South Australian state election, 1989
Encyclopedia
State elections were held in Australia
on November 25, 1989. 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 John Bannon
defeated the Liberal Party of Australia
led by Leader of the Opposition
John Olsen
.
Independents: Martyn Evans
, Norm Peterson
(both Independent Labor).
were held in South Australia
in 1989, which saw John Bannon
and the Australian Labor Party
win a third successive term. The John Olsen
-led Liberal Party of Australia
failed to win office despite gaining 51.9 percent of the two party preferred vote. Bannon's government had initially presided over an economic boom, but at the time of the election the economy had slowed due to the late 1980s recession
. The Liberals' campaign blamed Bannon for the poor economic conditions.
The Liberals gained several seats, but Labor held power with of the support of the two "independent Labor" members.
Before the election, the Liberal Party made allegations of a Labor 'gerrymander', due to the perceived unfair state of the electoral boundaries. While Labor had not instituted any type of imbalanced electoral legislation, it had nonetheless neglected to issue a new redistribution. The electoral districts, with the correct 10 percent tolerances at the time of the 1983 redistribution, had not been updated, and due to population shifts, had changed beyond the tolerance allowed. Electoral legislation proposed by the Liberals prior to the election was put to South Australians in a 1991 referendum. It made redistributions mandatory after each election, and included a 'fairness clause' in an attempt for electoral districts to be drawn in such a manner than a party that wins over 50.1 percent of the two-party-preferred vote will gain office.
After the election, Olsen was replaced as Liberal leader by Dale Baker
.
Legislative Council
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 November 25, 1989. 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 John Bannon
John Bannon
John Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election...
defeated 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...
John Olsen
John Olsen
John Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
.
| 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... |
381,834 | 44.21 | +2.05 | 22 | +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... |
346,268 | 40.09 | -8.10 | 22 | -5 | |
| 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... |
88,720 | 10.27 | +6.02 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent Labor 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... |
13,094 | 1.52 | -0.77 | 2 | 0 | |
| Nationals SA | 10,217 | 1.18 | -0.54 | 1 | 0 | |
| Independents 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... |
10,633 | 1.23 | +0.57 | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 12,985 | 1.50 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 863,751 | 47 | ||||
| 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... |
WIN | 48.10 | -5.10 | 24 | -5 | |
| 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... |
51.90 | +5.10 | 23 | +5 |
Independents: Martyn Evans
Martyn Evans
Martyn John Evans , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1994 to October 2004, representing the Division of Bonython, South Australia. He was educated at The University of Adelaide...
, 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:*...
(both Independent Labor).
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 1989, which saw John Bannon
John Bannon
John Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election...
and the 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...
win a third successive term. The John Olsen
John Olsen
John Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
-led 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...
failed to win office despite gaining 51.9 percent of the two party preferred vote. Bannon's government had initially presided over an economic boom, but at the time of the election the economy had slowed due to the late 1980s recession
Late 1980s recession
The recession of the early 1990s describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Causes:...
. The Liberals' campaign blamed Bannon for the poor economic conditions.
The Liberals gained several seats, but Labor held power with of the support of the two "independent Labor" members.
Before the election, the Liberal Party made allegations of a Labor 'gerrymander', due to the perceived unfair state of the electoral boundaries. While Labor had not instituted any type of imbalanced electoral legislation, it had nonetheless neglected to issue a new redistribution. The electoral districts, with the correct 10 percent tolerances at the time of the 1983 redistribution, had not been updated, and due to population shifts, had changed beyond the tolerance allowed. Electoral legislation proposed by the Liberals prior to the election was put to South Australians in a 1991 referendum. It made redistributions mandatory after each election, and included a 'fairness clause' in an attempt for electoral districts to be drawn in such a manner than a party that wins over 50.1 percent of the two-party-preferred vote will gain office.
After the election, Olsen was replaced as Liberal leader by Dale Baker
Dale Baker
Dale Spehr Baker is a former Australian politician, and was leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1992...
.
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
| 1989 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... GV Group voting ticket Group voting tickets are a way to simplify preferential voting, usually in an election held under the single transferable vote or the alternative vote system.... ) |
|||
| 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... |
41.1% | 5 | |
| 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% | 5 | |
| 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... |
10.7% | 1 | |
| Nationals SA | 0.8% | ||
| 1989-1993 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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... |
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... |
2 | ||
See also
- Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1989-1993Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1989-1993This is a list of members of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1989 to 1993, as elected at the 1989 state election:This is a list of members of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1989 to 1993, as elected at the 1989 state election:...
- Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1989-1993Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1989-1993This is a list of members of the South Australian Legislative Council between 1989 and 1993. As half of the Legislative Council's terms expired at each state election, half of these members were elected at the 1985 state election with terms expiring in 1993, while the other half were elected at the...