Australian legislative election, 2007
Encyclopedia
Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia
were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 39 day campaign, in which 13.6 million Australians were enrolled to vote. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives
and 40 of the seats in the 76-member Senate
were contested in the election.
The centre-left
Australian Labor Party
opposition
, led by Kevin Rudd
and deputy leader Julia Gillard
, defeated the incumbent centre-right
Coalition
government, led by Liberal Party
leader and Prime Minister
, John Howard
, and Nationals
leader and Deputy Prime Minister
, Mark Vaile
. The Coalition had been in power since the 1996 election.
At 8.00pm, the first personality to call the election was former Labor leader Bob Hawke
on Sky News
. At 10.29pm AEST
, approximately two hours after the last polls in Western Australia
closed, Liberal deputy leader Peter Costello
conceded that the Coalition
had lost government. At 10.36pm, John Howard delivered a speech at the Sofitel
Wentworth Hotel in Sydney to concede defeat. At 11.05pm, Kevin Rudd delivered his victory speech.
Labor won 83 of the 150 seats in the incoming House of Representatives
. This represented a 23-seat swing to Labor. The Liberals won 55 while the Nationals won 10, with two seats retained by Independents. Labor finished with a 52.70 per cent two-party-preferred vote
, a 5.44-point swing from 2004. On preferences, 79.7 per cent of Green votes flowed to Labor, 60.3 per cent of Family First votes flowed to the Coalition, with 62.5 per cent of Democrat votes flowing to Labor. Considering two-party estimates going back to the 1949 election
, the swing to Labor in 2007 was the third-largest two-party-preferred swing, behind Malcolm Fraser
and the Coalition in 1975
on 7.4 per cent, and Gough Whitlam
and Labor in 1969
on 7.1 per cent. The swing was the largest since 1983
, when full preference counting was introduced to create an exact two-party figure, and the largest swing to occur in the absence of a recession, political or military crisis.
Western Australia went against the national trend, with the Liberals suffering only a 2.14-point swing against them – lower than all except Tasmania and the ACT – but yet gaining one net seat. The weaker Labor performance was attributed to the strong economy and voters' unwillingness to do anything which might risk their present prosperity – a sentiment played to by Liberal campaigning strategies – and also the behaviour of union officials Kevin Reynolds
and Joe McDonald who had made headlines during the campaign.
election. The Greens won three seats, with Independent Nick Xenophon
being elected on primary votes alone. This took the 76-member Senate total to 37 Coalition, 32 Labor, 5 Green, 1 Family First, and 1 Independent. With a majority being 39 senators, when the new Senate met after 1 July 2008, the balance of power
was shared between Xenophon, Family First's Steve Fielding
and the five Greens. Xenophon, although reported as left-of-centre, indicated plans to work closely with the renegade National, Senator Barnaby Joyce
. If sufficient Coalition senators vote for government legislation, support from the crossbench will not be required.
Compared to the previous Senate, the Greens gained one (losing Kerry Nettle
in NSW but gaining Sarah Hanson-Young
in SA and Scott Ludlam
in WA), a new Independent was elected (Xenophon), and Labor gained four seats. The Coalition lost two, and the Democrats lost all four of their seats.
After preferences were distributed, the Coalition had 41.5 per cent to Labor's 40.6 per cent, with the Greens on 11.7 per cent, while the fourth parties, mostly from the right, had 6.2 per cent.
The informal rate of 2.55 per cent ties with the 1993 election as the lowest informal rate in the Senate since federation. The introduction of the group voting ticket
at the 1984 election saw the number of informal votes drop dramatically.
, in the Sydney area, to Labor candidate and former journalist Maxine McKew
, becoming the second sitting prime minister, and the third party leader, since Federation to be defeated in his own electorate. (Prime Minister Stanley Bruce
and National Party leader Charles Blunt
lost their seats in 1929 and 1990 respectively). Howard had held the seat since 1974, and it had been in Liberal hands ever since its creation in 1949.
However, the once strongly Liberal seat had become increasingly friendly to Labor over the years; much of the area was represented by Labor at the state level. The redistribution prior to the election reduced Howard's two-party majority to four percent, putting it right on the edge of seats that Labor would likely take in the event it won.
Late on election night, when conceding Labor had won government, Howard also acknowledged the likelihood he had lost Bennelong to McKew, though he and McKew agreed the margin was "very tight". He had been ahead by thin margins for most of the night, never leading by more than 0.2 percentage points. Howard had been 206 votes ahead of McKew on the first count, and finished 2.8 percentage points behind McKew on the estimated two-party vote. McKew declined to claim victory at first, saying that the seat was on "a knife edge," while the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
listed Bennelong as a Labor gain on election night, and ABC election analyst Antony Green
said there was "no doubt" McKew had won.
On 29 November, Rudd named McKew as a parliamentary secretary
(assistant minister) to be appointed on 3 December, and on 1 December, McKew claimed victory. Although counting was incomplete at the time, with several postal and absentee ballots outstanding, it was expected that Howard would not win enough of the votes to retain his seat. McKew finished with a primary vote of 45.33 per cent, and a two-party-preferred vote
of 51.40 per cent, a 5.53-point swing from 2004. Howard lost on the 14th count due to a large flow of Green
preferences to McKew. This swing is within the current boundaries; Bennelong was redistributed after the 2004 election.
Three other Howard ministers were defeated – Mal Brough
, Gary Nairn
and Jim Lloyd
.
The Labor caucus met on Thursday 29 November 2007 to confirm the First Rudd Ministry
, which was sworn in on 3 December. In a departure from Labor tradition, the ministry was selected by Kevin Rudd as the prime minister, rather than by Caucus.
Given John Howard's personal defeat, the Liberal Party began the process of choosing a new leader. The morning after the election, Peter Costello
, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, and long regarded as Howard's natural successor, stated that he would not run for Liberal leadership. The day before the ballot, former Health Minister Tony Abbott
withdrew from the leadership after initially indicating he would stand. The leadership ballot was held on Thursday 29 November. The previous Defence Minister Brendan Nelson
and former Environmental Minister Malcolm Turnbull
both stood for the leadership. Former Education Minister Julie Bishop
contested the deputy leadership position, as did Andrew Robb
and Christopher Pyne
.
