# 1975 Australian federal election

The 1975 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution.
Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned as caretaker prime minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's three-year-old Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. The same day, Fraser advised an immediate double dissolution, in accordance with Kerr's stipulated conditions (see 1975 Australian constitutional crisis).
The Coalition of Fraser's Liberal Party of Australia and Doug Anthony's National Country Party secured government in its own right, winning the largest majority government to date in Australian history. The Liberals actually won a majority in their own right, with 68 seats–the first time that the main non-Labor party had done so since adopting the Liberal banner in 1944. Although Fraser had no need for the support of the National Country Party, the Coalition was retained. It was also the first time a party won over 90 seats at an Australian election. This was the last federal election the Coalition (or any other party) won more than 50% of the primary vote.
Labor suffered a 30-seat swing and saw its lower house caucus cut almost in half, to 36 seats—fewer than it had when Whitlam became leader in the aftermath of the Coalition landslide nearly 10 years earlier, in the 1966 election. With only 28% of the House of Representatives seats, this was the worst seat share for Labor since the current Liberal-Labor party contest from 1946.

## Results
### House of Representatives results

House of Reps (IRV) – 1975–77—Turnout 95.39% (CV) – Informal 1.89% :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Liberal–NCP coalition | Liberal–NCP coalition | 4,102,078 | 53.05 | +7.32 | 91 | +30 |
| | | Liberal | 3,232,159 | 41.80 | +6.85 | 68 | +28 |
| | | National Country | 853,943 | 11.04 | +0.28 | 22 | +1 |
| | | Country Liberal | 15,976 | 0.21 | +0.21 | 1 | +1 |
| | Labor | Labor | 3,313,004 | 42.84 | −6.46 | 36 | −30 |
| | Democratic Labor | Democratic Labor | 101,750 | 1.32 | −0.10 | 0 | 0 |
| | Workers | Workers | 60,130 | 0.78 | +0.78 | 0 | 0 |
| | Liberal Movement | Liberal Movement | 49,484 | 0.64 | –0.14 | 0 | 0 |
| | Australia | Australia | 33,630 | 0.43 | −1.89 | 0 | 0 |
| | Communist | Communist | 9,393 | 0.12 | +0.11 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent | Independent | 63,109 | 0.82 | +0.42 | 0 | 0 |
| | Total | Total | 7,732,578 | | | 127 | |
| Two-party-preferred (estimated) ||||||||
| | Liberal–NCP coalition | Liberal–NCP coalition | Win | 55.70 | +7.40 | 91 | +30 |
| | Labor | Labor | | 44.30 | −7.40 | 36 | −30 |
Popular vote
Labor
42.84%
Liberal
41.80%
National
11.25%
DLP
1.32%
Other
2.79% :
Two-party-preferred vote
Coalition
55.70%
Labor
44.30% :
Parliament seats
Coalition
71.65%
Labor
28.35% :

### Senate results

Senate (STV) – 1975–77—Turnout 95.39% (CV) – Informal 9.10% :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held | Change |
| Liberal–NCP coalition (total) | Liberal–NCP coalition (total) | 3,706,989 | 51.74 | +7.85 | 35 | 35 | +6 |
| | Liberal–NCP joint ticket | 2,855,721 | 39.86 | +5.09 | 17 | * | * |
| | Liberal | 793,772 | 11.08 | +3.26 | 16 | 26 | +3 |
| | National Country | 41,977 | 0.59 | −0.71 | 1 | 8 | +2 |
| | Country Liberal | 15,519 | 0.22 | +0.22 | 1 | 1 | +1 |
| Labor | Labor | 2,931,310 | 40.91 | −6.38 | 27 | 27 | −2 |
| Democratic Labor | Democratic Labor | 191,049 | 2.67 | −0.89 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberal Movement | Liberal Movement | 76,426 | 1.07 | +0.11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Workers | Workers | 62,385 | 0.87 | +0.87 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Family Movement | Family Movement | 45,658 | 0.64 | +0.64 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Australia | Australia | 34,632 | 0.48 | –0.91 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| United Tasmania | United Tasmania | 1,227 | 0.02 | –0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Socialist | Socialist | 727 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Independents | Independents | 114,310 | 1.60 | –0.52 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 7,164,713 | | | 64 | 64 | +4 |

#### Notes

* Independent: Brian Harradine (Tasmania)

