1919 Australian federal election

none April 2024 January 2024 1919 Australian federal election Australia parliamentary Primary no 1917 Australian federal election 1917 1922 Australian federal election 1922 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1917–1919 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1919–1922 2,849,862 0.51% 1,977,843 (71.59%)Turnout in contested seats(6.71 pp) All 75 seats in the House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate yes 1919 12 13 Image:Billy Hughes 1919.jpg 190x190px Billy Hughes 14 November 1916 Nationalist Party (Australia) Bendigo (Vic.) 870,959 45.62% 53 seats 37 16 Image:Frank Tudor (cropped b&w).jpg Frank Tudor 14 November 1916 Australian Labor Party Yarra (Vic.) 811,244 42.49% 22 seats 26 4 1919 Australian federal election.svg 350px Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory Prime Minister Subsequent Prime Minister Billy Hughes Nationalist Party (Australia) Billy Hughes Nationalist Party (Australia) The 1919 Australian federal election was held on 13 December 1919 to elect members to the Parliament of Australia. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party government won re-election, with Prime Minister Billy Hughes continuing in office. The 1919 election was the first since the passage of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, which introduced preferential voting for both houses of parliament – instant-runoff voting for the House of Representatives and preferential block voting for the Senate. It was held several months earlier than constitutionally required, so that the government could capitalise on the popularity of Hughes after his return from the Paris Peace Conference. The Nationalists campaigned on the government's war record and appealed to returned soldiers. The Australian Labor Party (ALP), in opposition since the 1916 party split, contested a second election under the formal leadership of Frank Tudor, although Tudor's health issues meant T. J. Ryan was appointed as the party's national campaign director and played a key role in the campaign. The Nationalists won 37 out of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives, including the seat of Ballaarat by a single vote. The Nationalists also swept the Senate for a second consecutive election, leaving the ALP with just a single senator, Albert Gardiner. Labor won 26 seats in the House, a net gain of four, while 11 seats were won by candidates aligned with farmers' organisations, who formed the first federal parliamentary Country Party after the election. A referendum was held simultaneous to the election, at which the government unsuccessfully sought approval to amend the constitution for increased power over commerce. Background thumb|right|Hughes being carried through George Street, Sydney, upon his return from the Paris Peace Conference in 1919; he was at the height of his popularity during that time The Nationalist Party, formed after the 1916 Labor Party split, won a large majority at the 1917 federal election. In April 1918, Prime Minister Billy Hughes left Australia to attend the Imperial War Cabinet. He was overseas for sixteen months, which saw the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and the Paris Peace Conference. He was at the height of his popularity during this time, and was widely feted when he returned to Australia in August 1919.Joyner 1959 20, 23 According to Robert Garran, who was both Solicitor-General of Australia and Hughes' personal secretary at the conference, there were three main problems that confronted him upon his return – profiteering, high prices, and industrial unrest.Joyner 1959 15–16 At the ALP Federal Conference in early October 1919, a resolution was passed calling on T. J. Ryan, premier of Queensland, to enter federal politics. He agreed to do so, and was appointed to the new position of "national campaign director".Ross McMullin Ross McMullin The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991 Oxford University Press 1991 120 Con Wallace, MP for West Sydney, agreed to give up the ALP nomination to allow Ryan to win a safe seat.Murphy 1975 463 Opposition Leader Frank Tudor remained the party's formal leader, but Ryan had a