South Australian state election, 1979
Encyclopedia
State elections were held in Australia
on 15 September 1979. 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 Des Corcoran
was defeated by the Liberal Party of Australia
led by Leader of the Opposition
David Tonkin
.
A Norwood by-election
was held due to the seat's election result being overturned by a court decision, which saw the seat lost from the Liberals to Labor, which meant the Liberals held 24 seats with Labor on 20 seats.
Independent: Norm Peterson
were held in South Australia
in 1979, which saw David Tonkin
and the Liberal party defeat the incumbent Australian Labor Party
led by Des Corcoran
, after being premier for only seven months after Don Dunstan
s sudden resignation due to ill health.
Spurred by positive opinion polls and seeking to escape the shadow of Dunstan, Corcoran called a snap election (without pre-informing the party apparatus) in order to gain a mandate of his own. The election campaign was plagued by problems, The Advertiser was biased toward the Liberal campaign, and the Labor Party suffered a large swing against it. Corcoran was bitter in defeat, believing sections of the ALP had undermined him during the campaign. Corcoran resigned as leader in 1979 and retired from politics in 1982.
Tonkin quickly gained a reputation as a progressive member of the LCL and was an early supporter of the Liberal Movement faction created by former premier Steele Hall
, although Tonkin remained with the LCL when the Liberal Movement split from it.
Tonkin first gained statewide prominence in 1974 when he successfully introduced a private member's bill to outlaw sex discrimination, the first such law in Australia
. This prominence led to a successful 1975 challenge to LCL parliamentary leader Bruce Eastick
for the party leadership.
As leader, Tonkin worked toward healing the internal party wounds caused from the split of the Liberal Movement by coaxing the Liberal Movement back into the Liberal fold, which allowed the Liberal Party
to regain government at the 1979 election against a seemingly disunited Australian Labor Party
.
Legislative Council
The two Liberal Movement members elected in 1975 had rejoined the Liberal Party.
In 1982, Labor MLC Norm Foster resigned from the Labor Party (to vote in favour of the Olympic Dam development) and sat the remainder of his term (until the 1982 election
) as an independent.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 15 September 1979. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
were up for election. The incumbent 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 Premier
Premiers of South Australia
Before the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from 1893 to 1905 with Labor support, with the conservatives mostly in opposition. Labor took government with the support of...
of South Australia Des Corcoran
Des Corcoran
James Desmond "Des" Corcoran AO was an Australian politician. He was the 37th Premier of South Australia, serving between 15 February 1979 and 18 September 1979....
was defeated by the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
led by Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (South Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in South Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties, known as the Opposition, in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the House of Assembly...
David Tonkin
David Tonkin
Dr David Oliver Tonkin AO was the 38th Premier of South Australia, serving from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1970 election, serving until 1983. He became the leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of...
.
A Norwood by-election
Norwood state by-election, 1980
The Norwood state by-election, 1980 was a by-election held on 16 February 1980 for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Norwood. This was triggered when the 1979 state election result was overturned by a court decision...
was held due to the seat's election result being overturned by a court decision, which saw the seat lost from the Liberals to Labor, which meant the Liberals held 24 seats with Labor on 20 seats.
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
352,343 | 47.94 | +6.73 | 25 | +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... |
300,277 | 40.86 | -10.78 | 19 | -8 | |
| Australian Democrats Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader... |
60,979 | 8.30 | +4.82 | 1 | 0 | |
| Nationals SA | 14,013 | 1.91 | +0.31 | 1 | 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... |
7,364 | 1.00 | +0.61 | 1 | +1 | |
| Other | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 734,976 | 47 | ||||
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
WIN | 55.00 | +8.40 | 27 | +7 | |
| 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... |
45.00 | -8.40 | 20 | -7 |
Independent: Norm Peterson
Norm Peterson (Australian politician)
Norm Peterson is a former Australian Labor Party turned independent Australian politician who held the seat of Semaphore in the South Australian House of Assembly from the 1979 to the 1993 elections, before failing in a bid to be elected to the Legislative Council in 1993.-External links:*...
Background
Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of South AustraliaParliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....
were held in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1979, which saw David Tonkin
David Tonkin
Dr David Oliver Tonkin AO was the 38th Premier of South Australia, serving from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1970 election, serving until 1983. He became the leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of...
and the Liberal party defeat the incumbent 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 Des Corcoran
Des Corcoran
James Desmond "Des" Corcoran AO was an Australian politician. He was the 37th Premier of South Australia, serving between 15 February 1979 and 18 September 1979....
, after being premier for only seven months after Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
s sudden resignation due to ill health.
Spurred by positive opinion polls and seeking to escape the shadow of Dunstan, Corcoran called a snap election (without pre-informing the party apparatus) in order to gain a mandate of his own. The election campaign was plagued by problems, The Advertiser was biased toward the Liberal campaign, and the Labor Party suffered a large swing against it. Corcoran was bitter in defeat, believing sections of the ALP had undermined him during the campaign. Corcoran resigned as leader in 1979 and retired from politics in 1982.
Tonkin quickly gained a reputation as a progressive member of the LCL and was an early supporter of the Liberal Movement faction created by former premier Steele Hall
Steele Hall
Raymond Steele Hall was the 36th Premier of South Australia 1968-70, a senator for South Australia 1974-77, and federal member for the Division of Boothby 1981-96.-Biography:...
, although Tonkin remained with the LCL when the Liberal Movement split from it.
Tonkin first gained statewide prominence in 1974 when he successfully introduced a private member's bill to outlaw sex discrimination, the first such law in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. This prominence led to a successful 1975 challenge to LCL parliamentary leader Bruce Eastick
Bruce Eastick
Bruce Charles Eastick is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal and Country League and Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1970 to 1993, representing the electorate of Light....
for the party leadership.
As leader, Tonkin worked toward healing the internal party wounds caused from the split of the Liberal Movement by coaxing the Liberal Movement back into the Liberal fold, which allowed the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
to regain government at the 1979 election against a seemingly disunited 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...
.
Legislative CouncilSouth Australian Legislative CouncilThe Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
Results
The two Liberal Movement members elected in 1975 had rejoined the Liberal Party.In 1982, Labor MLC Norm Foster resigned from the Labor Party (to vote in favour of the Olympic Dam development) and sat the remainder of his term (until the 1982 election
South Australian state election, 1982
State elections were held in Australia on November 6, 1982. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Premier of South Australia David Tonkin was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition...
) as an independent.
| 1979 Legislative Council South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly... Result (STV Single transferable vote The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or... ) |
|||
| Party | Seats | ||
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
50.6% | 6 | |
| 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... |
39.7% | 4 | |
| Australian Democrats Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader... |
6.5% | 1 | |
| Nationals SA | 1.1% | ||
| 1979-1982 Legislative Council South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly... |
|||
| Party | Seats | ||
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
11 | ||
| 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... |
10 | ||
| Australian Democrats Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader... |
1 | ||
See also
- Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1979-1982Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1979-1982This is a list of members of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982, as elected at the 1979 state election:...
- Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1979-1982Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1979-1982This is a list of members of the South Australian Legislative Council between 1979 and 1982. As half of the Legislative Council's terms expired at each state election, half of these members were elected at the 1975 state election with terms expiring in 1982, while the other half were elected at the...