Australian federal election, 1914

Australian federal election, 1914

5 September 1914 (1914-09-05)
All 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House All 36 seats in the Australian Senate
First party Second party   Leader Andrew Fisher Joseph Cook Party Labor Commonwealth Liberal Leader since October 1907 20 January 1913 Leader's seat Wide Bay Parramatta Last election 37 seats 38 seats Seats won 42 seats 32 seats Seat change 5 6 Popular vote 858,451 796,397 Percentage 50.89% 47.21% Swing 2.42 1.73
Prime Minister before election Joseph Cook Commonwealth Liberal Resulting Prime Minister Andrew Fisher Labor

Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 September 1914. The election had been called before the declaration of war in August 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election in a double dissolution. The incumbent Commonwealth Liberal Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Cook was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Andrew Fisher.

Until the defeat of the Howard Government in 2007, the Cook Government was the only non-Labor Government in Australian history that did not last longer than the Labor Government it had replaced.

Results

House of Reps 1914–17 (FPTP) — Turnout 73.53% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.32%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Australian Labor Party	858,451	50.89	+2.42	42	+5	(7 elected unopposed)
	Commonwealth Liberal Party	796,397	47.21	−1.73	32	-6	(6 elected unopposed)
	Independents	31,915	1.89	−0.70	1	+1
	Total	1,686,763			75
	Australian Labor Party	WIN			42	+5
	Commonwealth Liberal Party				32	−6

Independents: George Wise (Gippsland, Vic)

Popular Vote
Labor			50.89%
Commonwealth Liberal			47.21%
Independent			1.89%

Parliament Seats
Labor			56.00%
Commonwealth Liberal			42.67%
Independent			1.33%

Senate 1914–17 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 72.64% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
	Australian Labor Party	6,119,018	52.15	+3.43	31	31	+2
	Commonwealth Liberal Party	5,605,305	47.77	−1.61	5	5	−2
	Other	9,799	0.08	−0.97	0	0	0
	Total	11,734,122			36	36

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1914				Swing	Post-1914
	Party		Member	Margin		Margin	Member	Party
Corio, Vic		Commonwealth Liberal	William Kendell	1.4	3.0	1.2	Alfred Ozanne	Labor
Gippsland, Vic		Commonwealth Liberal	James Bennett	5.0	6.0	1.0	George Wise	Independent
Grampians, Vic		Commonwealth Liberal	Hans Irvine	3.9	4.2	0.3	Edward Jolley	Labor
Indi, Vic		Commonwealth Liberal	Cornelius Ahern	1.8	3.0	1.0	Parker Moloney	Labor
Riverina, NSW		Commonwealth Liberal	Franc Falkiner	1.0	3.1	2.1	John Chanter	Labor
Werriwa, NSW		Commonwealth Liberal	Alfred Conroy	5.9	5.9	0.0	John Lynch	Labor

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1914
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1914–1917
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1914–1917

References

• University of WA election results in Australia since 1890