higher public profile and led the ALP's campaign. According to King O'Malley, who met with him in Hobart a few weeks before the election, Ryan believed that he would become prime minister if Labor won the election.Murphy 1975 472 Electoral reform The 1919 federal election was the first to use preferential voting.https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/Australian_Electoral_History/reform.htm Events in Australian electoral history Australian Electoral Commission 17 May 2019 The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 replaced the previous first-past-the-post system used in the House of Representatives, and also re-introduced postal voting. It was amended the following year to also allow preferential voting for the Senate.Judith Brett Judith Brett From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYdwDwAAQBAJ 2019 Text Publishing 126–127 9781925626810 The new act repealed the existing Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, but did not alter the terms of the Commonwealth Electoral (War-time) Act 1917, under which naturalised British subjects born in enemy countries were disqualified from voting. This provision mainly affected German-Australians.Jenny Stock 1982 South Australia's 'German' Vote in World War I Australian Journal of Politics & History 28 2 263 10.1111/j.1467-8497.1982.tb00181.x There was a long history of support for preferential voting in Australia, but the immediate trigger for the new legislation was the decision of farmers' organisations to run candidates of their own in opposition to the Nationalist Party. The Swan by-election in October 1918 saw an ALP candidate elected with just over one-third of the vote, after the Nationalist candidate split the vote with a candidate from the Country Party of Western Australia.Brett 2019 126 The Corangamite by-election in December was the first held under the new system, and resulted in the Victorian Farmers' Union candidate winning from Nationalist preferences.Brett 2019 127 Campaign thumb|upright|Material used by T. J. Ryan, the Labor Party's national campaign director in 1919 Constitutionally, a new election was not due until early 1920, but the Nationalists wished to hold an early election to capitalise on Hughes' popularity.Joyner 1959 23 On 30 September, the party caucus approved an election for 13 December.Joyner 1959 19 The writs were formally issued on 3 November, with the close of nominations on 14 November. https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/Australian_Electoral_History/hor_dates.htm Election dates (1901 to Present) – House of Representatives 17 April 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190417084917/https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/Australian_Electoral_History/hor_dates.htm 17 April 2019 live dmy-allhttps://www.aec.gov.au/elections/Australian_Electoral_History/senate_date.htm Election dates (1901 to Present) – Senate Australian Electoral Commission 16 April 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190417084914/https://www.aec.gov.au/elections/Australian_Electoral_History/senate_date.htm 17 April 2019 live However, the campaign had begun in earnest after the last sitting day of federal parliament on 24 October.Murphy 1975 464 Party platforms Nationalists Hughes and the Nationalists sought re-election largely on the basis of their record in government. The prime minister's 90-minute policy speech, delivered in Bendigo on 30 November, was "stronger on generalities than on concrete proposals". Hughes promised to appoint royal commissions on profiteering, the living wage, and taxation, and to call a constitutional convention for 1920. He planned to overhaul industrial relations by setting up a system of industrial councils with a Commonwealth Industrial Court at their apex.Fitzhardinge 1979 427 The Nationalists also promised government support of industry, primary producers, and immigration.Fitzhardinge 1979 428 Labor The ALP was ill-prepared for the election – six weeks before the polling date, it had no party manifesto, had preselected few candidates, and the state branches in Victoria and New South Wales were "virtually bankrupt".Murphy 1975 461 The party eventually released