Australian federal election, 1980

Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

, were up for election. The incumbent 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 Malcolm Fraser

Malcolm Fraser

John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...

 with coalition

Coalition (Australia)

The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...

 partner the National Country Party led by Doug Anthony

Doug Anthony

John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:...

 defeated the opposition 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 Bill Hayden

Bill Hayden

William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...

.

Results

House of Reps (IRV

Instant-runoff voting

Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...

) — 1980–83—Turnout 94.35% (CV

Compulsory voting

Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...

) — Informal 2.45%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	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...	3,749,565	45.15	+5.50	51	+13
	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...	3,108,512	37.43	−0.66	54	−13
	National Country Party	745,037	8.97	−1.04	20	+1
	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...	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 Coalition (Australia) The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...	WIN	50.40	−4.20	74	−12
	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...		49.60	+4.20	51	+13

Senate (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...

) — 1980–83—Turnout 94.35% (CV

Compulsory voting

Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...

) — Informal 9.65%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held
	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...	3,250,187	42.25	+5.49	15	27
	Liberal/National (Joint Ticket)	1,971,528	25.63	−8.63	4
	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...	1,011,289	13.15	+2.55	9	27
	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...	711,805	9.25	−1.88	3	5
	National Country Party	341,978	4.45	+3.95	1	3
	Country Liberal Party Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...	19,129	0.25	+0.04	1	1
	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...	86,770	1.13	−0.60	1	1
	Other	299,678	3.90	−0.92	0	0
	Total	7,692,364			34	64

Independent: Brian Harradine

Brian Harradine

Richard William Brian Harradine , Australian politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of Tasmania. He was the longest-serving independent federal politician in Australian history, and a Father of the Senate.He was born in Quorn, South...