Brendan Nelson was elected leader by 45 votes to 42, and Julie Bishop was elected deputy leader. A Newspoll survey taken after the Liberal leadership change revealed a preferred-prime-minister rating of Rudd 61 per cent to Nelson 14 per cent, with Turnbull twice as popular as Nelson. Newspoll's subsequent polling saw new Newspoll records set, at 70 per cent for the best rating for preferred prime minister, to 9 per cent for the worst rating for preferred prime minister, with the next poll results revealing another record of 73 to 7 per cent. A new two party preferred record was also set, at 63 to 37 per cent Labor's way.
Post-election, ALP secretary Tim Gartrell
commented on pre-election campaign billboard ads featuring a picture of John Howard stating "Working families in Australia have never been better off", which looked like Liberal Party advertisements, were actually paid for by the Labor Party. Liberal leader Brendan Nelson declared that the Liberal Party had listened and learned from the Australian public and declared WorkChoices
"dead".
In 2008, former ministers Peter McGauran, Alexander Downer
, and Mark Vaile
resigned seeking other career options, sparking Gippsland
, Mayo
, and Lyne by-election
s. The Lyne by-election resulted in an Independent being elected, reducing the total number of Coalition seats to 64. Bradfield
and Higgins by-elections
were held in December 2009.
In September 2008, Malcolm Turnbull
replaced Brendan Nelson in a leadership spill
, and Barnaby Joyce
replaced CLP Senator and Nationals deputy leader Nigel Scullion
as leader of the Nationals in the Senate, and moved the party to the crossbenches. Joyce stated that his party would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house.
, and the existing Parramatta
, which was retained by Labor despite becoming a notional Liberal seat due to boundary changes. The table does not include Gwydir
, which was abolished in the redistribution; Macquarie
, which was reclassified from safe Liberal to marginal Labor and was subsequently won by Labor; or Calare
, the seat of Independent MP Peter Andren
, which was reclassified as a National seat by the redistribution and was won by the National Party.
Under the provisions of the Constitution
, the current House of Representatives may continue for a maximum of three years from the first meeting of the House after the previous federal election. The first meeting of the 41st Parliament after the 2004 election was on 16 November 2004, hence the parliament would have expired on 15 November 2007 had it not been dissolved earlier. There must be a minimum of 33 days and a maximum of 68 days between the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the day of the election. Prime Minister Howard opted for a 39-day campaign.
The prime minister of the day chooses the election date and requests the governor-general
to dissolve the House and issue the writs for the election. On 14 October, John Howard gained the agreement of the governor-general, Major-General Michael Jeffery
, to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a general election for the House and half the Senate on 24 November 2007.
During the last term of parliament before the 2007 election, the deadline for new voter enrolment was brought forward from 7 working days after the issue of the writ to the same day. When the election was announced, the writ was not issued the next day, but on the following Wednesday. This kept the roll open for three days, during which 77,000 enrolment additions were processed.
noted the Coalition's numbers were similar to what Labor had polled before losing power in 1996.
His theme concentrated on leadership, stating that the nation "does not need new leadership, it does not need old leadership. It needs the right leadership" He said his government would strive to achieve full employment, which he argued was less likely under Kevin Rudd. In response, Rudd also concentrated on leadership, outlining his case for "new leadership”. He argued that the government had 'lost touch' with the electorate, and that his the Labor Party was best suited to deal with challenges that lie ahead.
A Galaxy poll showed a Labor 53-47 per cent Coalition two-party-preferred result, with a 2 per cent gap on primaries, and ACNielsen polling reported a 2 per cent swing to the Coalition, reducing Labor's lead to 54–46. Rudd dropped 5 per cent as preferred prime minister. A Newspoll sampling 1,700 voters taken over the weekend prior to the leaders' debate reported a swing to Labor, increasing their two-party-preferred lead to 58 per cent, a rise of 2 points. Labor's primary vote increased 3 points to 51 per cent, and the Liberals decreased by 2 points to 34 per cent. Rudd extended his lead by 2 points to 50 per cent, with Howard down by 2 points to 37 per cent.
On the first full day of the campaign, Howard and Costello announced a 'major restructuring of the income tax system' with tax cuts worth $35 billion over three years and a tax cut "goal" for the next five years. A few days later, Rudd released his policy which supported the reform measures, however offered education and health tax rebates instead of immediate cuts to the top rate as proposed by the Liberal Party, with a slower progression for the top rate.
The Liberals slogan, "go for growth" was launched after announcing the largest tax cut in Australian history. Media and political commentators questioned the suitability of the slogan in the context of rising inflation and interest rates.
During the latter part of the week union influence over the ALP was questioned after the launch of the Liberal party's first campaign ads. Labor responded with commercials attacking the Liberals' campaign as 'smears', which was disputed by John Howard. One of the Liberal Party election commercials was corrected after it incorrectly said Wayne Swan
and Craig Emerson
had previously been union officials.
, was shown live on ABC TV
, the Nine Network
, and Sky News Australia
at 7.30 p.m. on 21 October. Rudd had called for a minimum of three debates between himself and Howard, while Howard, who had been rated poorly by studio audiences at past leadership debates, pressed for a single debate. A total of 2.4 million Australians watched the event, with Nine averaging 1.42 million, the ABC averaging 907,000, and Sky News averaging 62,000. The last election debate in 2004 was watched by 1.77 million on Nine and the ABC, while in 2001, average audiences on Nine, Seven and the ABC totalled 2.44 million. David Speers
, Sky News's political editor, moderated the debate which was held in the Great Hall of Parliament House
. The debate audience was 400, with the Coalition and Labor each selecting 200.
Kevin Rudd argued that the Liberal Party was being influenced by the H. R. Nicholls Society
to make further reforms to industrial relations, citing Nick Minchin
's speech at the Society's 2008 conference where he told the audience that the Coalition "knew its reform to WorkChoices
were not popular but the process of change must continue", and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it..." In response to the Liberal Party message that 70 per cent of Labor's front bench was made up of former union officials, Rudd said 70 per cent of Liberal Party ministers were either lawyers or former Liberal Party staffers. On the same day, Peter Costello
admitted when questioned that the 70 per cent figure was in reference to union members rather than union officials.
Rudd said that Howard had "no plan for the future" on tackling climate change. Howard said that a Coalition government would establish a climate change fund after 2011, which would be financed by carbon offsets.
