The 1969 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 25 October 1969. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister John Gorton, won the election with a severely diminished majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam despite losing the two party popular vote. Both major parties had changed their leaders in the run-up to the election, the first time this had occurred since 1946. The victory was the ninth consecutive general election won by the Coalition, and remains the record number of consecutive terms won by any Australian Federal Government.
The 1969 election centred on the two leaders, John Gorton and Gough Whitlam. Both were leading their respective parties in an election for the first time. Gorton had initially been very popular and was promoted as an "average Aussie bloke". This image was boosted by his record of wartime service and his craggy, battered appearance (the result of a wartime injury). However, he gradually gained a reputation for being erratic and unnecessarily confrontational. By the time of the 1969 election campaign, his attempts to alter long-standing Liberal Party policies with regard to federal–state powers, and foreign affairs had alienated the more conservative sections of the Liberal Party and various state Liberal leaders, such as Henry Bolte and Bob Askin.
Whitlam, by contrast, had reformed Labor and abandoned unpopular policies such as the once-dominant White Australia Policy, as well as the commitment to socialism still held by many members on the left of the party. He presented a sleek and modern image which was able to win over new voters to his cause with a policy platform including free university education and universal health insurance.[1] Whitlam had also managed to restore and heal the party's image as an electable alternative, something that had been impossible after the Labor Party split in 1955. Under his leadership, Whitlam had also attracted back many Catholic voters who had previously dumped Labor due to its infighting and factionalism. In addition, although the Coalition had won the biggest majority government in Australian history in 1966, it was increasingly seen as becoming tired and unfocused after 20 years in power. There were also growing concerns over Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. The ALP thus went into the election with a good chance of increasing its small caucus.
Despite a Coalition campaign depicting Labor as a party dominated and controlled by union bosses, the result was very close. Labor became the biggest single party in the House, taking 59 seats—an 18-seat swing from 1966. It also won a bare majority of the two-party-preferred vote, winning 50.2 percent to the Coalition's 49.8 percent—a 7.1-point swing from 1966, the largest not to have resulted in a change of government. However, largely due to the Democratic Labor Party preferencing against Labor, especially in Victoria, Whitlam came up four seats short of toppling the Coalition.[2] Nonetheless, Whitlam recovered much of what Labor had lost in its severe defeat three years earlier, and put the party within striking distance of winning government three years later.
^Crabb, Annabel (25 May 2019). "Surprise win held a warning for PM. And the first sign of trouble is already here". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
^Analysis of 2007 election in Victoria by Antony Green
ReferencesEdit
University of WA 18 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine election results in Australia since 1890
AEC 2PP vote
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.
October 25, 2023
1969, australian, federal, election, held, australia, october, 1969, incumbent, liberal, country, coalition, government, prime, minister, john, gorton, election, with, severely, diminished, majority, over, opposition, labor, party, gough, whitlam, despite, los. The 1969 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 25 October 1969 The incumbent Liberal Country coalition government led by Prime Minister John Gorton won the election with a severely diminished majority over the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam despite losing the two party popular vote Both major parties had changed their leaders in the run up to the election the first time this had occurred since 1946 The victory was the ninth consecutive general election won by the Coalition and remains the record number of consecutive terms won by any Australian Federal Government 1969 Australian federal election 1966 25 October 1969 1972 outgoing memberselected members All 125 seats of the House of Representatives63 seats were needed for a majorityRegistered6 606 233 6 66 Turnout6 273 661 94 97 0 16 pp First party Second party Leader John Gorton Gough WhitlamParty Liberal Country coalition LaborLeader since 10 January 1968 8 February 1967Leader s seat Higgins Vic Werriwa NSW Last election 82 seats 41 seatsSeats won 66 seats 59 seatsSeat change 16 18Popular vote 2 649 219 2 870 792Percentage 43 32 46 95 Swing 6 66 6 98TPP 49 80 50 20 TPP swing 7 10 7 10Results by division for the House of Representatives shaded by winning party s margin of victory Prime Minister before electionJohn GortonLiberal Country coalition Subsequent Prime Minister John GortonLiberal Country coalition Contents 1 Issues 2 Results 3 Seats changing hands 4 See also 5 Notes 6 ReferencesIssues EditThe 1969 election centred on the two leaders John Gorton and