1980 Australian federal election

Australian federal election, 1980

18 October 1980
All 125 seats in the Australian House of Representatives 63 seats were needed for a majority in the House 34 (of the 64) seats in the Australian Senate
First party Second party   Leader Malcolm Fraser Bill Hayden Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Leader since 21 March 1975 22 December 1977 Leader's seat Wannon Oxley Last election 86 seats 38 seats Seats won 74 seats 51 seats Seat change 12 13 Percentage 50.40% 49.60% Swing 4.20 4.20
Prime Minister before election Malcolm Fraser Liberal/National coalition Elected Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser Liberal/National coalition

Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug Anthony was elected to a third term in government, defeating the Australian Labor Party led by Bill Hayden.

Results

House of Reps (IRV) — 1980–83—Turnout 94.35% (CV) — Informal 2.45%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Australian Labor Party	3,749,565	45.15	+5.50	51	+13
	Liberal Party of Australia	3,108,512	37.43	−0.66	54	−13
	National Country Party	745,037	8.97	−1.04	20	+1
	Australian Democrats	546,032	6.57	−2.81	0	0
	Other	156,411	1.88	−0.98	0	0
	Total	8,305,557			125	+1
	Liberal/National coalition	WIN	50.40	−4.20	74	−12
	Australian Labor Party		49.60	+4.20	51	+13

Popular Vote
Labor			45.15%
Liberal			37.43%
National			8.97%
Democrats			6.57%
Other			1.88%

Two Party Preferred Vote
Coalition			50.40%
Labor			49.60%

Parliament Seats
Coalition			59.20%
Labor			40.80%

Senate (STV) — 1980–83—Turnout 94.35% (CV) — Informal 9.65%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
	Australian Labor Party	3,250,187	42.25	+5.49	15	27	0
	Liberal/National (Joint Ticket)	1,971,528	25.63	−8.63	4
	Liberal Party of Australia	1,011,289	13.15	+2.55	9	27	0
	Australian Democrats	711,805	9.25	−1.88	3	5	+3
	National Country Party	341,978	4.45	+3.95	1	3	−3
	Country Liberal Party	19,129	0.25	+0.04	1	1	0
	Independents	86,770	1.13	−0.60	1	1	0
	Other	299,678	3.90	−0.92	0	0	0
	Total	7,692,364			34	64

Independent: Brian Harradine

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1980				Swing	Post-1980
	Party		Member	Margin		Margin	Member	Party
Ballarat, Vic		Liberal	Jim Short	7.5	8.2	0.7	John Mildren	Labor
Brisbane, Qld		Liberal	Peter Johnson	3.2	5.0	1.8	Manfred Cross	Labor
Canberra, ACT		Liberal	John Haslem	1.0	6.7	5.7	Ros Kelly	Labor
Henty, Vic		Liberal	Ken Aldred	2.7	5.5	2.8	Joan Child	Labor
Holt, Vic		Liberal	William Yates	1.8	8.7	6.9	Michael Duffy	Labor
Hotham, Vic		Liberal	Roger Johnston	1.7	5.7	4.0	Lewis Kent	Labor
Isaacs, Vic		Liberal	William Burns	7.3	9.1	1.8	David Charles	Labor
Kalgoorlie, WA		Liberal	Mick Cotter	8.5	8.1	0.6	Graeme Campbell	Labor
La Trobe, Vic		Liberal	Marshall Baillieu	0.8	3.1	2.3	Peter Milton	Labor
Lilley, Qld		Liberal	Kevin Cairns	6.0	6.8	0.8	Elaine Darling	Labor
Macquarie, NSW		Liberal	Reg Gillard	1.7	4.5	2.8	Ross Free	Labor
McMillan, Vic		Liberal	Barry Simon	4.8	6.2	1.4	Barry Cunningham	Labor
Riverina, NSW		Labor	John FitzPatrick	0.1	0.6	0.5	Noel Hicks	National Country
St George, NSW		Liberal	Maurice Neil	2.0	8.1	6.1	Bill Morrison	Labor
Swan, WA		Liberal	John Martyr	0.5	8.1	7.6	Kim Beazley	Labor

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

Issues and significance

The Gallagher Index result: 8.61

The Fraser Government had lost a degree of popularity within the electorate by 1980. The economy had been performing poorly since the 1973 oil shock. However, Hayden was not seen as having great electoral prospects. Perhaps as evidence of this, then ACTU President Bob Hawke (elected to Parliament in the election as the Member for Wills) and then Premier of New South Wales Neville Wran featured heavily in the campaign, almost as heavily as Hayden.

In the election, Labor finished only 0.8 percent behind the Coalition on the two-party vote—a four-percent swing from 1977. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up 12 seats short of a majority, giving the Coalition a third term in government. Hayden, however, did manage to regain much of what Labor had lost in the previous two elections. Notably, he managed to more than halve Fraser's majority, from 48 seats at dissolution to 21.

In the subsequent term, the government delivered budgets significantly in deficit, and Fraser was challenged for the Liberal leadership by Andrew Peacock. The Australian Democrats made further gains, winning the balance of power in the Senate. From July 1981 (when those senators elected at the 1980 election took up their positions) no Federal Government in Australia had a Senate majority until the Howard Government won such a majority in 2004.

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1980
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1980–1983
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1981–1983

References

• AustralianPolitics.com election details
• University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
• AEC 2PP vote
• Prior to 1984 the AEC did not undertake a full distribution of preferences for statistical purposes. The stored ballot papers for the 1983 election were put through this process prior to their destruction. Therefore, the figures from 1983 onwards show the actual result based on full distribution of preferences.