its manifesto on 4 November, which was signed by Tudor, Ryan, and Jack Holloway. It "showed much of Ryan's hand in its language and political style", and ended with a quote from Abraham Lincoln.Murphy 1975 467 Tudor's policy speech was delivered in Melbourne the following day. The party promised an expansion of the welfare system, including the introduction of widows' pensions, child endowment for orphans and children of invalids, and a significant increase in old-age and disability pensions. It also promised to establish a national shipping line, national insurance office, and national medical service, which were to be funded through a wealth tax.Murphy 1975 468 Issues horizontal center 150 The Yellow Peril – The Real Facts.jpg 150 Remember the Maltese, and Vote LABOR!.jpg Material used by the ALP attacking Hughes' record on the White Australia policy right The campaign primarily focused on Hughes and Ryan and their respective records. The Round Table observed that "the prominence given to them made genuine political discussion impossible". The Nationalists accused Ryan of disloyalty to the war effort and fostering left-wing extremism, while Labor accused Hughes of mismanaging the war and failing to deal with profiteering.Fitzhardinge 1979 430 Tudor was "barely considered" in the campaign due to poor health,Murphy 1975 465 and twice had to withdraw from campaigning due to "attacks of hemorrhage".https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203693144 Mr. Tudor's Movements The Age 8 November 1919 The Nationalists claimed Hughes had safeguarded the White Australia policy at the Paris Peace Conference, while the ALP said he had endangered it by failing to stop the Japanese from acquiring the South Seas Mandate.Fitzhardinge 1979 428 Issues relating to returned soldiers were also prominent, and the 1919 election has been classed as a wartime or "khaki" election, despite it taking place over a year after the Armistice.Joyner 1959 15 : "the 1919 campaign over the alterations was overshadowed to a great extent by the 'khaki election' which took place at the same time".Stock 1982 263 : "Although hostilities had ended and the peace treaty with Germany had been signed in June 1919, the War Precautions Act and many of its Regulations remained in force until late 1920 and the 'state of war' was not officially declared ended until 31 August 1921. The December 1919 federal election can, therefore, be considered to be a 'wartime' election." Returned soldiers Both parties were keen to secure the votes of returned soldiers, and Hughes in particular cultivated them as a new political base.Earlier in his career he had drawn much of his support from trade unionists, but this diminished when the ALP split over conscription and he was forced out of the labour movement.Martin Crotty 'What more do you want?': Billy Hughes and Gilbert Dyett in late 1919 2019 History Australia 16 1 58 10.1080/14490854.2018.1558069 150593843 In 1919, there were about 270,000 returned soldiers out of a total enrolment of 2.85 million; they and their family members were viewed as a "vital political constituency".Crotty 2019 59 While Hughes was already popular with the armed forces, he sought an explicit endorsement from the main lobby group for returned soldiers, the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA). Its newly elected president was Gilbert Dyett, a 28-year-old junior officer who was protective of the organisation's independence and political neutrality.Crotty 2019 60 In the lead-up to the election Hughes had five separate meetings with Dyett and other officials.Crotty 2019 61 He was willing to make concessions on repatriation policy and other related issues, but repeatedly stressed that the RSSILA's agenda could only be enacted if the Nationalists won, for which a formal endorsement was necessary.Crotty 2019 65–66 Dyett was unwilling to compromise his neutrality, and consequently the RSSILA "gained almost every concession they sought, yet maintained their independence by holding out to Hughes the prospect of returned soldier support while never granting it".Crotty 2019 68 Sectarianism Sectarianism between Catholics and Protestants became an issue in the campaign. In early