South Australian state election, 1968
Encyclopedia
State elections were held in Australia
on 2 March 1968. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly
were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party
led by Premier
of South Australia Don Dunstan
was defeated by the Liberal and Country League
led by Leader of the Opposition
Steele Hall
.
Independent: Tom Stott
and the Liberal and Country League
opposition defeat the incumbent Australian Labor Party
led by Don Dunstan
, despite that Labor won 53.2 percent and Liberal 46.8 on the two party preferred vote. Steele Hall
, facing a political nightmare, decided to take part in electoral reforms to end the malapportionment of the Playmander
. The number of lower house seats expanded from 39 to 47, which in the 2006 election there were 35 metro districts representing 1.1 million people and 12 rural districts representing 0.4 million people. The 1968 election contained 13 metro districts representing 0.7 million people, with 26 rural districts representing 0.4 million people. Further reforms would be implemented after the 1975 election
where Labor retained government despite a two party preferred vote of 49.2 percent, as well as the 1989 election
where Labor retained government despite a two party preferred vote of 48.1 percent.
Hall served as leader of the opposition for two years before being elected Premier in the 1968 election. Considered young and handsome, Steele was also the first Australian state premier to sport sideburns. Indeed, the 1968 election, fought between Hall and his Labor
opponent Don Dunstan
, was described by the Democratic Labor Party
as the battle of "the matinee idols".
The LCL had gained office in 1968 only with the support of the long serving independent Tom Stott
. Stott, a good friend of former Premier Playford and no friend of the ALP, could be relied upon to cast his vote in favour of the LCL. However, Hall and Stott fell out over the location of a dam. Stott wanted the dam built in his electorate while Hall thought it more use to locate it elsewhere. Constituent anger forced Stott to vote against the Hall government, leading to an early election - the 1970 election
.
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 2 March 1968. All 39 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 Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
was defeated by the Liberal and Country League
Liberal and Country League
The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the...
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...
Steele Hall
Steele Hall
Raymond Steele Hall was the 36th Premier of South Australia 1968-70, a senator for South Australia 1974-77, and federal member for the Division of Boothby 1981-96.-Biography:...
.
| 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... |
292,445 | 51.98 | -3.06 | 19 | -2 | |
| Liberal and Country League Liberal and Country League The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the... |
246,560 | 43.82 | +7.89 | 19 | +2 | |
| Democratic Labor Party Democratic Labor Party (historical) The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V... |
9,223 | 1.64 | -2.71 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent 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... |
5,781 | 1.03 | -0.85 | 1 | 0 | |
| Other | 8,649 | 1.54 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 562,658 | 39 | ||||
| Liberal and Country League Liberal and Country League The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the... |
WIN | 46.80 | +1.10 | 20 | +2 | |
| 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... |
53.20 | -1.10 | 19 | -2 |
Independent: Tom Stott
Tom Stott
Tom Cleave Stott CBE spent 37 years as an independent member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving as Speaker of the House from 1962 to 1965 and 1968 to 1970....
Background
The election saw Steele HallSteele Hall
Raymond Steele Hall was the 36th Premier of South Australia 1968-70, a senator for South Australia 1974-77, and federal member for the Division of Boothby 1981-96.-Biography:...
and the Liberal and Country League
Liberal and Country League
The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the...
opposition defeat 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 Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
, despite that Labor won 53.2 percent and Liberal 46.8 on the two party preferred vote. Steele Hall
Steele Hall
Raymond Steele Hall was the 36th Premier of South Australia 1968-70, a senator for South Australia 1974-77, and federal member for the Division of Boothby 1981-96.-Biography:...
, facing a political nightmare, decided to take part in electoral reforms to end the malapportionment of the Playmander
Playmander
The Playmander was a form of electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, in place from 1936 to 1968. It consisted of rural districts enjoying a 2-to-1 advantage in the state parliament, even though they contained less than half of the population, as well as a change from...
. The number of lower house seats expanded from 39 to 47, which in the 2006 election there were 35 metro districts representing 1.1 million people and 12 rural districts representing 0.4 million people. The 1968 election contained 13 metro districts representing 0.7 million people, with 26 rural districts representing 0.4 million people. Further reforms would be implemented after the 1975 election
South Australian state election, 1975
State elections were held in Australia on 12 July 1975. 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 Don Dunstan defeated the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition Bruce...
where Labor retained government despite a two party preferred vote of 49.2 percent, as well as the 1989 election
South Australian state election, 1989
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...
where Labor retained government despite a two party preferred vote of 48.1 percent.
Hall served as leader of the opposition for two years before being elected Premier in the 1968 election. Considered young and handsome, Steele was also the first Australian state premier to sport sideburns. Indeed, the 1968 election, fought between Hall and his 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...
opponent Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
, was described by the Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party
The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal...
as the battle of "the matinee idols".
The LCL had gained office in 1968 only with the support of the long serving independent Tom Stott
Tom Stott
Tom Cleave Stott CBE spent 37 years as an independent member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving as Speaker of the House from 1962 to 1965 and 1968 to 1970....
. Stott, a good friend of former Premier Playford and no friend of the ALP, could be relied upon to cast his vote in favour of the LCL. However, Hall and Stott fell out over the location of a dam. Stott wanted the dam built in his electorate while Hall thought it more use to locate it elsewhere. Constituent anger forced Stott to vote against the Hall government, leading to an early election - the 1970 election
South Australian state election, 1970
State elections were held in Australia on 30 May 1970. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Steele Hall was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Don...
.
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
| 1968 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 |
|||
| 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... |
52.8% | 2 | |
| Liberal and Country League Liberal and Country League The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the... |
41.9% | 8 | |
| Democratic Labor Party Democratic Labor Party The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal... |
5.3% | ||
| 1968-1973 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 | ||
| Liberal and Country League Liberal and Country League The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the... |
16 | ||
| 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... |
4 | ||