Australian federal election, 1940 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party

United Australia Party

The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...

led by Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

Robert Menzies

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....

with coalition

Coalition (Australia)

The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...

partner the Country Party led by Archie Cameron

Archie Cameron

Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:...

defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

led by John Curtin

John Curtin

John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...

, after the Coalition formed a minority government

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

with the support of two independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

MPs. In October 1941 the two independents switched their support to Labor, bringing Curtin to power.

House of Reps (IRV
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...

) — 1940–43—Turnout 94.82% (CV
Compulsory voting
Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...

) — Informal 2.56%
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1,556,941	40.16	−3.02	32	+3	^{(1 elected} _unopposed)
United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1,171,788	30.22	−3.48	23	-5
Country Party	531,397	13.71	−1.84	13	-3
Non-Communist Labor Party	202,721	5.23	*	4	+4
State Labor Party State Labor Party The State Labor Party , was an Australian political party which operated exclusively in the state of New South Wales in the early 1940s. The party was initially a far-left faction of the Australian Labor Party, strongly opposed to the right-wing faction of the party dominated by Jack Lang, former...	101,191	2.61	*	0	0
Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... s	312,948	8.07	+3.89	2	+1
Total	3,876,986			74
UAP/Country coalition Coalition (Australia) The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...		49.70	*	36	−8
Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...		50.30	*	32	+3

Independents: Arthur Coles

Arthur Coles

Sir Arthur William Coles was a prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist.With his brothers Coles founded the Coles Variety Stores in the 1920s, which were to become one of the two largest supermarket chains in Australia now known as Coles Group...

(Henty

Division of Henty

The Division of Henty was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1913 and abolished in 1990. It was named for the Henty family of Portland, the first European settlers in Victoria. It was located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various times...

, Vic), Alexander Wilson

Alexander Wilson (Australian politician)

Alexander Wilson was an Australian wheat farmer and politician.-Biography:Born in County Down, Ireland, he was educated at Belfast and migrated to Australia in 1908, becoming a farmer at Ultima, Victoria. He was prominent as a leader of Victorian wheatgrowers...

(Wimmera

Division of Wimmera

The Division of Wimmera was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was named after the Wimmera region in which it was located. It originally encompassed the towns of Mildura, Swan Hill and Warracknabeal, but by the time it was abolished in 1977, it had drifted south and grown...

, Vic)

Note that the Victorian Country Party at this election was split into two factions, the United Country Party

United Country Party (Australia)

The United Country Party was the name given to the "loyalist" faction of the Victorian branch of the Australian Country Party following a split in 1937 resulting from the expulsion of federal MP John McEwen for supporting the federal Coalition government...

, which was loyal to the state party, and the Liberal Country Party

Liberal Country Party

The Liberal Country Party was a splinter group of the Victorian branch of the Australian Country Party, formed after federal MP John McEwen was expelled from the state branch, the United Country Party, for accepting a ministry in the Lyons-Page Coalition government in 1937...

, loyal to the federal party and formed following John McEwen

John McEwen

Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...

's expulsion from the UCP. The UCP elected one member and the LCP two.

Senate (P
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...

BV
Preferential block voting
Preferential block voting is a majoritarian voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember constituency. Unlike the single transferable vote, preferential block voting is not a method for obtaining proportional representation, and instead produces similar results to...

) — 1940–43—Turnout 94.75% (CV
Compulsory voting
Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...

) — Informal 9.56%
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held
UAP/Country (Joint Ticket)	1,587,541	43.70	+15.02	10
Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1,363,072	37.52	−10.96	3	17
Non-Communist Labor Party	274,861	7.57	*	0	0
United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	243,597	6.71	−9.42	6	15
Country Party	*	*	−1.90	0	4
Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... s	71,760	1.98	−1.41	0	0
Other	91,986	2.53		0	0
Total	4,097,326			19	36