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1980				Swing	Post-1980
	Party		Member	Margin		Margin	Member	Party
Ballarat, Vic Division of Ballarat The Division of Ballarat is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the provincial city of Ballarat....		Liberal	Jim Short Jim Short (Australian politician) James Robert "Jim" Short is an Australian politician and diplomat.Born in Shepparton, Victoria, he attended the University of Melbourne before becoming a public servant with the Treasury Department...	7.5	8.2	0.7	John Mildren John Mildren John Barry Mildren was an Australian politician. Born in Colac, Victoria, he attended the University of Melbourne and then Texas A&M University. He became a teacher, later rising to senior lecturer and head of department at Ballarat College of Advanced Education...	Labor
Brisbane, Qld Division of Brisbane The Division of Brisbane is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...		Liberal	Peter Johnson Peter Johnson (Australian politician) Peter Francis Johnson was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he was a wholesaler and exporter before entering politics. In 1975, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Brisbane, defeating Labor MP Manfred Cross. He held the seat until his defeat...	3.2	5.0	1.8	Manfred Cross Manfred Cross Manfred Douglas Cross, AM was an Australian politician. Born in Brisbane, he was educated at various state primary schools including Rainworth State School before attending Brisbane State High School. He then went to the University of Queensland, after which he became a public servant...	Labor
Canberra, ACT Division of Canberra The Division of Canberra is an Australian Electoral Division in the Australian Capital Territory. The division was created in 1974 from the southern half of the old Division of Australian Capital Territory...		Liberal	John Haslem John Haslem John Whitton Haslem was an Australian politician. He was the Liberal Party of Australia member for the House of Representatives seat of Canberra from 1975 until his defeat by Ros Kelly in the 1980 election....	1.0	6.7	5.7	Ros Kelly Ros Kelly Ros Kelly AO was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Canberra from 18 October 1980 to 30 January 1995. She was a minister in the governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating....	Labor
Henty, Vic Division of Henty The Division of Henty was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1913 and abolished in 1990. It was named for the Henty family of Portland, the first European settlers in Victoria. It was located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various times...		Liberal	Ken Aldred Ken Aldred Kenneth James Aldred was an Australian politician who represented the Liberal Party in the Australian House of Representatives between 1975 and 1996....	2.7	5.5	2.8	Joan Child Joan Child Gloria Joan Liles Child AO is a former Australian politician. She was the first, and so far only, woman to be Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives....	Labor
Holt, Vic Division of Holt The Division of Holt is anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Harold Holt, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1966-67. It is located in...		Liberal	William Yates	1.8	8.7	6.9	Michael Duffy Michael Duffy (politician) Michael John Duffy, ONZ , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Holt from 1980 to 1996...	Labor
Hotham, Vic Division of Hotham The Division of Hotham is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria 1854-55. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Hotham covers an area of approximately 72 square kilometres from...		Liberal	Roger Johnston Roger Johnston James Roger Johnston was an Australian politician. In 1977, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Hotham. He was defeated in 1980.-References:...	1.7	5.7	4.0	Lewis Kent Lewis Kent Lewis Kent was an Australian politician. Born in Subotica in the former Yugoslavia , he was a stationmaster before entering politics. In 1980, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Hotham...	Labor
Isaacs, Vic Division of Isaacs The Division of Isaacs is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, on the eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay...		Liberal	William Burns William Burns (Australian politician) William George Burns was an Australian politician. He was a publican before entering politics. In 1977, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Isaacs, succeeding David Hamer, who transferred to the Senate. He held the seat until his defeat in 1980 by a...	7.3	9.1	1.8	David Charles David Charles (Australian politician) David Ernest Charles was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was a film and television director before entering politics. In 1980, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Isaacs. He held the seat until his retirement in 1990.-References:...	Labor
Kalgoorlie, WA Division of Kalgoorlie The Division of Kalgoorlie was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia, named after the city of Kalgoorlie. The Division, which was proclaimed in 1900 as one of the original 75 divisions to be contested at the first Federal election, covered most of the land area of...		Liberal	Mick Cotter Mick Cotter John Francis "Mick" Cotter, OAM is a retired Australian politician. Born in Yarram, Victoria, he was a pastoralist, miner, prospector and contractor before entering politics. Having moved to Western Australia, he was elected to Coolgardie Shire Council in 1965...	8.5	8.1	0.6	Graeme Campbell	Labor
La Trobe, Vic Division of La Trobe The Division of La Trobe is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the outer eastern/south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was originally located closer to the city, but redistributions moved it further south-east. It originally included the suburbs of Croydon,...		Liberal	Marshall Baillieu Marshall Baillieu Marshall Baillieu is a former Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was a manufacturing engineer and vegetable grower before entering politics. He was active in local politics as a member of Berwick Shire Council. In 1975, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the...	0.8	3.1	2.3	Peter Milton Peter Milton (Australian politician) Peter Milton was an Australian politician. Born in London, England, he was educated at the University of Melbourne and served in the military 1946-49. On his return, he was assistant registrar at the University of Melbourne. In 1980, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the...	Labor
Lilley, Qld Division of Lilley The Division of Lilley is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1913. The division is named after Sir Charles Lilley, a former Premier of Queensland and a former Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of Queensland....		Liberal	Kevin Cairns	6.0	6.8	0.8	Elaine Darling Elaine Darling Elaine Elizabeth Darling is a retired Australian politician. Born in Brisbane, she attended the University of Queensland before becoming a teacher, eventually rising to an assistant to the Director of the Brisbane Kindergarten Training College...	Labor
Macquarie, NSW Division of Macquarie The Division of Macquarie is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lachlan Macquarie, who was Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821...		Liberal	Reg Gillard	1.7	4.5	2.8	Ross Free Ross Free Ross Vincent Free is an Australian politician, and was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of Macquarie from 1980 until 1984, then Lindsay from 1984 until 1996...	Labor
McMillan, Vic Division of McMillan The Division of McMillan is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the western part of the Gippsland region, which extends for the length of Victoria's eastern Bass Strait coastline. It includes the outer south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Pakenham, and also...		Liberal	Barry Simon Barry Simon (Australian politician) Barry Douglas Simon was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he attended the University of Melbourne before becoming a teacher and barrister. He was a member of Berwick City Council, and served as its mayor...	4.8	6.2	1.4	Barry Cunningham Barry Cunningham Barry Thomas Cunningham was an Australian politician. Born in Pakenham, Victoria, he was a dairy and potato farmer and an agricultural contractor before entering politics...	Labor
Riverina, NSW Division of Riverina The Division of Riverina is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in south-west rural New South Wales, generally following the Murrumbidgee River valley. It includes the cities of Wagga Wagga and Griffith as well as the towns of Junee, West Wyalong, Tumut,...		Labor	John FitzPatrick	0.1	0.6	0.5	Noel Hicks Noel Hicks Noel Jeffrey Hicks was an Australian politician. Born in Adelaide, he was a plumber and road design draughtsman. Having moved to New South Wales, he was mayor of Broken Hill City Council 1974-75 and 1976-77. In 1980 he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the National Country...	National Country
St George, NSW Division of St George The Division of St George was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, and covered the suburbs of Hurstville, Rockdale and Arncliffe....		Liberal	Maurice Neil Maurice Neil Maurice James Neil was an Australian politician. Born in Manchester, England, he migrated to Australia and attended the University of Sydney. He became a barrister and then migration officer for New South Wales in London...	2.0	8.1	6.1	Bill Morrison Bill Morrison (Australian politician) William Lawrence "Bill" Morrison AO , Australian former politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives and a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam government....	Labor
Swan, WA Division of Swan The Division of Swan is an Australian Electoral Division located in Western Australia. The division is named after the Swan River.For several decades, it has been a marginal seat, extending along the Swan and Canning Rivers from the affluent suburbs in the City of South Perth to the west, which...		Liberal	John Martyr John Martyr John Raymond Martyr is a former Australian politician.Born in Melbourne, he was a political and economic consultant before entering politics. Martyr had a long history of involvement with the Australian Labor Party from his late teens, but due to his involvement with the anti-communist Catholic...	0.5	8.1	7.6	Kim Beazley Kim Beazley In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....	Labor

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

Issues and significance

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; unemployment and inflation remained high; and Fraser was seen by many people as being cold and aloof. Although, Labor Opposition Leader, Bill Hayden, was not seen as having great electoral prospects. Perhaps as evidence of this, then ACTU

Australian Council of Trade Unions

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...

 President Bob Hawke

Bob Hawke

Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....

 (elected to Parliament in the election as the Member

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Wills

Division of Wills

The Division of Wills is an Australian electoral division of Victoria. It is currently held by the Australian Labor Party's Kelvin Thomson.The electorate encompasses many of the suburbs in the City of Moreland in Melbourne's north, including Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner, Glenroy, and Essendon Airport...

) & then Premier of New South Wales Neville Wran

Neville Wran

Neville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986...

 featured heavily in the campaign, almost as heavily as Hayden. The Coalition retained a House of Representatives majority of 23 seats, down from the previous election’s 48-seat majority.

In the subsequent term, the government delivered budgets significantly in deficit, and Fraser was challenged for the Liberal leadership by Andrew Peacock

Andrew Peacock

Andrew Sharp Peacock AC, GCL , is a former Australian Liberal politician. He was a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments, and was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1983–1985 and 1989–1990...

. The 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...

 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

Howard Government

The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...

 won such a majority in 2004.

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1980
  Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1980
  This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1980 Australian federal election. The election was held on 18 October 1980.-Redistributions and seat changes:*A redistribution of electoral boundaries occurred in Western Australia....
  
  
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1980–1983
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1981–1983