1972 Australian federal election

none February 2018 April 2020 Australia parliamentary Primary 1969 Australian federal election 1969 1974 Australian federal election 1974 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1969–1972 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1972–1974 7,073,930 7.08% 6,747,244 (95.38%)(0.41 pp) All 125 seats of the House of Representatives63 seats were needed for a majority 2 December 1972 Gough Whitlam 1972 (cropped).jpg 140 140 180 6 0 Gough Whitlam 8 February 1967 Australian Labor Party Werriwa (NSW) 59 seats 67 8 3,273,549 49.59% 2.64 52.7% 2.50 William McMahon 1972 b&w.jpg 150 140 180 0 7 William McMahon 10 March 1971 Liberal Party of Australia LiberalCountry Coalition Lowe (NSW) 66 seats 58 8 2,737,911 41.48% 1.84 47.3% 2.50 TPP TPP swing 1972 Australian federal election.svg 350px Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory. Prime Minister William McMahon Liberal/Country coalition Subsequent Prime Minister Gough Whitlam Australian Labor Party A federal election was held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, as well as a single Senate seat in Queensland. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister William McMahon, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Labor's victory ended 23 years of successive Coalition governments that began in 1949 and started the three-year Whitlam Labor Government. Whitlam became the first Labor leader since World War II to lead the party to victory from opposition. The feat was repeated by Bob Hawke in 1983, Kevin Rudd in 2007 and Anthony Albanese in 2022. Issues The 1972 election campaign dealt with a combination of Vietnam and domestic policy issues, and the role of the federal government in resolving these issues. The Coalition of the Liberal and Country parties had been in government for 23 years. Successive Coalition governments promoted conservative economics, trade, and defence. However, Australian economic prosperity during the post-war period of the 1950s and 1960s led to the emergence of a range of "quality of life" issues regarding urban development, education, and healthcare. By 1972 these "quality of life" issues came to represent a major political problem for the coalition parties. Traditionally all of these areas had been handled by the state governments, and the Coalition had always asserted the importance of states rights, a view backed by Liberal state premiers like Robert Askin and Henry Bolte. Between 1966 and 1972, Labor leader Gough Whitlam developed policies designed to deal with the problems of urban and regional development using the financial powers granted to the federal government under the Australian Constitution. As Whitlam put it, Labor focused on "cities, schools and hospitals", and these issues were electorally appealing especially to the young and growing baby boomer generation living in the outer suburbs of the major cities. By contrast, Coalition policies of conservative economic management, increasing trade, and Australian involvement in the Vietnam War disengaged a significant number of Australian voters. Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was initially popular. However, protests grew as the consequences of the war became apparent and the likelihood of a US-led victory diminished. A major part of the protests were directed at conscripting Australians to fight in the war. Liberal policies on Vietnam focused on the need to contain the spread of communism, but the gradual US and Australian troop withdrawal undermined this position. In 1971, Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam visited China. The Coalition heavily criticised the visit, but said criticism soon backfired and became an embarrassment when U.S. President Richard Nixon announced he would visit China the following year. thumb|right|Whitlam giving Labor's policy speech at the Blacktown Civic Centre in Sydney Finally, the incumbent Prime Minister William McMahon was no match for Whitlam, a witty and powerful orator. McMahon's position was precarious to begin with, for he had only emerged as Liberal Leader after a prolonged period of turmoil following the Coalition's unexpectedly poor showing at the 1970 half-Senate election and various state elections. In March 1971, Defence Minister Malcolm Fraser resigned from the ministry and declared that Prime Minister John Gorton was "unfit to hold the great office of Prime Minister". Gorton swiftly called for a vote of confidence in his leadership, which resulted in a 33-33 tie. Gorton could have continued with the result, but stated: "Well, that is not a vote of confidence, so the party will have to elect a new leader."Brown Neil On the Other Hand ... Sketches and Reflections from Political Life The Popular Press 1993 0646151207 59 McMahon won the ensuing leadership contest against Billy Snedden. This turmoil was only further compounded by Gorton immediately being elected as McMahon's deputy; he was ultimately sacked by McMahon for disloyalty in August 1971. These changes all made the Coalition appear weak and divided, and consumed in internal struggles. McMahon was further weakened by concerns about inflation and negative press coverage. For example, Rupert Murdoch and his newspaper The Australian supported the ALP. The ALP ran a strong campaign under the famous slogan It's Time – a slogan which, coupled with its progressive policy programme, gave it great momentum within the electorate after 23 years of Conservative rule.Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan Events That Shaped Australia 234–238 New Holland 2006 978-1-74110-492-9 The Coalition government strongly opposed the opening of full diplomatic relationship with Beijing during Mao Zedong's regime.Thomas Nicholas Re-Orienting Australia-China Relations: 1972 to the Present 2004 Results House of Representatives Results of the 1972 Australian federal election (House of Representatives) + House of Reps (IRV) — 1972–74—Turnout 95.38% (CV) — Informal 2.17%alt=|center|300x300px Party Primary votes % Swing Seats Change   Labor 3,273,549 49.59 +2.64 67 +8   Liberal–Country Coalition 2,737,911 41.48 –1.84 58 –8   Liberal100px 2,115,085 32.04 –2.73 38 –8   Country100px 622,826 9.44 +0.88 20 0   Democratic Labor 346,415 5.25 –0.77 0 0   Australia 159,916 2.42 +1.54 0 0   Defence of Government Schools 9,703 0.15 +0.15 0 0   Communist 8,105 0.12 +0.04 0 0   National Socialist 1,161 0.02 +0.02 0 0   Socialist 1,062 0.02 +0.02 0 0   Independents 63,228 0.96 –1.57 0 0   Total 6,601,050     125 Two-party-preferred (estimated)   Labor Win 52.70 +2.50 67 +8   Liberal–Country coalition   47.30 −2.50 58 −8 Primary vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Labor Australian Labor Party 49.59 Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 32.04 Country National Party of Australia 9.44 DLP #008080 5.25 Australia #F4940D 2.42 Other #777777 1.27 Two-party-preferred vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Labor Australian Labor Party 52.70 Coalition Coalition (Australia) 47.30 Parliament seats var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Labor Australian Labor Party 53.60 Coalition Coalition (Australia) 46.40 Senate 1970 Australian Senate election A special Senate election was held in Queensland to replace Liberal senator Annabelle Rankin, who resigned in 1971.https://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/glossary.htm#casual_vacancy Glossary of Election Terms – Federal Election 2007 ABC 2016-07-30 Neville Bonner, who had been appointed to fill the casual vacancy by the Queensland Parliament, won the Senate position – the first Indigenous Australian elected to parliament. The election was held at the time of the House of Representatives election as per Section 15 of the Constitution. Otherwise, no Senate election was held. An amendment to the constitution passed in 1977 ensured that senators appointed to fill casual vacancies now serve the entire term of the replaced senator; this meant that only half- or full Senate elections would occur from then onward. Seats changing hands Seat Pre-1972 Swing Post-1972 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Bendigo, Vic  Labor David Kennedy 3.0 3.2 0.2 John Bourchier Liberal  Casey, Vic  Liberal Peter Howson 5.0 7.2 2.2 Race Mathews Labor  Cook, NSW  Liberal Don Dobie 2.8 3.5 0.7 Ray Thorburn Labor  Darling Downs, Qld  Liberal Reginald Swartz N/A 3.4 11.3 Tom McVeigh Country  Denison, Tas  Liberal Robert Solomon 2.6 7.2 4.6 John Coates Labor  Diamond Valley, Vic  Liberal Neil Brown 6.1 7.7 1.6 David McKenzie Labor  Evans, NSW  Liberal Malcolm Mackay 1.2 3.9 2.7 Allan Mulder Labor  Forrest, WA  Labor Frank Kirwan 1.1 4.7 3.6 Peter Drummond Liberal  Holt, Vic  Liberal Len Reid 3.5 7.9 4.4 Max Oldmeadow Labor  Hume, NSW  Country Ian Pettitt 1.0 2.9 1.9 Frank Olley Labor  La Trobe, Vic  Liberal John Jess 5.2 10.2 5.0 Tony Lamb Labor  Lilley, Qld  Liberal Kevin Cairns 1.7 1.7 0.0 Frank Doyle Labor  Macarthur, NSW  Liberal Jeff Bate† 3.8 6.0 2.2 John Kerin Labor  McMillan, Vic  Liberal Alex Buchanan† N/A 2.9 2.4 Arthur Hewson Country  McPherson, Qld  Country Charles Barnes N/A 6.5 4.7 Eric Robinson Liberal  Mitchell, NSW  Liberal Les Irwin 2.5 3.7 1.2 Alfred Ashley-Brown Labor  Phillip, NSW  Liberal William Aston 0.4 4.1 3.7 Joe Riordan Labor  Stirling, WA  Labor Harry Webb 5.5 8.4 2.9 Ian Viner Liberal  Sturt, SA  Labor Norm Foster 0.5 2.2 2.7 Ian Wilson Liberal  †Jeff Bate and Alex Buchanan contested their seats as independent candidates. Significance thumb|right|Supporters of McMahon hold up his placards at a rally during the election. The 1972 election ended 23 years of Liberal–Country rule, the longest unbroken run in government in Australian history. It is also unusual in that Whitlam only scraped into office with a thin majority of four seats; historically, elections that produce a change of government in Australia have taken the form of landslides (as in the elections of 1949, 1975, 1983, 1996, 2007 or 2013, for example). The comparatively small size of Whitlam's win is partly explained by his strong performance at the previous election in 1969, where he achieved a 7.1% swing and gained 18 seats after Labor had been reduced to 41 of 124 seats and a 43.1% two-party vote in its landslide defeat in 1966. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam quickly switched the diplomatic recognition from Republic of China (Taiwan) to People's Republic of China a few days before Christmas Day under the one-China policy. The new ruling Labor Party sought to ease the complicated tension between Australia and China.Trumbull Robert 23 December 1972 AUSTRALIA GRANTS CHINA RECOGNITION https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/23/archives/australia-grants-china-recognition-new-zealand-joins-move-and-both.html The New York Times The new Labor Government of Gough Whitlam was eager to make long-planned reforms, although it struggled against a lack of experience in its cabinet and the onset of the 1973 oil crisis and 1973–75 recession. In addition, the Senate was hostile to Whitlam. Between them, the Coalition and DLP held more seats than the ALP, as the term of the Senate at the time was 1971 to 1974. This in particular would make governing difficult, and led to the early double dissolution election of 1974. See also Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1972 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1972-1974 References External links AustralianPolitics.com 1972 election details "It's Time For Leadership" – Whitlam policy speech, 13 November 1972 University of WA https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085343/http://elections.uwa.edu.au/ 18 January 2015 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. Federal Federal election Category:Federal elections in Australia Category:Gough Whitlam