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1940				Swing	Post-1940
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Barton, NSW Division of Barton The Division of Barton is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia...		United Australia	Albert Lane Albert Lane Albert Frederick Lane , nicknamed Spinney,was an English amateur cricketer who played more than 50 first-class games, for both Warwickshire and Worcestershire, between 1914 and 1932, as well as having earlier appeared in the Minor Counties Championship for Staffordshire.Lane made his first-class...	1.8	13.9	12.1	H.V. Evatt	Labor
Calare, NSW Division of Calare The Division of Calare is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was first contested at the 1906 election and is named for the local Aboriginal name for the Lachlan River, which runs through the western part of the division...		Country	Harold Thorby Harold Thorby Harold Victor Campbell Thorby was an Australian politician and government minister.-Early life:Thorby was born in the Sydney suburb of Annandale and was educated at Geurie Public School and Sydney Grammar School and worked on his grandparents' farm at Geurie. He studied woolclassing, veterinary...	2.2	5.6	3.4	John Breen John Breen (Australian politician) John Patrick Breen was an Australian politician. Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, he attended Catholic schools and then the University of Sydney. He became a publican and organiser of the Australian Workers' Union before being elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 1940...	Labor
Cook, NSW Division of Cook (1906-55) The Division of Cook was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1906 and abolished in 1955. The Division was named for James Cook, who discovered the east coast of Australia in 1770. It was located in the inner suburbs of Sydney, taking in the suburbs of...		Labor	Thomas Sheehan Thomas Sheehan Thomas Sheehan was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he attended Catholic schools before becoming an engine-driver and official of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen. He was involved in local politics as a member of Newtown City Council...	N/A	33.9	13.6	Thomas Sheehan Thomas Sheehan Thomas Sheehan was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he attended Catholic schools before becoming an engine-driver and official of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen. He was involved in local politics as a member of Newtown City Council...	Labor (N-C)
Dalley, NSW Division of Dalley The Division of Dalley was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It was abolished in 1969. It was named for the colonial politician William Dalley. It was located in the...		Labor	Sol Rosevear	N/A	14.9	7.2	Sol Rosevear	Labor (N-C)
Denison, Tas Division of Denison The Division of Denison is anAustralian Electoral Division in Tasmania.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir William Denison, who was Lt-Governor of Van Diemens Land 1847-55...		Labor	Gerald Mahoney Gerald Mahoney Gerald William Mahoney was an Australian politician. Born in Tasmania, he was educated in that state at Latrobe, becoming a painter and an official of the Painters' Union. In 1931 he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Labor member for Denison...	3.9	5.0	1.1	Arthur Beck Arthur Beck Arthur James Beck was an Australian politician. Born in Launceston, Tasmania, he was educated at Launceston Grammar School before becoming a boot importer. He sat on Hobart City Council before undertaking military service 1914-1918...	United Australia
Henty, Vic Division of Henty The Division of Henty was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1913 and abolished in 1990. It was named for the Henty family of Portland, the first European settlers in Victoria. It was located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various times...		United Australia	Henry Gullett Henry Gullett Sir Henry Somer Gullett KCMG was an Australian Cabinet Minister and member of the House of RepresentativesGullett was born at Toolamba West, Victoria and educated at state schools, but left school at twelve on the death of his father. He began writing for newspapers...	N/A	3.2	13.5	Arthur Coles Arthur Coles Sir Arthur William Coles was a prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist.With his brothers Coles founded the Coles Variety Stores in the 1920s, which were to become one of the two largest supermarket chains in Australia now known as Coles Group...	Independent
Lang, NSW Division of Lang The Division of Lang was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, and was named after Rev. John Dunmore Lang, a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and advocate of Australian independence...		Labor	Daniel Mulcahy Daniel Mulcahy Daniel Mulcahy was an Australian politician. Born in Milltown, Ireland, he was educated at Irish Catholic schools and migrated to Australia as a youth. He became a publican in Sydney and served on both Waterloo Council and Sydney City Council...	N/A	13.4	16.0	Daniel Mulcahy Daniel Mulcahy Daniel Mulcahy was an Australian politician. Born in Milltown, Ireland, he was educated at Irish Catholic schools and migrated to Australia as a youth. He became a publican in Sydney and served on both Waterloo Council and Sydney City Council...	Labor (N-C)
Macquarie, NSW Division of Macquarie The Division of Macquarie is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lachlan Macquarie, who was Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821...		United Australia	John Lawson John Lawson (Australian politician) John Norman Lawson was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney to James Lawson and Eleanor, née Day, he was educated at Sydney Boys' High School and the University of Sydney. He worked as a veterinarian in New Zealand from 1920 until 1926, when he bought Kidgery, a sheep station near Nyngan, New...	2.1	10.2	8.1	Ben Chifley Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...	Labor