November, Ryan chaired an Irish Race Convention in Melbourne, which had been organised by Catholic archbishop Daniel Mannix to support Irish home rule.Murphy 1975 468 Mannix tacitly endorsed Ryan as prime minister, stating that "Ireland and Irish Australia have no reason to be ashamed of him, either as Premier of Queensland or as the prospective Prime Minister of the Commonwealth".Murphy 1975 469 Additionally, the Catholic press in Melbourne and Sydney "unashamedly support[ed] Ryan and his party".Murphy 1975 466 In response, Protestant organisations ran advertisements claiming a Labor government would see Australia controlled by the Catholic Church.Murphy 1975 469 McDougall incident One issue in the campaign was the anti-war poem "The White Man's Burden", written by John Keith McDougall in 1900 during the Boer War. It contained lines critical of soldiers, describing them as "sordid killers who murder for a fee", "hog-souled and dirty-handed", and "fools and flunkeys". The poem was republished on a number of occasions during World War I – in January 1915 by the Labor Call, the official ALP newspaper in Victoria, and later by McDougall's opponents at the 1915 Grampians by-election and 1917 federal election.King 1983 58–59 On 13 November 1919, Melbourne Punch re-published excerpts from the poem, contrasting them with the ALP's election manifesto which praised soldiers.King 1983 60 Pro-government newspapers did likewise, particularly The Argus, and a leaflet containing the poem was widely circulated.King 1983 60–61 Hughes frequently quoted the poem in his campaign speeches, stating that returned soldiers faced a choice between "those who stood by you, or those who spoke contemptuously of you as 'sordid killers'". Pro-opposition newspapers noted that Hughes had in fact campaigned for McDougall four years later, when he was still a member of the ALP.King 1983 61 The outcry over McDougall's poem was directed at the ALP rather than its author, who was often not identified. However, a week before the election, a group of about 20 ex-soldiers kidnapped McDougall from his property in Ararat, before tarring and feathering him and dumping him in the street, bound and blindfolded.King 1983 62–63 In February 1920, six of the men were convicted of assault and fined £5 each, while receiving sympathy from the magistrate and much of the press.King 1983 65–66 Results House of Representatives Results of the 1919 Australian federal election (House of Representatives) Out of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives, 37 were won by the Nationalists and 26 by the Labor Party. In Melbourne Ports and Newcastle, the ALP candidate was elected unopposed. Eleven of the remaining twelve seats were won by candidates endorsed by or aligned with the farmers' organisations in each state; they subsequently formed the Country Party.https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/FedElect/FedElecta Detailed results: House of Representatives 1901–1919 Australian Parliamentary Library 21 April 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190324234833/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/FedElect/FedElecta 24 March 2019 live The remaining seat was won by Frederick Francis, who stood as an "independent Nationalist" in the Melbourne seat of Henty and defeated the sitting Nationalist member.http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1919/1919repsvic.txt Legislative Election of 13 December, Voting by Constituency: Victoria 1919 Australian Election Archive 22 April 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20180810234040/http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1919/1919repsvic.txt 10 August 2018 live Government ministers Paddy Glynn and William Webster were among those who lost their seats. The closest margin of victory was in Ballaarat, where Nationalist Edwin Kerby defeated the sitting Labor member Charles McGrath by a single vote. The result was successfully challenged in the Court of Disputed Returns, with Justice Isaac Isaacs criticising the "almost incredible carelessness" of the electoral officers. McGrath won the seat back at the resulting by-election.https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2013/October/A_close-run_thing_the_narrowest_of_margins_UPDATED