1977 South Australian state election

none January 2021 October 2011 1977 South Australian state election South Australia parliamentary no 1975 South Australian state election 1975 1979 South Australian state election 1979 All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly24 seats were needed for a majority yes 1977 09 17 150x150px Don Dunstan 1 June 1967 Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) Norwood 383,831 51.64% 5.31 23 27 4 150x150px David Tonkin 24 July 1975 Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) Bragg 306,356 41.21% 9.68 21 17 4 Australian Democrats DEM Robin Millhouse Australian Democrats Mitcham 25,855 3.48% New 0 1 1 National Party of Australia NAT Peter Blacker National Party of Australia Flinders 11,825 1.59% 1.18 1 1 TPP TPP swing 53.40% 4.20 46.60% 4.20 Premier Don Dunstan Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) Don Dunstan Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) 420px Results by electoral division. State elections were held in South Australia on 17 September 1977. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan won a fourth term in government, defeating the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition David Tonkin. Background Parliamentary elections for the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia were held in South Australia in 1977. There was no election for Legislative Council; and as of 2026, this is the most recent South Australian election which has not been for both houses. The Labor Party led by Don Dunstan, which had won the previous three elections in 1970, 1973 and 1975, defeated the Liberal Party of Australia opposition led by David Tonkin. It was the first time that a Labor government in South Australia had been re-elected for a fourth term, and would be the first nine-year-incumbent Labor government. This would be Dunstan's last election before resigning due to ill health in 1979. This was the first election after the end of Playmander seat weighting where one vote one value was introduced. At the previous election some metropolitan seats still saw more than three times the number of voters than in some rural seats, despite most of the Playmander being abolished nearly a decade ago. The redistribution was the reason Dunstan called an early election.History of South Australian elections 1857–2006, volume 1, Dean Jaensch, Electoral Commission of SA The Australian Democrats ran for the first time under a joint New LM-Australian Democrats ticket, winning an average 12.3 percent of the primary vote in the 12 electorates they contested, with former LCL MP Robin Millhouse retaining his seat of Mitcham, which he would hold until 1982. Key dates Issue of writ: 25 August 1977 Close of nominations: 2 September 1977 Polling day: 19 September 1977 Return of writ: On or before 3 October 1977 Results thumb|400px|right|Arrangement of the House of Assembly after the 1977 state election. Keith Russack stood as an Independent Liberal, but later joined the Liberal Party; giving the numbers: 27 Labor, 18 Liberal, 1 Country Party, 1 Australian Democrat. A 1979 Norwood by-election was triggered as a result of Dunstan's resignation. Labor retained the seat on a considerably reduced majority. South Australian state election, 17 September 1977Details of SA 1977 Election http://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=836 Australian Politics and Elections Database House of Assembly South Australian state election 1975 1979 818,341 764,077 93.37 -0.19 20,743 2.71 -1.14 yes Labor SA 383,831 51.64 +5.31 27 + 4 Liberal SA 306,356 41.21 +9.68 17 – 3 Democrats 25,855 3.48 * 1 – 1 Nationals SA National Country 11,855 1.59 -1.18 1 ± 0 Independent Liberal SA 10,793 1.45 * 1 + 1 Independent 2,914 0.39 -0.51 0 – 1 Other 1,730 0.23 * 0 ± 0 743,334 47 Labor SA 396,957 53.40 +4.20 Liberal SA 346,372 46.60 –4.20 |} Seats changing