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1928 Australian federal election

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1928 Australian federal election

← 1925 17 November 1928 (1928-11-17) 1929 →

All 76[b] seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
Registered3,444,769 Increase4.32%
Turnout2,728,815 (93.64%)[a]
(Increase2.25 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Stanley Bruce James Scullin
Party Nationalist/Country coalition Labor
Leader since 9 February 1923 26 April 1928
Leader's seat Flinders (Vic.) Yarra (Vic.)
Last election 51 seats 23 seats
Seats won 42 31 + NT
Seat change Decrease9 Increase8
Percentage 51.60% 48.40%
Swing Decrease 2.20% Increase2.20

  Third party Fourth party
 
IND
Leader Albert Dunstan N/A
Party Country Progressive Party Independents
Leader since April 1926 N/A
Leader's seat N/A N/A
Last election 0 seats 2 seats
Seats won 1 seats 1 seats
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 41,713 88,447
Percentage 1.61% 3.41%
Swing Increase +1.61 Increase +1.65

Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.

Prime Minister before election

Stanley Bruce
Nationalist/Country coalition

Subsequent Prime Minister

Stanley Bruce
Nationalist/Country coalition

The 1928 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 17 November 1928. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist–Country coalition, led by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce won a record fifth consecutive election defeating the opposition Labor Party led by James Scullin.

The election was held in conjunction with a referendum on Commonwealth–State relations, which was carried.

Future Prime Ministers John Curtin and Ben Chifley both entered parliament at this election. Both then lost their seats in the 1931 election and did not re-enter parliament until 1934 and 1940 respectively.

Issues

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In September 1928, federal treasurer Earle Page introduced the National Insurance Bill 1928 into the House of Representatives, which provided for the establishment of a National Insurance scheme inclusive of "sickness, old age, disability and maternity benefits, mainly paid for by compulsory contributions by workers and employers, along with smaller payments to parents of children under 16 and to orphans".[1] The bill failed to pass before the dissolution of the House, but the scheme was "strongly promoted" by the government during the election campaign.[2]

Results

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  Nationalist: 29 seats
  Labor: 31 seats
  Country: 13 seats
  Country Progressive: 1 seat
  Independent: 1 seat

House of Representatives

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House of Reps (IRV) — 1928–29—Turnout 93.64% (CV) — Informal 4.90%
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Nationalist–Country coalition 1,286,208 49.56 –3.64 42 –8
  Nationalist  1,014,522 39.09 –3.37 29 –8
  Country  271,686 10.47 –0.27 13 0
  Labor 1,158,505 44.64 –0.40 32[c] +8
  Country Progressive 41,713 1.61 +1.61 1 +1
  Protestant Labor 20,212 0.78 +0.78 0 0
  Independents 88,447 3.41 +1.65 1 –1
  Total 2,595,085     76
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
  Nationalist–Country coalition Win 51.60 −2.20 42 –8
  Labor 48.40 +2.20 31 +8

Notes
  • Independent: William McWilliams (Franklin, Tas.).
  • Twelve members were elected unopposed – three Labor, five Nationalist, and four Country.
Popular vote
Labor
44.64%
Nationalist
39.09%
Country
10.47%
Country Progressive
1.61%
Independent/Other
4.19%
Two-party-preferred vote
Coalition
51.60%
Labor
48.40%
Parliament seats
Coalition
56.00%
Labor
41.33%
Country Progressive
1.33%
Independent
1.33%

Senate

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Senate (P BV) — 1928–31—Turnout 93.61% (CV) — Informal 9.88%
Party Votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change
  Nationalist–Country coalition 1,466,323 50.46 –4.35 12 29 +1
  Nationalist  1,141,405 39.28 –6.07 10 24 0
  Country  324,918 11.18 +1.73 2 5 +1
  Labor 1,422,418 48.95 +3.93 7 7 –1
  Independents 17,092 0.59 +0.42 0 0 0
  Total 2,905,833     19 36

Seats changing hands

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Seat Pre-1928 Swing Post-1928
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Barton, NSW   Nationalist Thomas Ley 1.0 7.3 6.3 James Tully Labor  
Boothby, SA   Nationalist Jack Duncan-Hughes 7.6 7.7 0.1 John Price Labor  
Denison, Tas   Nationalist John Gellibrand 2.2 2.5 0.3 Charles Culley Labor  
Franklin, Tas   Nationalist Alfred Seabrook N/A 7.2 1.6 William McWilliams Independent  
Fremantle, WA   Independent William Watson 8.1 1.2 2.1 John Curtin Labor  
Herbert, Qld   Nationalist Lewis Nott 0.3 0.5 0.2 George Martens Labor  
Indi, Vic   Country Robert Cook 6.7 N/A (Unopposed) Paul Jones Labor  
Lang, NSW   Nationalist Elliot Johnson 5.9 9.4 3.5 William Long Labor  
Macquarie, NSW   Nationalist Arthur Manning 1.3 6.2 4.9 Ben Chifley Labor  
Wakefield, SA   Nationalist Richard Foster 14.8 24.4 9.6 Maurice Collins Country  
Wilmot, Tas   Country Llewellyn Atkinson 7.0 N/A 4.6 Llewellyn Atkinson Nationalist  
  • Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

In the Division of Indi, the sitting candidate Robert Cook lost his seat after forgetting to file nomination papers, resulting in Labor candidate Paul Jones winning the seat unopposed.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Turnout in contested seats
  2. ^ The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.
  3. ^ Including Northern Territory

References

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  1. ^ Wilks, Stephen (2020). 'Now is the Psychological Moment': Earle Page and the Imagining of Australia (PDF). ANU Press. p. 175. ISBN 9781760463687.
  2. ^ Wilks 2020, p. 176.
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