The Nine Network, which broadcast the debate as an extended edition of 60 Minutes, used 'the Worm
' in its broadcast despite prior objections from the Liberal Party and action from the National Press Club to cease its video feed. As a result, the Nine Network's feed was cut part way into the broadcast, which Nine then replaced with Sky News's coverage. The Nine television network's live audience, via the Worm's average, scored the debate 65 to 29 in Rudd's favour, with 6 per cent remaining undecided. Both sides, however, claimed victory. Nine had a separate group of 80 it said were 'swinging' voters (chosen by McNair Research) in its studio to control 'the Worm'. Steps were taken to ensure equal numbers so as not to taint the Worm. At one point, Peter Costello
was asked to cease interjecting.
argued against an increase in interest rates, saying the Reserve Bank
should concentrate on the headline consumer price index
(CPI) inflation rate which rose of 1.9 per cent for the period.
Controversy arose over the Coalition's climate change policy, with The Financial Review
citing "government sources" who claimed Turnbull told Cabinet six weeks ago it should sign the Kyoto Protocol
. Neither Howard nor Turnbull denied the story. The story said that "internal critics" are claiming Turnbull is "selfishly positioning himself for a Coalition defeat" and a "possible post-poll leadership battle with Treasurer Peter Costello". The story led to claims of major splits in Cabinet.
Labor also suffered from mixed messages. Kevin Rudd was compelled to clarify Labor policy on climate change after an interview in which Peter Garrett
suggested Labor would sign up to the post-Kyoto agreement at 2012 even if carbon-emitting developing countries did not. Rudd's comments, which he described as having "always been [Labor's] position", saw Labor's policy move closer to Liberal policy, insofar as Labor would ratify the agreement only after persuading all major carbon emitters, developing and developed, to ratify. Rudd also committed Labor to a target of a 20 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020, a 5-point increase on the Liberal target, assisted by the use of renewable energy
, but without the use of clean coal
, arguing that it would ultimately be a benefit, not a detriment to the economy.
John Howard said the Coalition would not match the Labor's promise of 20 per cent renewable energy target. Howard claimed Labor's policy "imposes too many additional costs to industry". Peter Garrett
replied that lack of government action has cost jobs. It was also reported that a recommendation by Howard's Environment Minister in 2005 for higher renewable energy targets, on the basis that 15 per cent was insufficient, was rejected at the time, which Howard declined to confirm or deny.
The Coalition announced a promise to open 50 new emergency medical centres around Australia if re-elected. Adding to the campaign trend of both major parties criticising their opponent for plagiarism and "me-tooism", Labor responded that the government had copied its policy.
Peter Garrett was criticised by the Coalition when radio announcer Steve Price
revealed Garrett had said to TV presenter Richard Wilkins
, that "once we get in we'll just change it all" in reference to copying Coalition policies. Garrett said the comment was made during a "short, jocular and casual" conversation and Wilkins supported Garrett's response, saying that it was a "light-hearted throwaway line".
Tim Costello
, director of World Vision Australia and Peter Costello's brother, criticised Australia's ranking of 19th out of 22 OECD
countries for provision of overseas aid, and for government unwillingness to increase its policy of 0.35 per cent of national GDP to match Labor's commitment of 0.5 per cent. Howard said his party planned to lift the rate to 3.5 per cent.
Commentators pronounced Peter Costello
and Wayne Swan
's debate on 30 October as ending in a draw. Costello focused mainly on the government's past record, advocating the need for Australia to build into the future, while Swan said Labor were interested in "investing in people". Howard said he believed Costello "creamed" his opponent, while Rudd said Swan did a "fantastic job".
Liberal Tony Abbott
and Labor's Nicola Roxon
debated health at the National Press Club on ABC television. Abbott's character and ministerial capacity were questioned by Roxon for his comments about terminally ill asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton
and for arriving 35 minutes late to debate. At the end of the debate, Roxon suggested to Abbott that he "could have arrived on time" if he had "really wanted to", to which Abbott replied "bullshit". Former Liberal campaign strategist Sue Cato said "you just don't run late for things like that". Abbott apologised to Mr Banton but not to Ms Roxon.
held their campaign launch in Melbourne.
The Reserve Bank of Australia
adjusted interest rates upwards by another 0.25 per cent, the sixth rise since the last election, to a 10-year high of 6.75 per cent, and the first time the Bank had been changed rates during an election campaign. The Coalition said that only the current government had the proper experienced team to manage the economy in future, less prosperous years. Costello argued that the inflationary reasons for the rate rise were "outside the control of a Government". In response, Labor accused the Coalition of having "hauled up the white flag in the fight against inflation", saying that they had backflipped from their past statements that they could keep interest rates low. Howard stated that he was sorry for the negative consequences for and burden on Australian borrowers, but subsequently denied that this constituted an apology for the rate rise itself.
On 7 November, Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey
and Labor's Julia Gillard
debated industrial relations including WorkChoices
at the National Press Club in Canberra. Hockey argued that Labor's policy to drop Workchoices was Australia's biggest threat to inflation.
On 8 November, Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull
and opposition spokesman Peter Garrett
debated environment issues at the National Press Club in Canberra. Garrett criticised the government's record on climate change to which Turnbull responded that Garrett's current claims betray his previous career as a political activist.
The Labor Party promised to spend only a quarter of the $9.4 billion promised by the Coalition, saying it would have a smaller impact on inflation. It accused the Howard Government
of being "irresponsible". In addition to previous education funding announcements, Rudd promised Labor would provide an additional 65,000 apprenticeships, migrate all schools to new high speed broadband, and provide all year 9–12 students with access to their own computer. A doubling of the number of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships available at a tertiary level was announced, and the party re-iterating its view on climate change and WorkChoices
.
The Labor Party released footage on Thursday 15 November to Lateline, showing Tony Abbott
addressing a room of people, stating "I accept that certain protections, in inverted commas, are not what they were" in reference to WorkChoices legislation. Referring to award structures, Abbott said in the same footage: "I accept that that has largely gone. I accept that." When questioned, Abbott said he stood by the comments that WorkChoices means "certain protections" are not what they used to be, but denied conceding workers had lost protections. He said the video released by Labor was a "cut-and-paste job".
A report by the National Audit Office found that the Coalition had been interfering in the $328 million regional grants program, with a bias toward their marginal seats, where projects under the Regional Partnerships Program were apparently approved without proper assessment, or none at all, and that there was an increase in approvals prior to the 2004 election.
Newspoll stated Labor's two-party-preferred level was down one point to 54 per cent. Former Liberal Party campaign director Lynton Crosby
said that the Coalition was "closing in on Labor" in the final week and could "still win a tight election" on a campaign of defending marginal seats, declaring a win still possible on 48.5 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote.