A close-run thing: the narrowest of margins Toby Bellwood 2 October 2013 Australian Parliamentary Library 15 April 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190415102911/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2013/October/A_close-run_thing_the_narrowest_of_margins_UPDATED 15 April 2019 live Mary Grant was the only woman to stand for the House of Representatives, polling 18.1 percent of the vote in Kooyong.The Political History of Women in Australia Australian Quarterly Kathleen Sherrard 1943 15 4 39 10.2307/20631140 20631140 + House of Reps (IRV) — 1919–1922—Turnout 71.59% (Non-CV) — Informal 3.47%alt=|center|300x300px Party First preference votes % Swing Seats Change  Nationalist 870,959 45.62 −8.60 37 −16  Labor 811,244 42.49 −1.45 26 +4  Countrycountry At the 1919 election, the Country Party did not yet exist as either a parliamentary party or a nationwide political organisation. For comparative purposes, the votes amassed by the various state organisations are usually tallied together.Davey 2010 403In the House of Representatives, the total can be broken down into 79,839 votes for the Victorian Farmers' Union, 16,521 for the Farmers' and Settlers' Association of New South Wales, 10,885 for the Primary Producers' Union (Queensland), 7,313 for the Country Party of Western Australia, 2,946 for the Farmers and Settlers Association (South Australia), and 2,210 for country-aligned candidates in Tasmania, where there was no organisation. Several candidates in New South Wales were cross-endorsed by the Nationalists and the FSA; they tallied 46,730 votes, which are grouped with the Country Party as all three successful cross-endorsed candidates joined that party. In addition, the successful Nationalist candidate for Dampier, who tallied 10,440 votes, was cross-endorsed by the Western Australian FSA, and is likewise grouped with the Country Party as he joined it upon formation.In the Senate, the total can be broken down into 100,620 votes for the Farmers and Settlers Association (NSW), 50,620 for the Victorian Farmers' Union, and 11,853 for the Country Party of Western Australia. 166,444 8.72 +8.72 11 +11  Industrial Socialist Labor 3,637 0.19 +0.19 0 0  Independents 56,947 2.98 +1.13 1 +1 Total 1,909,231     75 First preference vote #ddd 650px 410px Nationalist #6495ED 45.62 Labor Australian Labor Party 42.49 Country National Party of Australia 8.72 Independent/Other Independent politician 3.17 Parliament seats #ddd 650px 410px Nationalist #6495ED 49.33 Labor Australian Labor Party 34.67 Country National Party of Australia 14.67 Independent/Other Independent politician 1.33 Senate Results of the 1919 Australian federal election (Senate) In the Senate, the Nationalists won 18 out of the 19 seats up for election.In addition to the required half-Senate election, a supplementary election was held in Tasmania to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of James Long. Long resigned from the Senate in December 1918, with Edward Mulcahy appointed as his replacement.http://biography.senate.gov.au/edward-mulcahy/ MULCAHY, EDWARD (1850–1927) The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1, 1901–1929 2000 Melbourne University Press Scott Bennett 24 April 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190324144209/http://biography.senate.gov.au/edward-mulcahy/ 24 March 2019 live At the time, section 15 of the constitution mandated that casual vacancies could only be filled by an appointee until the next general election, at which point a supplementary election would be held.https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/FedElect/FedElectf Detailed results: Senate 1901–1925 Australian Parliamentary Library 24 April 2019 The party had previously won all 18 seats at the 1917 election, leaving them with "an absurdly large majority" – after 1 July 1920, when the new senators began their term, Albert Gardiner was the only non-government senator and the sole representative of the Labor Party in the chamber. The country parties failed to win any seats, but some Nationalist senators were sympathetic to their views.Souter 1988 174 Mary McMahon was the only woman to stand