# Members of the Australian Senate, 1987–1990

   Senate composition at 14 September 1987 Government (32)  Labor (32) – (7 seat minority)
   Opposition (34)  Liberal (27)
    National Party (6)
    Country Liberal (1)
   Crossbench (10)
    Democrats (7)
    Nuclear Disarmament Party (1)  Independent (2)   Changes in composition
This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1987 to 1990. It consisted of twelve senators for each of the six states of Australia and two senators representing each of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. All members were elected at the 1987 election following a double dissolution of both houses of parliament, rather than the normal case of only half of the state senators facing election.
In accordance with section 13 of the Constitution, following a double dissolution of Parliament, the terms for senators commence on 1 July preceding the election – i.e., on 1 July 1987. The Senate decides which senators were allocated the full six-year terms ending on 30 June 1993 and which senators were allocated three-year terms ending on 30 June 1990. In 1983 the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 had been amended to include provision for a recount of ballot papers to determine the senators to get the long term vacancies. This was the result of a unanimous recommendation from the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform. Despite the unanimous recommendation for reform, Labor and the Democrats maintained the previous system where the first six senators elected in each state were allocated the full six-year terms ending on 30 June 1993 while the other half were allocated three-year terms ending on 30 June 1990. The effect of this system was that Democrat Senators Paul McLean and Janet Powell got a long term instead of National Senators David Brownhill and Julian McGauran. There was no net effect on Labor and Liberal in that in South Australia, Labor Senator Graham Maguire got a long term instead of Liberal Senator Robert Hill, while in Queensland, Liberal Senator Warwick Parer got a long term instead of Labor Senator Gerry Jones. Senators took their seats immediately following the election on 11 July 1987. The four territory senators were elected in July 1987 and their terms ended at the next federal election, which was March 1990.
| Senator | Party | State | Term ending | Years in office |
| Richard Alston | Liberal | Victoria | 1990 | 1986–2004 |
| Brian Archer | Liberal | Tasmania | 1993 | 1975–1994 |
| Terry Aulich | Labor | Tasmania | 1993 | 1984–1993 |
| Michael Baume | Liberal | New South Wales | 1993 | 1984–1996 |
| Peter Baume | Liberal | New South Wales | 1993 | 1974–1991 |
| Michael Beahan | Labor | Western Australia | 1990 | 1987–1996 |
| Robert Bell | Democrats | Tasmania | 1990 | 1990–1996 |
| Bronwyn Bishop | Liberal | New South Wales | 1990 | 1987–1994 |
| Florence Bjelke-Petersen | National | Queensland | 1993 | 1980–1993 |
| John Black | Labor | Queensland | 1990 | 1984–1990 |
| Nick Bolkus | Labor | South Australia | 1993 | 1981–2005 |
| Ron Boswell | National | Queensland | 1990 | 1983–2014 |
| David Brownhill | National | New South Wales | 1990 | 1984–2000 |
| Bryant Burns | Labor | Queensland | 1990 | 1987–1996 |
| John Button | Labor | Victoria | 1993 | 1974–1993 |
| Paul Calvert | Liberal | Tasmania | 1990 | 1987–2007 |
| Ian Campbell | Liberal | Western Australia | 1993 | 1990–2007 |
| Fred Chaney | Liberal | Western Australia | 1993 | 1974–1990 |
| Grant Chapman | Liberal | South Australia | 1990 | 1987–2008 |
| Bruce Childs | Labor | New South Wales | 1990 | 1980–1997 |
| John Coates | Labor | Tasmania | 1993 | 1980–1996 |
| Bob Collins | Labor | Northern Territory | 1990 | 1987–1998 |
| Mal Colston | Labor | Queensland | 1993 | 1975–1999 |
| Peter Cook | Labor | Western Australia | 1993 | 1983–2005 |
| Barney Cooney | Labor | Victoria | 1990 | 1984–2002 |
| John Coulter | Democrats | South Australia | 1990 | 1987–1995 |
| Noel Crichton-Browne | Liberal | Western Australia | 1990 | 1980–1996 |
| Rosemary Crowley | Labor | South Australia | 1990 | 1983–2002 |
| John Devereux | Labor | Tasmania | 1990 | 1987–1996 |
| Ray Devlin | Labor | Tasmania | 1990 | 1984–1990 |
| Irina Dunn | Nuclear Disarmament/Independent | New South Wales | 1990 | 1988–1990 |
| Peter Durack | Liberal | Western Australia | 1993 | 1970–1993 |
| Gareth Evans | Labor | Victoria | 1993 | 1977–1996 |
| John Faulkner | Labor | New South Wales | 1993 | 1989–2015 |
| Dominic Foreman | Labor | South Australia | 1993 | 1980–1997 |
| Arthur Gietzelt | Labor | New South Wales | 1993 | 1970–1989 |
| Patricia Giles | Labor | Western Australia | 1993 | 1980–1993 |
| Janine Haines | Democrats | South Australia | 1993 | 1977–1978, 1980–1990 |
| David Hamer | Liberal | Victoria | 1990 | 1977–1990 |
| Brian Harradine | Independent | Tasmania | 1993 | 1975–2005 |
| Robert Hill | Liberal | South Australia | 1990 | 1981–2006 |
| Jean Jenkins | Democrats | Western Australia | 1990 | 1987–1990 |
| Gerry Jones | Labor | Queensland | 1990 | 1980–1996 |
| Sue Knowles | Liberal | Western Australia | 1993 | 1984–2005 |
| Meg Lees | Democrats | South Australia | 1993 | 1990–2005 |
| Austin Lewis | Liberal | Victoria | 1993 | 1976–1993 |
| David MacGibbon | Liberal | Queensland | 1993 | 1977–1999 |
| Michael Macklin | Democrats | Queensland | 1990 | 1980–1990 |
| Graham Maguire | Labor | South Australia | 1993 | 1983–1993 |
| Julian McGauran | National | Victoria | 1990 | 1987–1990, 1993–2011 |
| Jim McKiernan | Labor | Western Australia | 1990 | 1984–2002 |
| Paul McLean | Democrats | New South Wales | 1993 | 1987–1991 |
| Bob McMullan | Labor | Australian Capital Territory | 1990 | 1988–1996 |
| Tony Messner | Liberal | South Australia | 1993 | 1975–1990 |
| John Morris | Labor | New South Wales | 1990 | 1984–1990 |
| Jocelyn Newman | Liberal | Tasmania | 1990 | 1986–2002 |
| Bill O'Chee | National | Queensland | 1993 | 1990–1999 |
| John Olsen | Liberal | South Australia | 1993 | 1990–1992 |
| John Panizza | Liberal | Western Australia | 1990 | 1987–1997 |
| Warwick Parer | Liberal | Queensland | 1993 | 1984–2000 |
| Kay Patterson | Liberal | Victoria | 1990 | 1987–2008 |
| Janet Powell | Democrats | Victoria | 1993 | 1986–1993 |
| Chris Puplick | Liberal | New South Wales | 1990 | 1978–1980, 1984–1990 |
| Robert Ray | Labor | Victoria | 1990 | 1981–2008 |
| Margaret Reid | Liberal | Australian Capital Territory | 1990 | 1981–2003 |
| Margaret Reynolds | Labor | Queensland | 1993 | 1983–1999 |
| Graham Richardson | Labor | New South Wales | 1993 | 1983–1994 |
| Susan Ryan | Labor | Australian Capital Territory | 1990 | 1975–1988 |
| Norm Sanders | Democrats | Tasmania | 1990 | 1984–1990 |
| Chris Schacht | Labor | South Australia | 1990 | 1987–2002 |
| Glen Sheil | National | Queensland | 1990 | 1974–1981, 1984–1990 |
| Jim Short | Liberal | Victoria | 1993 | 1984–1997 |
| Kerry Sibraa | Labor | New South Wales | 1993 | 1975–1978, 1978–1994 |
| John Stone | National | Queensland | 1993 | 1987–1990 |
| Grant Tambling | Country Liberal | Northern Territory | 1990 | 1987–2001 |
| Michael Tate | Labor | Tasmania | 1993 | 1977–1993 |
| Baden Teague | Liberal | South Australia | 1990 | 1977–1996 |
| Jo Vallentine | Independent | Western Australia | 1990 | 1984–1992 |
| Amanda Vanstone | Liberal | South Australia | 1993 | 1984–2007 |
| Peter Walsh | Labor | Western Australia | 1993 | 1974–1993 |
| Shirley Walters | Liberal | Tasmania | 1993 | 1975–1993 |
| John Watson | Liberal | Tasmania | 1990 | 1978–2008 |
| Robert Wood | Nuclear Disarmament | New South Wales | 1990 | 1987–1988 |
| Olive Zakharov | Labor | Victoria | 1993 | 1983–1995 |