On 20 November, John Howard defended the government's advertising spending in the months prior to the campaign, paid for with public money. The advertising, which covered topics including the controversial "Workchoices", cost $360 million over approximately 18 months. An article in the 20 November issue of the Herald Sun suggested spending could have been up to $500 million, though this took a broader view of what was included in that sum. Mr Howard was criticised for not revealing documents written by his department about further changes to industrial relations laws in addition to WorkChoices
legislation. In response, the government said the proposals had been cancelled, and that WorkChoices would not be expanded upon. The Seven Network
failed in attempt to access the documents under Freedom of Information.
Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce
said that he the possibility of his crossing the floor to support Labor's amendments to WorkChoices remained open, and that he would judge all legislation on its merits, for which he was criticised by Nationals leader Mark Vaile
.
On 21 November, three days before the election, fake pamphlets were distributed
in the electorate of Lindsay
, which purported to be from an Islamic group. The group was non-existent and the pamphlets thanked the Labor Party for supporting the Bali bombers and encouraged people to vote Labor. Those involved included a member of the Liberals' state executive, Jeff Egan; Gary Clark, husband of retiring MP Jackie Kelly
; and Greg Chijoff, the husband of Lindsay candidate Karen Chijoff. Kelly said the incident was a "Chaser
-style prank." John Howard condemned the statement. Egan and Greg Chijoff were immediately expelled from the Liberal Party a day before John Howard's address to the Australian Press Club; although, Egan denied any wrongdoing. Court cases are progressing.
Citing a clause of the Constitution
that states parliamentarians are not permitted to hold an "office of profit under the crown", government frontbencher Andrew Robb
said that up to 13 Labor candidates standing in the election may be ineligible for nomination. According to Robb, a "search of public records" indicated that the 13 candidates may have still been employed by government agencies, boards or offices, and that the Liberal Party may consider legal challenges to their election. According to Labor Senator Penny Wong
, all Labor's candidates were eligible to stand, and that the Liberals had obtained the information from outdated websites.
Election day was Saturday 24 November.
, the Nine Network
and the Seven Network
. Network Ten
and SBS Television included brief updates and news bulletins through the night, but not to the other networks' extent. Sky News
offered extensive coverage on Pay TV.
Roy Morgan polling in June 2007 reported WorkChoices
was a reason for Labor party support, and a fear of union dominance and support for Coalition economic management policy as the biggest reasons behind the Coalition vote. Several big business organisations, including the Australian Industry Group, declined a request from the Prime Minister to run advertisements to counter the union-funded campaign. The share of voters concerned about industrial relations grew from 31 per cent to 53 per cent in the two years to June 2006, with around three fifths of voters backing Labor's ability to handle the issue over the Liberal Party.
A Newspoll released in June 2006 reported health and Medicare
were the most important issue for voters; 83 per cent of respondents rated it "very important". Other key issues included education (79 per cent), the economy (67 per cent), the environment (60 per cent) and national security (60 per cent). Taxation and interest rates, key issues in previous campaigns, were rated very important by 54 per cent and 51 per cent respectively. Immigration, a key issue in 2001, scored 43 per cent. The poll showed that voters considered Labor marginally better-placed to handle health and education, and gave the government strong backing on the economy and national security.
Kevin Rudd promised Labor would introduce a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 60 per cent by 2050, ratify the Kyoto protocol
and introduce a mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) of 20 per cent by 2020. The Howard government reiterated their position of not ratifying the Kyoto protocol, setting "voluntary aspirational emission reduction targets" and introducing a carbon emissions trading scheme by 2012.
Labor pledged a $4.7 billion fibre-to-the-node broadband network.
On 7 June in a speech promoting the government's handling of the economy, Treasurer Peter Costello recalled the learner driver slogan of the 2004 election: "This [the economy] is like a highly engineered racing car and I tell you what, I wouldn't be putting an L-plate driver in the cockpit at the moment". August 2007 saw, for the first time during an election campaign, a 0.25-point interest-rate rise to 6.5 per cent by the Reserve Bank
, the sixth rise since the last election in 2004. Labor used the news to argue that the Coalition could not be trusted to keep interest rates low, while Costello argued that interest rates would be higher under Labor. In November 2007 interest rates were raised for the sixth time since the 2004 election, to a 10-year high of 6.75 per cent. In response to Labor criticism of the government on the rate rises, Mr Howard stated in August 2007 "[Rudd] can scour every transcript, and I will make them available, of every interview that I gave during that election campaign and he will find no such commitment." In October 2007, Mr Howard "admitted breaking a promise to keep interest rates at record lows". During the 2004 campaign, Howard was also cited as giving the same promise, personally, on radio. Inflation figures released on 24 October indicated underlying inflation was higher than expected, which resulted in seven of eight financial companies believing there will be an interest rate rise when the reserve bank met in the middle of November, the first during an election campaign.
Rudd advocated four-year fixed terms for federal parliaments if elected. Howard supported four-year terms but opposed fixed election dates. Any change would require approval by referendum. In mid-October, Howard said that if re-elected, the government would hold a referendum on the inclusion a statement of reconciliation in the preamble of the constitution.
Roy Morgan, Newspoll, ACNeilsen and Galaxy timegraph polling showed Labor leading the Coalition in opinion polling from mid-2006 onward. On several key questions, Labor increased its lead after Rudd assumed the Labor leadership from Kim Beazley
, at which point Rudd also assumed the lead as preferred prime minister. While Labor was ahead in opinion polling, Howard had led Beazley on this question by a wide margin.
According to Australian political analyst Adam Carr, WorkChoices was one of five key reasons for "...a change of heart by the decisive sectors of the electorate". The new industrial relations program, Carr said, angered the "Howard battlers" – the traditional Labor voters who had supported Howard for most of the last 11 years – because they saw it as a direct attack on their livelihood.
ACNielsen
polling in March 2007 had Rudd's personal approval rating at 67 per cent, which made him the most popular opposition leader in the poll's 35-year history, with Newspoll
(News Limited
) 2PP polling the highest in its history. The largest 2PP election result for the ALP in its history was at the 1943 election
on an estimate of 58.2 per cent.
A weighted collaboration of all polling since Rudd assumed the ALP leadership shows an average Labor 2PP figure of 57 per cent compared with the Coalition's 43 per cent, and Rudd's consistent outpolling of Howard as preferred prime minister, something not achieved under previous leaders Mark Latham
, Kim Beazley
or Simon Crean
.