## Seats changing hands

| Seat | Pre-1975 | Pre-1975 | Pre-1975 | Pre-1975 | Swing | Post-1975 | Post-1975 | Post-1975 | Post-1975 |
| Seat | Party | Party | Member | Margin | Swing | Margin | Member | Party | Party |
| Barton, NSW | | Labor | Len Reynolds | 5.1 | 10.0 | 4.9 | Jim Bradfield | Liberal | |
| Bowman, Qld | | Labor | Len Keogh | 1.3 | 8.4 | 7.1 | David Jull | Liberal | |
| Braddon, Tas | | Labor | Ron Davies | 4.8 | 8.6 | 3.8 | Ray Groom | Liberal | |
| Brisbane, Qld | | Labor | Manfred Cross | 1.1 | 5.0 | 3.9 | Peter Johnson | Liberal | |
| Canberra, ACT | | Labor | Kep Enderby | 7.1 | 10.4 | 3.3 | John Haslem | Liberal | |
| Capricornia, Qld | | Labor | Doug Everingham | 4.9 | 5.0 | 0.1 | Colin Carige | National Country | |
| Casey, Vic | | Labor | Race Mathews | 1.5 | 9.0 | 7.5 | Peter Falconer | Liberal | |
| Cook, NSW | | Labor | Ray Thorburn | 0.5 | 8.3 | 7.8 | Don Dobie | Liberal | |
| Dawson, Qld | | Labor | Rex Patterson | 0.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 | Ray Braithwaite | National Country | |
| Denison, Tas | | Labor | John Coates | 2.8 | 7.7 | 4.9 | Michael Hodgman | Liberal | |
| Diamond Valley, Vic | | Labor | David McKenzie | 0.7 | 9.8 | 9.1 | Neil Brown | Liberal | |
| Eden-Monaro, NSW | | Labor | Bob Whan | 0.1 | 5.6 | 5.5 | Murray Sainsbury | Liberal | |
| Evans, NSW | | Labor | Allan Mulder | 4.9 | 6.9 | 2.0 | John Abel | Liberal | |
| Franklin, Tas | | Labor | Ray Sherry | 12.9 | 14.7 | 1.8 | Bruce Goodluck | Liberal | |
| Henty, Vic | | Labor | Joan Child | 1.5 | 6.7 | 5.2 | Ken Aldred | Liberal | |
| Holt, Vic | | Labor | Max Oldmeadow | 6.9 | 8.5 | 1.6 | William Yates | Liberal | |
| Isaacs, Vic | | Labor | Gareth Clayton | 0.6 | 7.5 | 6.9 | David Hamer | Liberal | |
| Kalgoorlie, WA | | Labor | Fred Collard | 2.1 | 6.3 | 4.3 | Mick Cotter | Liberal | |
| Kingston, SA | | Labor | Richard Gun | 6.1 | 12.7 | 6.6 | Grant Chapman | Liberal | |
| La Trobe, Vic | | Labor | Tony Lamb | 4.6 | 8.9 | 4.3 | Marshall Baillieu | Liberal | |
| Leichhardt, Qld | | Labor | Bill Fulton | 3.3 | 5.7 | 2.4 | David Thomson | National Country | |
| Macarthur, NSW | | Labor | John Kerin | 4.4 | 8.5 | 4.1 | Michael Baume | Liberal | |
| Macquarie, NSW | | Labor | Tony Luchetti | 8.7 | 10.3 | 1.6 | Reg Gillard | Liberal | |
| McMillan, Vic | | National Country | Arthur Hewson | N/A | 2.1 | 6.7 | Barry Simon | Liberal | |
| Perth, WA | | Labor | Joe Berinson | 8.2 | 9.0 | 0.8 | Ross McLean | Liberal | |
| Phillip, NSW | | Labor | Joe Riordan | 4.5 | 7.1 | 2.6 | Jack Birney | Liberal | |
| St George, NSW | | Labor | Bill Morrison | 5.8 | 5.8 | 0.0 | Maurice Neil | Liberal | |
| Swan, WA | | Labor | Adrian Bennett | 5.6 | 7.7 | 2.1 | John Martyr | Liberal | |
| Tangney, WA | | Labor | John Dawkins | 3.1 | 9.7 | 6.6 | Peter Richardson | Liberal | |
* Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

## Issues and significance

The election followed the dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr in the 1975 constitutional crisis. Labor campaigners hoped that the electorate would "maintain [its] rage" and punish the Coalition for its part in bringing down the government, proclaiming "Shame Fraser, Shame". However, the Coalition focused on economic issues following the 1973 oil crisis and 1973–75 recession, the Loans Affair, alleged Labor mismanagement of inflation, and campaigned under the slogan "Turn on the lights, Australia" (drawing on a contemporary cynicism: "Would the last businessman leaving Australia please turn out the lights?").
The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory received an entitlement to elect two senators each as a consequence of the Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973, passed during the 1974 Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament.