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Federal election major party leaders
1972 1974 1975
'Labor' 'Gough Whitlam' 'Prime Minister' 'Parliament': 22 years 'Leader since': 1967 'Division': Werriwa 'WIN'
'Liberal' 'Billy Snedden' 'Opposition leader' 'Parliament': 19 years 'Leader since': 1971 'Division': Bruce

'Federal elections' were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam defeated the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by Billy Snedden and Coalition partner the Country Party led by Doug Anthony.

'House of Reps (IRV) — 1974-75 — Turnout 95.42% (CV) — Informal 1.92%'

	'Party'	'Votes'	'%'	'Swing'	'Seats'	'Change'
	Australian Labor Party	3,644,110	49.30	-0.29	66	-1
	Liberal Party of Australia	2,582,968	34.95	+2.91	40	+2
	Country Party	736,252	9.96	+0.53	21	+1
	Australia Party	172,176	2.33	-0.09	0	0
	Democratic Labor Party	104,974	1.42	-3.83	0	0
	Other	150,526	2.04			0
	Total	7,391,006			'127'	+2
	'Australian Labor Party '	'WIN'	'51.70'	-1.00	'66'	-1
	Liberal/Country coalition		48.30	+1.00	61	+3

'Senate (STV) — 1974-75 — Turnout 95.50% (CV) — Informal 10.77%'

	'Party'	'Votes'	'%'	'Swing'	'Seats Won'	'Seats Held'
	Australian Labor Party	3,127,197	47.29	+5.08	29	29
	Liberal/Country (Joint Ticket)	2,298,816	34.77	+15.26	16
	Liberal Party of Australia	516,919	7.82	-9.80	12	23
	Democratic Labor Party	235,343	3.56	-7.55	0	0
	Australia Party	92,107	1.39	-1.51	0	0
	Country Party	85,719	1.30	+0.24	1	6
	Liberal Movement	63,032	0.95	★	1	1
	Independents	121,396	1.84	+0.13	1	1
	Other	71,856	1.09		0	0
	Total	6,612,385			60	60

Independents: Michael Townley (Liberal Party from Feb 1975)

Contents

Background and Issues

Senate Numbers

Election Result

Subsequent Changes

References

Background and Issues

Gough Whitlam had been an active prime minister, and his government had pursued many socially progressive reforms and policies over its first term but received a hostile reception from the coalition/DLP-controlled Senate, with the last elections held in 1970. Following an attempt by Whitlam to create an extra Senate vacancy in Queensland by appointing former DLP Leader, Senator Vince Gair, as ambasssador to Ireland, Snedden announced that the opposition would block the government's supply bills in the Senate. Justified by failure of six (non-supply) bills to pass the Senate, Whitlam requested and was granted by Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck a double dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution. The election focused on Whitlam’s first one-and-a-half years in office and whether the Australian public was willing to continue with his reform agenda.
The re-elected Whitlam government's failure again to gain a majority in the Senate led to Australia's only joint sitting in history (pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution), held three months after the 1974 election, allowing the six bills which had been twice rejected by the Senate to be passed along party lines: 96 ayes to 91 noes, with the single Liberal Movement senator (Steele Hall) voting with the government.

Senate Numbers

Election Result

The Whitlam Government had been re-elected with a decreased majority in the lower house but an increase in the upper house. The ALP and the coalition each won 29 seats in the 60 member Senate, with the balance of power held by Steele Hall of the Liberal Movement, and Michael Townley, a conservative independent.
The Democratic Labor Party lost all five of its Senate seats.

Subsequent Changes

In February 1975, Townley joined the Liberal party.
Later in 1975, Coalition premiers would break longstanding convention by replacing outgoing ALP senators Lionel Murphy and Bert Milliner with independent Cleaver Bunton and ex-ALP Albert Field. Bunton (along with Hall) refused to vote against supply, but Field was prepared to. This gave the Coalition effectively a majority of 31 seats out of 60 (30 Coalition members plus Field). This allowed them to block supply in the Senate to pave the way for the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975.

References

★ AustralianPolitics.com 1974 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.