By the time the writs were issued, the Coalition was well behind Labor in opinion polling, which election analyst Antony Green
believed to show Labor winning government "in a canter". According to Green, this was a nearly exact reversal of the run-up to the 1996 election. The Coalition was running ahead of Labor in two-party opinion polling for much of 1995 and 1996, however the mantle of preferred prime minister regularly switched between Howard and Paul Keating
.
Possums Pollytics, an anonymous weblog, stated that due to the uneven nature of the swings, where safe Liberal seats were swinging up to 14.6 per cent with safe Labor seats swinging around only 4.1 points, the Labor party stood to potentially end up with a maximum of 106 of the 150 lower house seats.
Polling consistently showed that the economy and national security were the Coalition's strong areas. In August 2007 an Ipsos poll showed 39 per cent of voters thought Labor was a better economic manager, compared to 36 per cent for the Coalition, with 25 per cent undecided.
The morning of the election announcement, a special Sun-Herald Taverner survey of 979 people across New South Wales and Victoria had been released, indicating a Labor 2PP of 59 per cent, with the 18–29 year old category voting at 72 per cent. The fortnightly Newspoll was released the day after the election was called, showing the 2PP remaining steady at Labor 56–44 Liberal. Howard increased his Preferred PM rating up one per cent to 39 per cent, while Rudd increased his rating up one per cent to 48 per cent. On the day after the election was called, Centrebet
had odds of 1.47 on Labor, with 2.70 on the Coalition. Half way through the campaign, with no overall change in the polls, saw Centrebet odds for Labor shorten to 1.29, with the Liberals on 3.60. Centrebet odds two days out from the election were at 1.22 for Labor, with 4.35 for the Coalition.
Newspoll a week out from the election of 3,600 voters in 18 of the Coalition's most marginal seats revealed an ALP 54–46 Coalition 2PP, a swing to Labor of 6–9 per cent. A uniform swing would see 18–25 seats fall to Labor, The Australian said.
Former Labor number-cruncher Graham Richardson
, who news.com.au (News Limited
) claims to have correctly picked the winner of every election for the past three decades, tipped Kevin Rudd and Labor to win with a 6–7 per cent two-party-preferred
, 20-seat swing.
Peter Day, a journalist (ex-The Australian), stated two days before the election that, if the Coalition were re-elected, it would be "the biggest polling embarrassment in any developed country since Truman beat Dewey
in 1948".
The election-eve Newspoll and Galaxy poll reported the ALP on a 2PP of 52 per cent, Roy Morgan on 53.5 per cent, with ACNielsen on 57 per cent. Seven News reported that TAB
had updated their odds for the election, with Labor having safe odds of $1.20 and the Coalition an outside chance on $4.60.
Sky News
-Channel 7
-Auspoll exit poll
s on election day of 2,787 voters in the 31 most marginal seats suggested a 53 per cent two-party preferred figure to Labor, 53 per cent to Labor in Bennelong
, and 58 per cent to Labor in Eden-Monaro
. Key issue questions swung Labor's way.
Media
Unofficial Sites
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 39 day campaign, in which 13.6 million Australians were enrolled to vote. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
and 40 of the seats in the 76-member Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
were contested in the election.
The centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
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...
opposition
Opposition (Australia)
Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in Australia fulfils the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies. It is seen as the alternative government and the existing administration's main opponent at a general election...
, led by Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
and deputy leader Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, defeated the incumbent centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
government, led by Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
leader and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, and Nationals
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
leader and Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
, Mark Vaile
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
. The Coalition had been in power since the 1996 election.
House of Representatives results
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
on Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. At 10.29pm AEST
Time in Australia
Australia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
, approximately two hours after the last polls in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
closed, Liberal deputy leader Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
conceded that the Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
had lost government. At 10.36pm, John Howard delivered a speech at the Sofitel
Sofitel
Sofitel is a luxury hotel chain managed by Accor, which opened its first property in Strasbourg in 1964. Its first overseas opening in Minneapolis, USA was in 1974. In 1995 Sofitel had 100 hotels in 40 countries and employed 12500 people....
Wentworth Hotel in Sydney to concede defeat. At 11.05pm, Kevin Rudd delivered his victory speech.
Labor won 83 of the 150 seats in the incoming House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. This represented a 23-seat swing to Labor. The Liberals won 55 while the Nationals won 10, with two seats retained by Independents. Labor finished with a 52.70 per cent two-party-preferred vote
Two-party-preferred vote
In politics, the two-party-preferred vote , or two-candidate-preferred vote , in an election or opinion poll uses preferential voting to express the electoral result after the distribution of preferences...
, a 5.44-point swing from 2004. On preferences, 79.7 per cent of Green votes flowed to Labor, 60.3 per cent of Family First votes flowed to the Coalition, with 62.5 per cent of Democrat votes flowing to Labor. Considering two-party estimates going back to the 1949 election
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
, the swing to Labor in 2007 was the third-largest two-party-preferred swing, behind Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
and the Coalition in 1975
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were 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 following a double dissolution of both Houses....
on 7.4 per cent, and Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
and Labor in 1969
Australian federal election, 1969
Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
on 7.1 per cent. The swing was the largest since 1983
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
, when full preference counting was introduced to create an exact two-party figure, and the largest swing to occur in the absence of a recession, political or military crisis.
Western Australia went against the national trend, with the Liberals suffering only a 2.14-point swing against them – lower than all except Tasmania and the ACT – but yet gaining one net seat. The weaker Labor performance was attributed to the strong economy and voters' unwillingness to do anything which might risk their present prosperity – a sentiment played to by Liberal campaigning strategies – and also the behaviour of union officials Kevin Reynolds
Kevin Reynolds (unionist)
Kevin Reynolds is the Western Australian state secretary for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union . Prior to this he was involved with the Builders Labourers Federation in the 1970s and 1980s where he formed an association with Norm Gallagher.Reynolds today holds considerable...
and Joe McDonald who had made headlines during the campaign.
Senate results
Labor and the Coalition won 18 seats each in the half-SenateAustralian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
election. The Greens won three seats, with Independent Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
being elected on primary votes alone. This took the 76-member Senate total to 37 Coalition, 32 Labor, 5 Green, 1 Family First, and 1 Independent. With a majority being 39 senators, when the new Senate met after 1 July 2008, the balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
was shared between Xenophon, Family First's Steve Fielding
Steve Fielding
Steven "Steve" Fielding , was a Senator representing the state of Victoria and the federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party in Australia. Elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election on two percent of the Victorian vote, he failed to gain re-election at the 2010 federal election...
and the five Greens. Xenophon, although reported as left-of-centre, indicated plans to work closely with the renegade National, Senator Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
. If sufficient Coalition senators vote for government legislation, support from the crossbench will not be required.
