the Australian House of Representatives 63 seats were needed for a majority in the House All 64 seats in the Australian Senate

	First party	Second party

Leader	Bob Hawke	Malcolm Fraser
Party	Labor	Liberal/National coalition
Leader since	3 February 1983	21 March 1975
Leader's seat	Wills	Wannon
Last election	51 seats	74 seats
Seats won	75 seats	50 seats
Seat change	24	24
Percentage	53.23%	46.77%
Swing	3.6	3.6

Prime Minister before election

Malcolm Fraser
Liberal/National coalition

Elected Prime Minister

Bob Hawke
Labor

Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution. The incumbent coalition government in power since 1975, led by Malcolm Fraser (Liberal Party of Australia) and Doug Anthony (National Party of Australia), was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Bob Hawke.

Results

**House of Reps (IRV) — 1983–84—Turnout 94.64% (CV) — Informal 2.09%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Australian Labor Party	4,297,392	49.48	+4.34	75	+24
Liberal Party of Australia	2,983,986	34.36	−3.07	33	−21
National Party of Australia	799,609	9.21	+0.24	17	−3
Australian Democrats	437,265	5.03	−1.54	0	0
Other	166,611	1.92	+0.04	0	0
Total	8,684,863			125
Australian Labor Party	WIN	53.23	+3.6	75	+24
Liberal/National coalition		46.77	−3.6	50	−24

Popular Vote

Labor			49.48%
Liberal			34.36%
National			9.21%
Democrats			5.03%
Other			1.92%

Two Party Preferred Vote

Labor			53.23%
Coalition			46.77%

Parliament Seats

Labor			60.00%
Coalition			40.00%

**Senate (STV) — 1983–84—Turnout 94.64% (CV) — Informal 9.87%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
Australian Labor Party	3,637,316	45.49	+3.24	30	30	+3
Liberal/National (Joint Ticket)	1,861,618	23.28	−2.35	8
Liberal Party of Australia	923,571	11.55	−1.59	16	23	−4
Australian Democrats	764,911	9.57	+0.31	5	5	0
National Party of Australia	388,802	4.86	+0.41	3	4	+1
Country Liberal Party	21,406	0.27	+0.02	1	1	0
Independents	193,454	2.42	+1.29	1	1	0
Other	203,967	2.55	−1.34	0	0	0
Total	7,995,045			64	64

Independent: Brian Harradine

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1983				Swing	Post-1983
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Barton, NSW		Liberal	Jim Bradfield	0.4	4.4	4.0	Gary Punch	Labor
Bendigo, Vic		Liberal	John Bourchier	1.3	4.1	2.8	John Brumby	Labor
Bowman, Qld		Liberal	David Jull	1.2	3.4	2.2	Len Keogh	Labor
Calare, NSW		National	Sandy Mackenzie	1.5	4.4	2.9	David Simmons	Labor
Canning, WA		Liberal	Mel Bungey	1.8	9.2	7.4	Wendy Fatin	Labor
Casey, Vic		Liberal	Peter Falconer	1.9	2.6	0.7	Peter Steedman	Labor
Chisholm, Vic		Liberal	Graham Harris	2.2	4.4	2.2	Helen Mayer	Labor
Deakin, Vic		Liberal	Alan Jarman	2.3	4.4	2.1	John Saunderson	Labor
Diamond Valley, Vic		Liberal	Neil Brown	3.7	4.1	0.4	Peter Staples	Labor
Eden-Monaro, NSW		Liberal	Murray Sainsbury	2.8	4.6	1.8	Jim Snow	Labor
Fadden, Qld		Liberal	Donald Milner Cameron	1.5	3.1	1.7	David Beddall	Labor
Flinders, Vic		Liberal	Peter Reith	2.3	5.6	1.0	Bob Chynoweth	Labor
Herbert, Qld		Liberal	Gordon Dean	0.9	3.7	2.8	Ted Lindsay	Labor
Kingston, SA		Liberal	Grant Chapman	0.2	3.3	3.1	Gordon Bilney	Labor
Leichhardt, Qld		National	David Thomson	1.1	3.2	2.1	John Gayler	Labor
Macarthur, NSW		Liberal	Michael Baume	3.2	5.3	2.1	Colin Hollis	Labor
Moore, WA		Liberal	John Hyde	2.8	10.0	7.2	Allen Blanchard	Labor
Northern Territory, NT		Country Liberal	Grant Tambling	1.2	3.1	1.9	John Reeves	Labor
Perth, WA		Liberal	Ross McLean	1.0	7.4	6.4	Ric Charlesworth	Labor
Petrie, Qld		Liberal	John Hodges	3.4	3.9	0.5	Dean Wells	Labor
Phillip, NSW		Liberal	Jack Birney	0.6	2.5	1.9	Jeannette McHugh	Labor
Stirling, WA		Liberal	Ian Viner	2.0	9.0	7.0	Ron Edwards	Labor
Tangney, WA		Liberal	Peter Shack	4.6	7.8	3.2	George Gear	Labor

Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Background

At the time of the election, the economy suffered from high inflation and high unemployment, alongside increases in industrial disputation and drought across much of the rural areas. The coalition government was led by Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister since 1975. Fraser had fought off a leadership challenge from Andrew Peacock, who had resigned from the Cabinet citing Fraser's "manic determination to get his own way", a phrase Fraser had himself used when he resigned from the Gorton ministry in 1971. The Liberal government had to contend with the early 1980s recession. They unexpectedly won the December 1982 Flinders by-election, after having lost the March 1982 Lowe by-election with a large swing.

The Gallagher Index result: 10.54

Bob Hawke had entered Parliament at the 1980 federal election following a decade as leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Labor factions began to push for the deposition of Bill Hayden from the party leadership in favour of Hawke. Fraser was well aware of the ructions in Labor, and originally planned to call an election for 1982, more than a year before it was due. However, he was forced to scrap those plans after suffering a severe back injury.

On 3 February 1983 at a meeting in Brisbane, Hayden resigned on the advice of his closest supporters. Hawke was elected as interim leader unopposed. Later that morning, unaware of the events in Brisbane, Fraser in Canberra sought and received a double dissolution from the Governor-General, Sir Ninian Stephen, and called an election for 5 March. While an election wasn't due for seven more months, Fraser had been emboldened by the unexpected retention of Flinders. He'd also hoped to catch Labor before it could replace Hayden, and was surprised to learn that Hayden had resigned literally hours before the writs were dropped. In response to his removal, Hayden claimed that a "drover's dog" could lead the ALP to victory. Five days later, the ALP formally elected Hawke as party leader. Fraser also hoped to gain control of the Senate, where the Australian Democrats had held the balance of power since 1 July 1981.

Fraser's campaign used the slogan "We're Not Waiting for the World". Hawke's campaign theme was based around his favoured leadership philosophy of consensus, using the slogan "Bringing Australia Together". The Ash Wednesday bushfires that devastated areas of Victoria and South Australia on 16 February disrupted the Prime Minister's re-election campaign which was unofficially put on hold while he toured the affected areas. In response to an attack from Fraser on the security of the banking system to protect people's savings in which he asserted that ordinary people's money was safer under their beds than in a bank under Labor, Hawke laughed and said "you can't keep your money under the bed because that's where the Commies are!"^[1]

As counting progressed on election night, it was obvious early on that the ALP had won on a massive swing. Hawke with wife Hazel claimed victory and a tearful Fraser conceded defeat. Ultimately, Labor won power on a 24-seat swing—the largest defeat of a sitting government since 1949, and the worst defeat a sitting non-Labor government has ever suffered. Fraser soon resigned from Parliament, leaving the Liberal leadership to one-time foe Andrew Peacock, who would later form a fierce leadership rivalry himself with future Prime Minister John Howard.

Notes

↑ Hawke Swoops into Power, TIME, 14 March 1983

Prior to 1984 the AEC did not undertake a full distribution of preferences for statistical purposes. The stored ballot papers for the 1983 election were put through this process prior to their destruction. Therefore, the figures from 1983 onwards show the actual result based on full distribution of preferences. The 1983 swing of approximately 3.6 points is based on a pure deduction of one result from the other.

External links

University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
AustralianPolitics.com election details
AEC 2PP vote

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