Australian federal election, 1951

Australian federal election, 1951
Australia
28 April 1951

All 121 seats of the Australian House of Representatives
61 seats were needed for a majority in the House
All 60 seats of the Australian Senate
  First party Second party
 
Leader Robert Menzies Ben Chifley
Party Liberal/Country coalition Labor
Leader since 23 September 1943 13 July 1945
Leader's seat Kooyong Macquarie
Last election 74 seats 47 seats
Seats won 69 seats 52 seats
Seat change Decrease5 Increase5
Percentage 50.70% 49.30%
Swing Decrease0.30 Increase0.30

Prime Minister before election

Robert Menzies
Liberal/Country coalition

Subsequent Prime Minister

Robert Menzies
Liberal/Country coalition

Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 April 1951. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution called after the Senate rejected the Commonwealth Bank Bill.[1] The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party led by Arthur Fadden defeated the Australian Labor Party led by Ben Chifley.

Results

House of Reps (IRV) — 1951–54—Turnout 96.00% (CV) — Informal 1.90%
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change Notes
  Australian Labor Party 2,174,840 47.63 +1.65 52 +5 (2 elected
unopposed)
  Liberal Party of Australia 1,854,799 40.62 +1.23 52 3 (1 elected
unopposed)
  Country Party 443,713 9.72 1.15 17 2
  Independents 46,788 1.02 1.13 0 0
  Other 45,759 1.00 0 0
  Total 4,565,899     121
  Liberal/Country coalition WIN 50.70 0.30 69 5
  Australian Labor Party 49.30 +0.30 52 +5
Popular Vote
Labor
 
47.63%
Liberal
 
40.62%
Country
 
9.72%
Independent
 
1.02%
Other
 
1.00%
Two Party Preferred Vote
Coalition
 
50.70%
Labor
 
49.30%
Parliament Seats
Coalition
 
57.02%
Labor
 
42.98%
Senate (STV) — 1951–53—Turnout 95.99% (CV) — Informal 7.13%
Party Votes % Swing Seats Won Seats Held Change
  Australian Labor Party 2,029,751 45.88 +0.99 28 28 6
  Liberal/Country (Joint Ticket) 1,925,631 43.52 1.12 * *
  Liberal Party of Australia 273,056 6.17 +0.41 26 26 +5
  Communist Party of Australia 93,561 2.11 +0.02 0 0 0
  Country Party * * * 6 6 +1
  Other 102,238 2.31 0 0 0
  Total 4,424,237     60 60

Seats changing hands

Seat Pre-1951 Swing Post-1951
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Australian Capital Territory, ACT   Independent Lewis Nott 3.8 6.7 2.9 Jim Fraser Labor  
Ballaarat, Vic   Liberal Alan Pittard 0.4 1.6 1.2 Bob Joshua Labor  
Hume, NSW   Country Charles Anderson 1.0 1.3 0.3 Arthur Fuller Labor  
Kingston, SA   Liberal Jim Handby 1.6 3.4 1.8 Patrick Galvin Labor  
Leichhardt, Qld   Country Tom Gilmore 1.0 1.3 0.3 Harry Bruce Labor  
Wannon, Vic   Liberal Dan Mackinnon 0.8 1.9 1.1 Don McLeod Labor  

History

Although the Coalition had won a comfortable majority in the House in 1949, Labor still had a four-seat majority in the Senate. Chifley thus made it his business to obstruct Menzies' agenda at every opportunity. Realizing this, Menzies sought to call a double dissolution at the first opportunity in hopes of gaining control of both houses. He thought he had his chance in 1950, when he introduced a bill to ban the Australian Communist Party. However, after a redraft, Chifley let the bill pass.

A few months later, the Senate rejected the Commonwealth Banking Bill, finally giving Menzies an excuse to call a double dissolution. While the Coalition lost five House seats to Labor, it still had a solid mandate. More importantly, it picked up six Senate seats, giving it control over both chambers.

See also

Notes

References

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