Maranoa, Qld Division of Maranoa The Division of Maranoa is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Maranoa River, which runs through the division...		Country	James Hunter James Hunter (Australian politician) James Aitchison Johnston Hunter was an Australian politician.Hunter was born at Springburn, near Glasgow, Scotland and migrated with his family to Brisbane in 1884 educated there. He joined the state public service and became an accountant in the Queensland Railways...	4.3	5.9	1.6	Frank Baker Francis Patrick Baker Francis Patrick Baker was an Australian politician. Educated in private schools in Queensland, Baker was a state school teacher and Inspector for Schools for 30 years before running for parliament in 1940...	Labor
Riverina, NSW Division of Riverina The Division of Riverina is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in south-west rural New South Wales, generally following the Murrumbidgee River valley. It includes the cities of Wagga Wagga and Griffith as well as the towns of Junee, West Wyalong, Tumut,...		Country	Horace Nock Horace Nock Horace Keyworth Nock was an Australian politician, farmer and company director. He was born at Salisbury, South Australia to Joseph Nock and his second wife Eliza, née Keyworth....	7.2	8.8	1.6	Joseph Langtry Joseph Langtry (Australian politician) Joseph Ignatius Langtry was an Australian politician. Born in Kyabram, Victoria, he received a primary education before becoming a teamster. He moved to Barellan in New South Wales and became a wheatfarmer and publican...	Labor
Wakefield, SA Division of Wakefield The Division of Wakefield is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of South Australia. It is located north of Adelaide, incorporating the outer northern suburbs of Salisbury and Elizabeth, and extending north as far as Clare. It covers the east coast of the Gulf St Vincent north of...		Labor	Sydney McHugh Sydney McHugh Sydney McHugh was an Australian politician. Born in Quorn, South Australia, he was educated at state schools before becoming a farmer and grazier. He served in the military from 1914 to 1918, during World War I. In 1924, he was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as the Labor member...	6.7	10.0	3.4	Jack Duncan-Hughes	United Australia
Wannon, Vic Division of Wannon The Division of Wannon is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the south-west of the state, and encompasses most of the Western Region of the state. It adjoins the South Australian border in the west, and the Bass Strait coast in the south. The Division...		United Australia	Thomas Scholfield Thomas Scholfield Thomas Hallett Scholfield, MC was an Australian politician. Born in Talangatuk East, Victoria, he attended state schools before becoming a farmer. He served in the military 1915-19. In 1931, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the United Australia Party member for Wannon....	1.3	5.0	3.7	Donald McLeod	Labor
Warringah, NSW Division of Warringah The Division of Warringah is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, and covers most of the land between Middle Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. It extends from Port Jackson in the south to the suburb of Dee Why in the...		Independent	Percy Spender Percy Spender Sir Percy Claude Spender, KCVO, KBE, QC, , was an Australian politician. diplomat and jurist.Spender was born in Sydney and educated at the prestigious Fort Street High School and later the University of Sydney. He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915...	1.9	23.6	25.5	Percy Spender Percy Spender Sir Percy Claude Spender, KCVO, KBE, QC, , was an Australian politician. diplomat and jurist.Spender was born in Sydney and educated at the prestigious Fort Street High School and later the University of Sydney. He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915...	United Australia
Watson, NSW Division of Watson The Division of Watson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, and includes the suburbs of Belfield, Belmore, Burwood Heights, Campsie, Chullora, Clemton Park, Enfield, Greenacre, Lakemba, Mount Lewis, Roselands,...		United Australia	John Jennings John Jennings (Australian politician) John Thomas Jennings was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he attended state schools before becoming a retailer of dental supplies. He underwent military service 1899-1901. In 1931, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the United Australia Party member for South...	3.8	5.8	2.0	Max Falstein	Labor
West Sydney, NSW Division of West Sydney The Division of West Sydney was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, and at various times included the suburbs of Pyrmont, Darling Harbour, Surry Hills, Balmain and Glebe....		Labor	Jack Beasley Jack Beasley John Albert "Jack" Beasley was an Australian politician.-Early life:Beasley was born in Werribee, Victoria, but moved to Sydney with his family as a child. He had a primary education in Catholic schools then became an apprentice electrician...	100.0	64.3	14.3	Jack Beasley Jack Beasley John Albert "Jack" Beasley was an Australian politician.-Early life:Beasley was born in Werribee, Victoria, but moved to Sydney with his family as a child. He had a primary education in Catholic schools then became an apprentice electrician...	Labor (N-C)
Wilmot, Tas Division of Wilmot The Division of Wilmot was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Tasmania. It was located in central Tasmania, and was named after Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, the sixth Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania...		Labor	Lancelot Spurr Lancelot Spurr Lancelot Thomas Spurr was an Australian politician. Born in Deloraine, Tasmania, he was educated at Catholic schools before becoming a draper and travelling salesman...	0.2	5.2	5.0	Allan Guy Allan Guy James Allan Guy, CBE was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Federal House of Representatives, before leaving to represent the United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party of Australia in both the House of...	United Australia

Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Seats changing hands

See also