Gough Whitlam Both were leading their respective parties in an election for the first time Gorton had initially been very popular and was promoted as an average Aussie bloke This image was boosted by his record of wartime service and his craggy battered appearance the result of a wartime injury However he gradually gained a reputation for being erratic and unnecessarily confrontational By the time of the 1969 election campaign his attempts to alter long standing Liberal Party policies with regard to federal state powers and foreign affairs had alienated the more conservative sections of the Liberal Party and various state Liberal leaders such as Henry Bolte and Bob Askin Whitlam by contrast had reformed Labor and abandoned unpopular policies such as the once dominant White Australia Policy as well as the commitment to socialism still held by many members on the left of the party He presented a sleek and modern image which was able to win over new voters to his cause with a policy platform including free university education and universal health insurance 1 Whitlam had also managed to restore and heal the party s image as an electable alternative something that had been impossible after the Labor Party split in 1955 Under his leadership Whitlam had also attracted back many Catholic voters who had previously dumped Labor due to its infighting and factionalism In addition although the Coalition had won the biggest majority government in Australian history in 1966 it was increasingly seen as becoming tired and unfocused after 20 years in power There were also growing concerns over Australia s involvement in the Vietnam War The ALP thus went into the election with a good chance of increasing its small caucus Despite a Coalition campaign depicting Labor as a party dominated and controlled by union bosses the result was very close Labor became the biggest single party in the House taking 59 seats an 18 seat swing from 1966 It also won a bare majority of the two party preferred vote winning 50 2 percent to the Coalition s 49 8 percent a 7 1 point swing from 1966 the largest not to have resulted in a change of government However largely due to the Democratic Labor Party preferencing against Labor especially in Victoria Whitlam came up four seats short of toppling the Coalition 2 Nonetheless Whitlam recovered much of what Labor had lost in its severe defeat three years earlier and put the party within striking distance of winning government three years later Results EditMain article Results of the 1969 Australian federal election House of Representatives House of Reps IRV 1969 72 Turnout 94 97 CV Informal 2 54 nbsp Party Votes Swing Seats Change Labor 2 870 792 46 95 6 97 59 18 Liberal Country coalition 2 649 219 43 32 6 66 66 16 Liberal 2 125 987 34 77 5 37 46 15 Country 523 232 8 56 1 28 20 1 Democratic Labor 367 977 6 02 1 29 0 0 Australia 53 646 0 88 0 88 0 0 Pensioner Power 7 706 0 13 0 13 0 0 Social Credit 5 156 0 08 0 08 0 0 Communist 4 920 0 08 0 32 0 0 Independents 141 090 2 53 1 08 0 1 Total 6 114 118 125 1Two party preferred estimated Liberal Country coalition Win 49 80 7 10 66 16 Labor 50 20 7 10 59 18Popular voteLabor 46 95 Liberal 34 77 Country 8 56 DLP 6 02 Australia 0 88 Independents 2 31 Other 0 51 Two party preferred voteLabor 50 20 Coalition 49 80 Parliament seatsCoalition 52 80 Labor 47 20 Seats changing hands EditSeat Pre 1969 Swing Post 1969Party Member Margin Margin Member PartyAdelaide SA Liberal Andrew Jones 2 8 14 3 11 3 Chris Hurford Labor Barton NSW Liberal Bill Arthur 2 2 5 7 3 0 Len Reynolds Labor Batman Vic Independent Sam Benson N A 0 2 3 0 Horrie Garrick Labor Bowman Qld Liberal Wylie Gibbs 6 7 7 1 2 5 Len Keogh Labor Eden Monaro NSW Liberal Dugald Munro 0 7 5 8 3 2 Allan Fraser Labor Forrest WA Liberal Gordon Freeth 9 5 11 6 1 1 Frank Kirwan Labor Franklin Tas Liberal Thomas Pearsall 2 2 9 9 5 9 Ray Sherry Labor Grey SA Liberal Don Jessop 3 0 3 1 1 9 Laurie Wallis Labor Hawker SA Liberal notional new seat N A 13 7 7 9 Ralph Jacobi Labor Kingston SA Liberal Kay Brownbill 8 2 16 5 3 9 Richard Gun Labor Lalor Vic Liberal Mervyn Lee 0 7 4 8 10 9 Jim Cairns Labor Maribyrnong Vic Liberal Philip Stokes 7 6 8 0 1 4 Moss Cass Labor Paterson NSW Liberal Allen Fairhall N A 9 1 7 5 Frank O Keefe Country Perth WA Liberal Fred Chaney 6 9 12 2 8 2 Joe Berinson Labor Riverina NSW Country Bill Armstrong 16 5 18 8 2 3 Al Grassby Labor Robertson NSW Liberal William Bridges Maxwell 8 5 9 7 1 8 Barry Cohen Labor St George NSW Liberal Len Bosman 9 5 9 6 0 1 Bill Morrison Labor Sturt SA Liberal Ian Wilson 16 2 15 0 0 5 Norm Foster Labor Swan WA Liberal Richard Cleaver 3 5 8 3 4 1 Adrian Bennett Labor Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election See also Edit1967 Australian Senate election 1970 Australian Senate election Candidates of the Australian federal election 1969 Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1969 1972 Don s PartyNotes Edit Crabb Annabel 25 May 2019 Surprise win held a warning for PM And the first sign of trouble is already here Australia ABC News Retrieved 25 May 2019 Analysis of 2007 election in Victoria by Antony GreenReferences EditUniversity of WA Archived 18 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine election results in Australia since 1890 AEC 2PP vote 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1969 Australian federal election amp oldid 1161752191, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