party representation This table lists changes in party representation at the 1977 election. Seat Incumbent member Party New member PartyBaudinNew seat Don Hopgood LaborFromeErnest Allen LiberalSeat abolished GougerKeith Russack* LiberalSeat abolished GoyderDavid Boundy* LiberalKeith Russack IndependentHartleyNew seat Des Corcoran LaborHeysenDavid Wotton* LiberalSeat abolished MillicentMurray Vandepeer LiberalSeat abolished MitchamRobin Millhouse* Liberal MovementRobin Millhouse DemocratsMorphettNew seat Terry Groom LaborNapierNew seat Terry Hemmings LaborNewlandNew seat John Klunder LaborPirieTed Connelly* LaborSeat abolished Tea Tree GullyMolly Byrne* LaborSeat abolished ToddNew seat Molly Byrne Labor Members listed in italics did not recontest this election. Keith Russack was the sitting Liberal member for the abolished district of Gouger. He was not pre-selected for any seat in the redistribution, so he quit the party and ran as an Independent candidate for the seat of Goyder. David Boundy was elected as a Liberal Movement member for Goyder, but joined the Liberal party in 1976. He was defeated by Keith Russack, who re-joined the Liberal party after being elected. Sitting Liberal MP for the abolished district of Heysen, David Wotton was preselected for the district of Murray over incumbent MP Ivon Wardle. Wardle contested the election as an Independent, but was defeated by Wotton. Robin Millhouse was elected in 1975 as Liberal Movement member for Mitcham. He joined the Democrats in 1977 and won a second term to his seat. Ted Connelly was elected as an Independent MP for the abolished district of Pirie in 1975, but later joined the Labor party. He contested the seat of Rocky River and lost. Sitting Labor MP for the abolished seat of Tea Tree Gully, Molly Byrne instead contested the new seat of Todd and won. Post-election pendulum Labor seats (27)Marginal MorphettTerry GroomALP0.3%Fairly safe MawsonLeslie DruryALP6.5% ToddMolly ByrneALP6.5% BrightonHugh HudsonALP8.1% Henley BeachGlen BroomhillALP9.3% NewlandJohn KlunderALP9.8%Safe UnleyGil LangleyALP10.1% NorwoodDon DunstanALP10.2% HartleyDes CorcoranALP10.4% MitchellRon PayneALP11.4% Ascot ParkGeoff VirgoALP12.5% GillesJack SlaterALP12.8% Albert ParkCharles HarrisonALP14.1% PlayfordTerry McRaeALP15.1% AdelaideJack WrightALP16.2% BaudinDon HopgoodALP16.7% FloreyCharles WellsALP17.0% PeakeDon SimmonsALP17.4% PriceGeorge WhittenALP19.4% SalisburyReg GrothALP19.5% NapierTerry HemmingsALP21.0%Ross SmithJohn BannonALP22.2%SemaphoreJack OlsonALP22.2%ElizabethPeter DuncanALP22.4%WhyallaMax BrownALP23.2%StuartGavin KeneallyALP23.9%SpenceRoy AbbottALP27.3% Liberal seats (17)MarginalColesJennifer AdamsonLIB1.4%Mount GambierHarold AllisonLIB1.4%TorrensMichael WilsonLIB2.5%HansonHeini BeckerLIB5.4%EyreGraham GunnLIB5.9%Fairly safeRocky RiverHoward VenningLIB8.2%GlenelgJohn MathwinLIB9.5%ChaffeyPeter ArnoldLIB9.6%MurrayDavid WottonLIB10.0%SafeFisherStan EvansLIB10.4%LightBruce EastickLIB10.7%BraggDavid TonkinLIB15.3%VictoriaAllan RoddaLIB15.3%KavelRoger GoldsworthyLIB18.7%AlexandraTed ChapmanLIB19.8%MalleeBill NankivellLIB23.8%DavenportDean BrownLIB24.2%Crossbench seats (3)MitchamRobin MillhouseDEM6.5% v LIBGoyderKeith RussackIND7.9% v LIBFlindersPeter BlackerNCP24.2% v LIB See also Results of the South Australian state election, 1977 (House of Assembly) Candidates of the 1977 South Australian state election Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1977-1979 Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1975-1979 References Historical lower house results Historical upper house results State and federal election results https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085343/http://elections.uwa.edu.au/ 18 January 2015 in Australia since 1890 Specific Category:Elections in South Australia South Australian state election State election, 1977 South Australian state election