Compared to the previous Senate, the Greens gained one (losing Kerry Nettle
Kerry Nettle
Kerry Michelle Nettle is a former Australian Senator and member of the Australian Greens in New South Wales. Elected at the 2001 federal election on a primary vote of 4.36 percent with One Nation and micro-party preferences, she failed to gain re-election at the 2007 federal election, despite an...
in NSW but gaining Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Coral Hanson-Young is an Australian politician. She has been a Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of South Australia. she is the youngest person ever elected to the Australian Senate....
in SA and Scott Ludlam
Scott Ludlam
Scott Ludlam is an Australian politician and Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of Western Australia....
in WA), a new Independent was elected (Xenophon), and Labor gained four seats. The Coalition lost two, and the Democrats lost all four of their seats.
After preferences were distributed, the Coalition had 41.5 per cent to Labor's 40.6 per cent, with the Greens on 11.7 per cent, while the fourth parties, mostly from the right, had 6.2 per cent.
The informal rate of 2.55 per cent ties with the 1993 election as the lowest informal rate in the Senate since federation. The introduction of the group voting ticket
Group voting ticket
Group voting tickets are a way to simplify preferential voting, usually in an election held under the single transferable vote or the alternative vote system....
at the 1984 election saw the number of informal votes drop dramatically.
Defeat of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister John Howard lost his own seat of BennelongDivision of Bennelong
The Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip...
, in the Sydney area, to Labor candidate and former journalist Maxine McKew
Maxine McKew
Maxine Margaret McKew , is a former Australian politician and journalist; she was the Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the Rudd Ministry and the First Gillard Ministry. Between 2007 and 2010, she was the member of the House of...
, becoming the second sitting prime minister, and the third party leader, since Federation to be defeated in his own electorate. (Prime Minister Stanley Bruce
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
and National Party leader Charles Blunt
Charles Blunt
Charles William Blunt Australian politician and businessman, was leader of the National Party of Australia from 1989 to 1990....
lost their seats in 1929 and 1990 respectively). Howard had held the seat since 1974, and it had been in Liberal hands ever since its creation in 1949.
However, the once strongly Liberal seat had become increasingly friendly to Labor over the years; much of the area was represented by Labor at the state level. The redistribution prior to the election reduced Howard's two-party majority to four percent, putting it right on the edge of seats that Labor would likely take in the event it won.
Late on election night, when conceding Labor had won government, Howard also acknowledged the likelihood he had lost Bennelong to McKew, though he and McKew agreed the margin was "very tight". He had been ahead by thin margins for most of the night, never leading by more than 0.2 percentage points. Howard had been 206 votes ahead of McKew on the first count, and finished 2.8 percentage points behind McKew on the estimated two-party vote. McKew declined to claim victory at first, saying that the seat was on "a knife edge," while the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
listed Bennelong as a Labor gain on election night, and ABC election analyst Antony Green
Antony Green
Antony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
said there was "no doubt" McKew had won.
On 29 November, Rudd named McKew as a parliamentary secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
(assistant minister) to be appointed on 3 December, and on 1 December, McKew claimed victory. Although counting was incomplete at the time, with several postal and absentee ballots outstanding, it was expected that Howard would not win enough of the votes to retain his seat. McKew finished with a primary vote of 45.33 per cent, and a two-party-preferred vote
Two-party-preferred vote
In politics, the two-party-preferred vote , or two-candidate-preferred vote , in an election or opinion poll uses preferential voting to express the electoral result after the distribution of preferences...
of 51.40 per cent, a 5.53-point swing from 2004. Howard lost on the 14th count due to a large flow of Green
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
preferences to McKew. This swing is within the current boundaries; Bennelong was redistributed after the 2004 election.
Three other Howard ministers were defeated – Mal Brough
Mal Brough
Malcolm Thomas "Mal" Brough is a former Australian politician and Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to November 2007, representing the Division of Longman, Queensland...
, Gary Nairn
Gary Nairn
Gary Roy Nairn is a former Australian politician.Nairn was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at the University of New South Wales. He was a surveyor in private practice and managing director of a surveying and mapping consultancy before entering politics. He moved to the Northern...
and Jim Lloyd
Jim Lloyd
James Eric Lloyd JP , Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representing the Division of Robertson in New South Wales.Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Lloyd was...
.
Post-election
The Labor caucus met on Thursday 29 November 2007 to confirm the First Rudd Ministry
First Rudd Ministry
The Rudd Ministry was the 65th Australian Commonwealth ministry. It was led by Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party.The Ministry was sworn in by the 24th Governor-General of Australia Major-General Michael Jeffery on 3 December 2007, following the 2007 election, and it ended on 24 June 2010...
, which was sworn in on 3 December. In a departure from Labor tradition, the ministry was selected by Kevin Rudd as the prime minister, rather than by Caucus.
Given John Howard's personal defeat, the Liberal Party began the process of choosing a new leader. The morning after the election, Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, and long regarded as Howard's natural successor, stated that he would not run for Liberal leadership. The day before the ballot, former Health Minister Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
withdrew from the leadership after initially indicating he would stand. The leadership ballot was held on Thursday 29 November. The previous Defence Minister Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
and former Environmental Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
both stood for the leadership. Former Education Minister Julie Bishop
Julie Bishop
Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...
contested the deputy leadership position, as did Andrew Robb
Andrew Robb
Andrew John Robb AO , Australian politician and former federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Goldstein, Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election.Robb, one of nine children, was...
and Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
.
Brendan Nelson was elected leader by 45 votes to 42, and Julie Bishop was elected deputy leader. A Newspoll survey taken after the Liberal leadership change revealed a preferred-prime-minister rating of Rudd 61 per cent to Nelson 14 per cent, with Turnbull twice as popular as Nelson. Newspoll's subsequent polling saw new Newspoll records set, at 70 per cent for the best rating for preferred prime minister, to 9 per cent for the worst rating for preferred prime minister, with the next poll results revealing another record of 73 to 7 per cent. A new two party preferred record was also set, at 63 to 37 per cent Labor's way.
Post-election, ALP secretary Tim Gartrell
Tim Gartrell
Tim Gartrell is the former National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party.Born and raised in Orange in Central Western NSW, he worked as an advocate and researcher for the Australian Services Union and the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union while studying politics part-time at the...
commented on pre-election campaign billboard ads featuring a picture of John Howard stating "Working families in Australia have never been better off", which looked like Liberal Party advertisements, were actually paid for by the Labor Party. Liberal leader Brendan Nelson declared that the Liberal Party had listened and learned from the Australian public and declared WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
"dead".
