1966 Australian federal election

none April 2024 September 2021 February 2023 1966 Australian federal election Australia parliamentary no 1963 Australian federal election 1963 1969 Australian federal election 1969 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1963–1966 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1966–1969 6,193,881 6.33% 5,892,327 (95.13%)(0.60 pp) All 124 seats of the Australian House of Representatives63 seats were needed for a majority 26 November 1966 File:Harold Holt 1965 01.jpg 190x190px Harold Holt 20 January 1966 Liberal Party of Australia LiberalCountry Higgins (Vic.) 72 seats 82 10 2,853,890 49.98% 3.94 56.90% 4.30 File:Arthur Calwell 1966.jpg Arthur Calwell 7 March 1960 Australian Labor Party Melbourne (Vic.) 50 seats 41 9 2,282,834 39.98% 5.49 43.10% 4.30 TPP TPP swing 1966 Australian federal election.svg 350px Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory. Prime Minister Harold Holt Liberal/Country coalition Subsequent Prime Minister Harold Holt Liberal/Country coalition Primary A federal election was held in Australia on 26 November 1966. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. There was no Senate election until the 1967 Australian Senate election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Harold Holt, won an increased majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Arthur Calwell, in a landslide.1996 Holt's 1966 landslide election victory https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/holts-1966-landslide-election-victory October 26, 2024 www.nfsa.gov.au The Liberal–Country coalition two-party-preferred vote was 56.90%, its highest in its history. This was the first and only time that a Federal Government won an eighth consecutive term in office. right|thumb|250px|Government (82) Coalition Liberal darkgray Liberal (61) National darkgray Country (21) Opposition (41) Labor darkgray Labor (41) Crossbench (1) Independent darkgray Independent (1)   Issues Sir Robert Menzies had retired from politics in January; his successor, former treasurer Harold Holt, was stylish, debonair and popular with the electorate, contrasting sharply with the much rougher figure of Opposition Leader Arthur Calwell, who had already lost two elections. Calwell also came across poorly on television compared to Holt, looking and sounding older than his 70 years. It did not help that he also held to the beliefs that had been central to the previous Labor Government of 1941–1949, many of which were seen as being long outdated in 1966; for example, he still defended the White Australia policy and nationalisation, and also strongly supported socialism. These factors, along with a strong economy and initial enthusiasm for Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, virtually guaranteed the Coalition another term. The Coalition campaigned with the slogan "Keep Australia secure and prosperous – play it safe".Young Sally 2006 Australian election slogans, 1949-2004 https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/34650 Australian Journal of Communication 33 1 2022-08-09 The election was a landslide win for the Coalition, which won twice as many seats as Labor. The Liberals arrived two seats short of a majority in their own right, the closest that the major non-Labor party had come to governing in its own right since adopting the Liberal banner. Holt's victory was also larger than any of Menzies' eight victories, and resulted in the largest majority government in Australian history at the time. It was later seen as the electoral high point of both Holt's prime ministership and the 23 years of continuous Coalition rule. Calwell retired to the backbench a month after the crushing election loss, and was succeeded by his deputy, Gough Whitlam. Results Results of the 1966 Australian federal election (House of Representatives) + House of Reps (IRV) — 1966–69—Turnout 95.13% (CV) — Informal 3.10%alt=|center|300x300px Party First preference votes % Swing Seats Change   Liberal–Country coalition 2,853,890 49.98 +3.94 82 +10   Liberal100px 2,291,964 40.14 +3.05 61 +9   Country 561,926 9.84 +0.90 21 +1   Labor 2,282,834 39.98 –5.49 41 –9   Democratic Labor 417,411 7.31 –0.13 0 0   Liberal Reform 49,610 0.87 +0.87 0 0   Communist 23,056 0.40 –0.19 0 0   Independents 82,948 1.45 +0.98 1 +1   Total 5,709,749     124 +2 Two-party-preferred (estimated)  Liberal–Country coalition Win 56.90 +4.30 82 +10  Labor 43.10 −4.30 41 −9 Independents: Sam Benson First preference vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 40.14 Labor Australian Labor Party 39.98 Country National Party of Australia 9.84 DLP #008080 7.31 Independents Independent (politician) 1.45 Other #777777 1.27 Two-party-preferred vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Coalition Coalition (Australia) 56.90 Labor Australian Labor Party 43.10 Parliament seats var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Coalition Coalition (Australia) 66.13 Labor Australian Labor Party 33.06 Independents Independent (politician) 0.81 Seats changing hands Seat Pre-1966 Swing Post-1966 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Adelaide, SA  Labor Joe Sexton 7.2 10.0 2.8 Andrew Jones Liberal  Barton, NSW  Labor Len Reynolds 0.7 2.9 2.2 Bill Arthur Liberal  Batman, Vic  Labor Sam Benson N/A 8.7 7.8 Sam Benson Independent  Eden-Monaro, NSW  Labor Allan Fraser 2.7 3.4 0.7 Dugald Munro Liberal  Grey, SA  Labor Jack Mortimer 4.8 7.8 3.0 Don Jessop Liberal  Griffith, Qld  Labor Wilfred Coutts 5.8 6.9 1.1 Don Cameron Liberal  Herbert, Qld  Labor Ted Harding 3.2 4.3 1.1 Robert Bonnett Liberal  Hughes, NSW  Labor Les Johnson 2.7 4.7 2.0 Don Dobie Liberal  Kennedy, Qld  Labor Bill Riordan 13.5 15.0 1.5 Bob Katter Country  Kingston, SA  Labor Pat Galvin 4.5 12.7 8.2 Kay Brownbill Liberal  Lalor, Vic  Labor Reg Pollard 7.0 7.7 0.7 Mervyn Lee Liberal  Northern Territory, NT  Labor Jock Nelson 100.0 51.7 1.7 Sam Calder Country  Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election. See also 1964 Australian Senate election 1967 Australian Senate election Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1966 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1966–1969 Notes References 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. Category:Federal elections in Australia Category:1966 elections in Australia Category:November 1966 in Australia