for the Senate, polling 0.3 percent of the statewide vote in New South Wales. + Senate (P BV) — 1919–22—Turnout 71.33% (Non-CV) — Informal 8.61%alt=|center|300x300px Party First preference votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change   Nationalist 861,990 46.40 −8.97 18 35 +11   Labor 795,858 42.84 −0.89 1 1 −11   Countrycountry 163,293 8.79 +8.79 0 0 0   Socialist Labor 10,508 0.57 +0.06 0 0 0   Independent 26,374 1.42 +1.03 0 0 0   Total100px 1,857,823     19 36 Seats changing hands Seat Pre-1919 Swing Post-1919 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Adelaide, SA  Labor George Edwin Yates 100.0 50.8 0.8 Reginald Blundell Nationalist  Angas, SA  Nationalist Paddy Glynn 0.8 1.5 0.7 Moses Gabb Labor  Ballaarat, Vic  Labor Charles McGrath 100.0 50.0 0.0 Edwin Kerby Nationalist  Brisbane, Qld  Labor William Finlayson 0.0 1.0 1.0 Donald Cameron Nationalist  Calare, NSW  Nationalist Henry Pigott 1.8 4.1 2.3 Thomas Lavelle Labor  Cowper, NSW  Nationalist John Thomson 100.0 71.6 21.6 Earle Page Farmers & Settlers  Grampians, Vic  Nationalist Edmund Jowett 4.8 N/A 8.2 Edmund Jowett Victorian Farmers  Gwydir, NSW  Nationalist William Webster 6.5 9.7 3.2 Lou Cunningham Labor  Henty, Vic  Nationalist James Boyd 20.6 23.2 2.9 Frederick Francis Independent  Hindmarsh, SA  Nationalist William Archibald 5.8 7.2 1.4 Norman Makin Labor  Hume, NSW  Nationalist Franc Falkiner 1.9 9.4 7.5 Parker Moloney Labor  Indi, Vic  Nationalist John Leckie 6.2 6.4 12.6 Robert Cook Victorian Farmers  Kalgoorlie, WA  Nationalist Edward Heitmann 1.3 3.4 2.1 Hugh Mahon Labor  Swan, WA  Labor Edwin Corboy 1.5 N/A 8.0 John Prowse Farmers & Settlers  Werriwa, NSW  Nationalist John Lynch 2.8 3.8 1.0 Bert Lazzarini Labor  Wimmera, Vic  Nationalist Sydney Sampson 100.0 59.5 9.5 Percy Stewart Victorian Farmers  Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election. Post-election pendulum Government seatsNationalist PartyMarginalBallaarat (Vic)Edwin KerbyNAT00.0Adelaide (SA)Reginald BlundellNAT00.8Brisbane (Qld)Donald CameronNAT01.0Eden-Monaro (NSW)Austin ChapmanNAT01.2Riverina (NSW)John ChanterNAT01.3Fawkner (Vic)George MaxwellNAT01.5Grey (SA)Alexander PoyntonNAT01.8Herbert (Qld)Fred BamfordNAT02.4Illawarra (NSW)Hector LamondNAT03.1Robertson (NSW)William FlemingNAT03.5Oxley (Qld)James BayleyNAT03.8Denison (Tas)William Laird SmithNAT03.9Darwin (Tas)George BellNAT04.0Wannon (Vic)Arthur RodgersNAT04.1Wide Bay (Qld)Edward CorserNAT04.3Bendigo (Vic)Billy HughesNAT05.0Gippsland (Vic)George WiseNAT05.2 v VFUMoreton (Qld)Arnold WienholtNAT05.2Bass (Tas)Syd JacksonNAT05.8Fairly safeNepean (NSW)Eric BowdenNAT07.1New England (NSW)Alexander HayNAT07.3Lang (NSW)Elliot JohnsonNAT07.3Corio (Vic)John ListerNAT07.5Darling Downs (Qld)Littleton GroomNAT07.7Wakefield (SA)Richard FosterNAT08.4SafeWilmot (Tas)Llewellyn AtkinsonNAT10.2 v NATFremantle (WA)Reginald BurchellNAT10.8Perth (WA)James FowlerNAT11.0Parkes (NSW)Walter MarksNAT11.5Franklin (Tas)William McWilliamsNAT12.1 v NATLilley (Qld)George MackayNAT13.3Wentworth (NSW)Charles MarrNAT13.6Barker (SA)John LivingstonNAT14.1Kooyong (Vic)Robert BestNAT14.3 v INDDampier (WA)Henry GregoryNAT14.6Balaclava (Vic)William WattNAT14.9Flinders (Vic)Stanley BruceNAT15.5Boothby (SA)William StoryNAT16.6Very safeRichmond (NSW)Walter Massy-GreeneNAT22.5Parramatta (NSW)Joseph CookNAT22.6North Sydney (NSW)Granville RyrieNAT25.5 Non-government seatsAustralian Labor Party and Country PartyMarginalAngas (SA)Moses GabbALP00.7Werriwa (NSW)Bert LazzariniALP01.0Hindmarsh (SA)Norman MakinALP01.4Kalgoorlie (WA)Hugh MahonALP02.1Maribyrnong (Vic)James FentonALP02.1Calare (NSW)Thomas LavelleALP02.3Maranoa (Qld)Jim PageALP02.7 v PPUCapricornia (Qld)William HiggsALP02.8Gwydir (NSW)Lou CunninghamALP03.2Macquarie (NSW)Samuel NichollsALP03.2Bourke (Vic)Frank AnsteyALP03.2Barrier (NSW)Michael ConsidineALP03.8 v INDFairly safeBatman (Vic)Frank BrennanALP07.1Hume (NSW)Parker MoloneyALP07.5East Sydney (NSW)John WestALP07.8Swan (WA)John ProwseF&SA08.0 v ALPGrampians (Vic)Edmund JowettVFU08.2 v ALPHunter (NSW)Matthew CharltonALP08.9Wimmera (Vic)Percy StewartVFU09.5 v NATDalley (NSW)William MahonyALP09.7SafeCorangamite (Vic)William GibsonVFU10.4 v ALPKennedy (Qld)Charles