In 2008, former ministers Peter McGauran, Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
, and Mark Vaile
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
resigned seeking other career options, sparking Gippsland
Gippsland by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Gippsland on 28 June 2008. It was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Peter McGauran....
, Mayo
Mayo by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo on 6 September 2008, following the retirement of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer. The by-election was held on the same day as the Lyne by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
, and Lyne by-election
Lyne by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Lyne on 6 September 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Mark Vaile. The by-election was held on the same day as the Mayo by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
s. The Lyne by-election resulted in an Independent being elected, reducing the total number of Coalition seats to 64. Bradfield
Bradfield by-election, 2009
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Bradfield on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former minister and ex-Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson...
and Higgins by-elections
Higgins by-election, 2009
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Higgins on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello...
were held in December 2009.
In September 2008, Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
replaced Brendan Nelson in a leadership spill
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2008
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 16 September 2008. The successful candidate was Malcolm Turnbull who defeated former leader Brendan Nelson...
, and Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
replaced CLP Senator and Nationals deputy leader Nigel Scullion
Nigel Scullion
Nigel Gregory Scullion , Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate for the Northern Territory since November 2001, representing the Country Liberal Party...
as leader of the Nationals in the Senate, and moved the party to the crossbenches. Joyce stated that his party would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house.
Seats changing hands
The following table indicates seats that changed hands from one party to another at this election. It compares the election results with the previous margins, taking into account the redistribution in New South Wales and Queensland. As a result, it includes the newly created electorate of FlynnDivision of Flynn
The Division of Flynn is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 2006, following a redistribution of seats in the state. It was first contested at the 2007 federal election. The electorate generally extends west from the port city of Gladstone, as far as the...
, and the existing Parramatta
Division of Parramatta
The Division of Parramatta is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the locality of Parramatta. The name Parramatta has been sourced to an Aboriginal...
, which was retained by Labor despite becoming a notional Liberal seat due to boundary changes. The table does not include Gwydir
Division of Gwydir
The Division of Gwydir was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...
, which was abolished in the redistribution; Macquarie
Division of Macquarie
The Division of Macquarie is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lachlan Macquarie, who was Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821...
, which was reclassified from safe Liberal to marginal Labor and was subsequently won by Labor; or Calare
Division of Calare
The Division of Calare is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was first contested at the 1906 election and is named for the local Aboriginal name for the Lachlan River, which runs through the western part of the division...
, the seat of Independent MP Peter Andren
Peter Andren
Peter James Andren AM was an Australian politician. He was an independent member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until October 2007, representing the electorate of Calare, New South Wales....
, which was reclassified as a National seat by the redistribution and was won by the National Party.
| Seat | Pre-2007 | Swing | Post-2007 | ||||||
| Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
| Bass, Tas Division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. The division was created in 1903 and is named for the explorer George Bass. It has always been based on the city of Launceston and surrounding rural areas, and its boundaries have changed very little in the century since its... |
Liberal | Michael Ferguson | 2.63 | 3.63 | 1.00 | Jodie Campbell Jodie Campbell Jodie Louise Campbell is an Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the division of Bass.... |
Labor | ||
| Bennelong, NSW Division of Bennelong The Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip... |
Liberal | John Howard John Howard John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies.... |
4.13 | 5.53 | 1.40 | Maxine McKew Maxine McKew Maxine Margaret McKew , is a former Australian politician and journalist; she was the Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the Rudd Ministry and the First Gillard Ministry. Between 2007 and 2010, she was the member of the House of... |
Labor | ||
| Blair, Qld Division of Blair The Division of Blair is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1998 and is named after Harold Blair, an Aboriginal singer and civil rights campaigner... |
Liberal | Cameron Thompson Cameron Thompson Cameron Paul Thompson was an Australian politician in Queensland. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Blair from 1998 until 2007.-Early life:... |
5.69 | 10.17 | 4.48 | Shayne Neumann Shayne Neumann Shayne Kenneth Neumann is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2007, representing the Division of Blair.... |
Labor | ||
| Bonner, Qld Division of Bonner The Division of Bonner is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 2004 and is named after Neville Bonner, the first Aborigine to serve in the Australian Parliament. Bonner served in the federal Senate as a Queensland Liberal Senator... |
Liberal | Ross Vasta Ross Vasta Ross Xavier Vasta , Australian politician, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Bonner, Queensland for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election... |
0.51 | 5.04 | 4.53 | Kerry Rea Kerry Rea Kerry Marie Rea is an Australian politician. She was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the Division of Bonner in Queensland.Rea was born in Bundaberg, Queensland.... |
Labor | ||
| Braddon, Tas Division of Braddon The Division of Braddon is an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania.The division was created in 1955 to replace the abolished Division of Darwin, and is named for Sir Edward Braddon, a Premier of Tasmania and one of Tasmania's five original federal MPs... |
Liberal | Mark Baker Mark Baker (politician) Mark Horden Baker is an Australian politician. He was elected as a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives in October 2004, for the Division of Braddon, Tasmania... |
1.13 | 2.57 | 1.44 | Sid Sidebottom | Labor | ||
| Corangamite, Vic Division of Corangamite The Division of Corangamite is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election... |
Liberal | Stewart McArthur | 5.32 | 6.17 | 0.85 | Darren Cheeseman Darren Cheeseman Darren Leicester Cheeseman , Australian politician, was the successful Australian Labor Party candidate for the federal seat of Corangamite at the federal of election of 24 November 2007.... |
Labor | ||
| Cowan, WA Division of Cowan The Division of Cowan is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament. It is located in the northern suburbs of Perth, including the suburbs of Girrawheen, Greenwood,... |
Labor | Graham Edwards Graham Edwards (politician) Graham John Edwards , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, representing the Division of Cowan.... |
0.78 | 2.49 | 1.71 | Luke Simpkins Luke Simpkins Luke Xavier Linton Simpkins is an Australian politician. He has been the Liberal representative for the electoral division of Cowan in Western Australia since the 2007 federal election. Luke Simpkins was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the seat from Labor's Graham Edwards at the 2004 federal... |
