Australian federal election, 1919
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All 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House 19 (of the 36) seats in the Australian Senate |
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Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Frank Tudor.
The government changed the lower house voting system from first-past-the-post to full-preference preferential voting after the 1918 Swan by-election saw a split in the vote between Nationalist and Country Party candidates, causing Labor with the largest primary vote to unexpectedly win the by-election. Full-preference preferential voting has remained in place since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats. The system would continuously benefit the Coalition until the 1990 election.[1]
The election was held in conjunction with two referendum questions, neither of which was carried.
Results
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
Nationalist Party of Australia | 860,519 | 45.07 | −9.15 | 37 | −16 | ||
Australian Labor Party | 811,244 | 42.49 | −1.45 | 25 | +3 | (2 elected unopposed) |
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Country Party (state-based) | 176,884 | 9.26 | * | 11 | +11 | ||
Independent Nationalist | 32,507 | 1.70 | * | 1 | +1 | ||
Independents | 28,077 | 1.47 | −0.37 | 1 | +1 | ||
Total | 1,909,231 | 75 | |||||
Nationalist Party of Australia | WIN | 54.10 | * | 37 | −16 | ||
Australian Labor Party | 45.90 | * | 26 | +4 |
Independents: Michael Considine (Barrier, NSW)
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats Won | Seats Held | Change | |
Nationalist Party of Australia | 861,990 | 46.40 | −8.97 | 18 | 35 | +11 | |
Australian Labor Party | 795,858 | 42.84 | −0.89 | 1 | 1 | −11 | |
Country Party | 163,293 | 8.79 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Independent | 28,077 | 1.51 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Other | 8,605 | 0.46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 1,857,823 | 19 | 36 |
Seats changing hands
Seat | Pre-1919 | Swing | Post-1919 | ||||||
Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
Adelaide, SA | Labor | Edwin Yates | 100.0 | 50.8 | 0.8 | Reginald Blundell | Nationalist | ||
Angas, SA | Nationalist | Paddy Glynn | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | Moses Gabb | Labor | ||
Ballaarat, Vic | Labor | Charles McGrath | 100.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | Edwin Kerby | Nationalist | ||
Barrier, NSW | Labor | Michael Considine | N/A | 53.8 | 3.8 | Michael Considine | Independent | ||
Brisbane, Qld | Labor | William Finlayson | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | Donald Charles Cameron | Nationalist | ||
Calare, NSW | Nationalist | Henry Pigott | 1.8 | 4.1 | 2.3 | Thomas Lavelle | Labor | ||
Cowper, NSW | Nationalist | John Thomson | 100.0 | 71.6 | 21.6 | Earle Page | Farmers & Settlers | ||
Grampians, Vic | Nationalist | Edmund Jowett | 4.8 | N/A | 8.2 | Edmund Jowett | Victorian Farmers | ||
Gwydir, NSW | Nationalist | William Webster | 6.5 | 9.7 | 3.2 | Lou Cunningham | Labor | ||
Henty, Vic | Nationalist | James Boyd | 20.6 | 23.2 | 2.9 | Frederick Francis | Independent | ||
Hindmarsh, SA | Nationalist | William Archibald | 5.8 | 7.2 | 1.4 | Norman Makin | Labor | ||
Hume, NSW | Nationalist | Franc Falkiner | 1.9 | 9.4 | 7.5 | Parker Moloney | Labor | ||
Indi, Vic | Nationalist | John Leckie | 6.2 | 6.4 | 12.6 | Robert Cook | Victorian Farmers | ||
Kalgoorlie, WA | Nationalist | Edward Heitmann | 1.3 | 3.4 | 2.1 | Hugh Mahon | Labor | ||
Swan, WA | Labor | Edwin Corboy | 1.5 | N/A | 8.0 | John Prowse | Farmers & Settlers | ||
Werriwa, NSW | Nationalist | John Lynch | 2.8 | 3.8 | 1.0 | Bert Lazzarini | Labor | ||
Wimmera, Vic | Nationalist | Sydney Sampson | 100.0 | 59.5 | 9.5 | Percy Stewart | Victorian Farmers |
- Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
Post-election pendulum
See also
- Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1919
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1919–1922
- Members of the Australian Senate, 1920–1923
Notes
References
- University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
- Two-party-preferred vote since 1919