McDonaldALP11.7Darling (NSW)Arthur BlakeleyALP11.8Indi (Vic)Robert CookVFU12.6 v ALPEchuca (Vic)William HillVFU14.0 v NATMelbourne (Vic)William MaloneyALP15.6Cook (NSW)James CattsALP15.7South Sydney (NSW)Edward RileyALP18.3Very safeYarra (Vic)Frank TudorALP20.3Cowper (NSW)Earle PageF&SA21.6 v ALPWest Sydney (NSW)T. J. RyanALP22.2Melbourne Ports (Vic)James MathewsALPunopposedNewcastle (NSW)David WatkinsALPunopposedIndependentsHenty (Vic)Frederick FrancisIND02.9 v NAT Aftermath and analysis According to Hughes' biographer L. F. Fitzhardinge, "the result of the election gave no satisfaction to anyone".Fitzhardinge 1979 430 The Nationalists were the only party capable of forming a government, but their failure to win an absolute majority weakened the position of Hughes within the party. Neither of the referendum questions carried.Fitzhardinge 1979 431 Ryan attributed the ALP's defeat to the new voting system,Murphy 1975 475 while James Catts, the party's campaign director in New South Wales, stated in January 1920 that "the defeat of Labor is due to Labor".Murphy 1975 476 Senior Labor MP William Higgs publicly blamed the election result on interference from the organisational wing, and was expelled from the party in February 1920.Murphy 1975 475 He sat as an independent for a period before joining the Nationalists later in the year.Murphy 1975 478 It has been suggested that anti-Irish sentiment may have played a part in the ALP's failure to win more seats. The result led some within the party to question the wisdom of Archbishop Mannix involving himself in politics.Brenda Niall Brenda Niall Mannix https://books.google.com/books?id=_bydDAAAQBAJ 2016 Text Publishing 98 978-1925355185 The new House of Representatives proved much less stable than its immediate predecessors. According to Gavin Souter, the author of an official history of parliament, the most notable result of the 1919 election was the emergence of the Country Party as a force in federal politics.Souter 1988 175 : "Its emergence [...] was a development of great and lasting significance." On 22 January 1920, nine of the crossbench MPs agreed to form a parliamentary party, which they named the Australian Country Party. Two others joined the Country Party in the month before parliament opened on 26 February, leaving it with eleven MPs out of 75. William McWilliams was elected as the party's inaugural leader.https://books.google.com/books?id=4BoBjz6pHwUC Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920–2010 UNSW Press Paul Davey 2010 9781742231662 403 Tudor moved a motion of no confidence in the government on 3 March, which was defeated by 45 votes to 22. The Country Party generally supported the government's agenda over the course of the parliament.Souter 1988 177 The election greatly increased the number of returned soldiers in parliament, which rose from four to sixteen; all but two were Nationalists.Souter 1988 176 According to Crotty 2019, the concessions Hughes made in an attempt to gain the returned-soldier vote "ensured two of Australia's major wartime legacies: a powerful, united and well-connected veterans' organisation, and a repatriation system that was perhaps the world's most generous".Crotty 2019 70 See also Candidates of the 1919 Australian federal election Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1919–1922 Members of the Australian Senate, 1920–1923 Notes References Sources L. F. Fitzhardinge Laurie Fitzhardinge 1979 William Morris Hughes: A Political Biography II: The Little Digger, 1914–1952 Angus & Robertson 0207132453 Conrad Joyner 1959 W. M. Hughes and the 'Powers' Referendum of 1919: A Master Politician at Work Australian Journal of Politics & History 15–23 5 1 10.1111/j.1467-8497.1959.tb00487.x Terry King 1983 The Tarring and Feathering of J. K. McDougall: 'Dirty Tricks' in the 1919 Federal Election Labour History 45 45 54–67 10.2307/27508605 27508605 D. J. Murphy Denis Murphy (Australian politician) 1975 T. J. Ryan: A Political Biography University of Queensland Press 0702209929 Gavin Souter Gavin Souter Acts of Parliament:A Narrative History of the Senate and House of Representatives 1988 Melbourne University Press 0522844081 Category:Federal elections in Australia Australia