Liberal | ||
| Dawson, Qld Division of Dawson The Division of Dawson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Anderson Dawson, the first Labor Premier of Queensland and leader of the first parliamentary socialist government anywhere in the world... |
National | De-Anne Kelly De-Anne Kelly De-Anne Margaret Kelly , was an Australian politician. She was a National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until November 2007, representing the Division of Dawson, Queensland. She was also the first female member of the National Party to win a seat in the... |
9.99 | 13.20 | 3.21 | James Bidgood James Bidgood (Australian politician) James Mark Bidgood , Australian politician, was a member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Dawson, in north Queensland, representing the Australian Labor Party. He was elected at the November 2007 federal election, defeating the sitting Nationals member, De-Anne Kelly... |
Labor | ||
| Deakin, Vic Division of Deakin The Division of Deakin is anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria. It is named for Alfred Deakin, three times Prime Minister of Australia. The division was created in 1937, initially as a rural seat, but since 1949 it has been located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, today taking in... |
Liberal | Phillip Barresi | 4.97 | 6.38 | 1.41 | Mike Symon Mike Symon Michael Stuart "Mike" Symon , Australian politician, was elected as the new Australian Labor Party member for the federal seat of Deakin in the Australian House of Representatives at the 2007 federal election... |
Labor | ||
| Dobell, NSW Division of Dobell The Division of Dobell is an Australian electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Sir William Dobell, the painter. It is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales and includes the towns of The Entrance, Tuggerah and Wyong... |
Liberal | Ken Ticehurst Ken Ticehurst Kenneth Vincent Ticehurst is an Australian politician, and was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 2001 to 2007, representing the Division of Dobell in New South Wales for the Liberal Party of Australia.- Biography :Ticehurst has a qualification in electrical... |
4.84 | 8.74 | 3.90 | Craig Thomson | Labor | ||
| Eden-Monaro, NSW Division of Eden-Monaro The Division of Eden-Monaro is anAustralian Electoral Division in New South Wales.The division was created in 1900, and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the town of Eden and the Monaro district of southern New South Wales... |
Liberal | Gary Nairn Gary Nairn Gary Roy Nairn is a former Australian politician.Nairn was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at the University of New South Wales. He was a surveyor in private practice and managing director of a surveying and mapping consultancy before entering politics. He moved to the Northern... |
3.27 | 6.67 | 3.40 | Mike Kelly Mike Kelly (politician) Michael Joseph "Mike" Kelly AM, MP , is an Australian politician, elected to the Australian House of Representatives as member for the Division of Eden-Monaro, New South Wales for the Australian Labor Party at the 2007 federal election... |
Labor | ||
| Flynn, Qld Division of Flynn The Division of Flynn is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 2006, following a redistribution of seats in the state. It was first contested at the 2007 federal election. The electorate generally extends west from the port city of Gladstone, as far as the... |
National | notional – new seat | 7.72 | 7.88 | 0.16 | Chris Trevor Chris Trevor Chris Allan Trevor is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Flynn from 2007 to 2010... |
Labor | ||
| Forde, Qld Division of Forde The Division of Forde is anAustralian Electoral Division in Queensland.The division was created in 1984 and is named for Frank Forde, who was briefly Prime Minister of Australia in 1945... |
Liberal | Kay Elson Kay Elson Kay Selma Elson , Australian politician, was a Liberal Member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until her resignation in November 2007. Kay represented the Division of Forde, Queensland... |
11.52 | 14.43 | 2.91 | Brett Raguse Brett Raguse Brett Blair Raguse is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 2007 until July 2010, representing the electorate of Forde.... |
Labor | ||
| Hasluck, WA Division of Hasluck The Division of Hasluck is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.The division was created in 2001 and is named for Sir Paul Hasluck, who was Governor-General of Australia 1969-74, and for his wife, Dame Alexandra Hasluck, a prominent author... |
Liberal | Stuart Henry | 1.82 | 3.08 | 1.26 | Sharryn Jackson Sharryn Jackson Sharryn Maree Jackson , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives. She served one term from 2001 representing the Division of Hasluck before losing the seat at the 2004 federal election... |
Labor | ||
| Kingston, SA Division of Kingston The Division of Kingston is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia covering the far-south metropolitan area of Adelaide. The division was first proclaimed in 1949.... |
Liberal | Kym Richardson Kym Richardson Kym Charles Richardson is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives between 2004 and 2007, representing the South Australian electorate of Kingston.... |
0.07 | 4.49 | 4.42 | Amanda Rishworth Amanda Rishworth Amanda Louise Rishworth , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 2007, representing the electorate of Kingston, South Australia.-Early years:... |
Labor | ||
| Leichhardt, Qld Division of Leichhardt The Division of Leichhardt is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1949. It is one of Australia's largest electorates, covering an area stretching from Cairns to Cape York and the Torres Strait, including the Torres Strait Islands.-About the... |
Liberal | Warren Entsch Warren Entsch Warren George Entsch is an Australian politician currently serving as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Leichhardt in Queensland... |
10.26 | 14.29 | 4.03 | Jim Turnour Jim Turnour James Pearce "Jim" Turnour was the Australian Labor Party MP for the division of Leichhardt. He was first elected in the 2007 federal election... |
Labor | ||
| Lindsay, NSW Division of Lindsay The Division of Lindsay is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, and is centred around Penrith. It also includes the suburbs of Castlereagh, Mulgoa and Werrington.... |
Liberal | Jackie Kelly Jackie Kelly Jacqueline Marie Kelly , former Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until November 2007, representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales.-Early career:... |
2.92 | 9.70 | 6.78 | David Bradbury David Bradbury David John Bradbury is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party Member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales. Bradbury was elected at the 2007 federal election.Bradbury has lived in Western Sydney all his life, and was educated at... |
Labor | ||
| Longman, Qld Division of Longman The Division of Longman is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1994. The division is named after Irene Longman, the first female Member of the Queensland State Parliament and the third woman elected to a parliament in Australia.-Boundaries:Longman... |
Liberal | Mal Brough Mal Brough Malcolm Thomas "Mal" Brough is a former Australian politician and Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to November 2007, representing the Division of Longman, Queensland... |
6.75 | 10.32 | 3.57 | Jon Sullivan Jon Sullivan Jonathan Harold "Jon" Sullivan , an Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the seat of Longman for the Australian Labor Party and previously, a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1998, representing the... |
Labor | ||
| Makin, SA Division of Makin The Division of Makin is an electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives located in the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide. Established in 1984 and named after Norman Makin, a former MP and diplomat, it has been a marginal seat at most elections since... |
Liberal | Trish Draper Trish Draper -Early Life:Patricia "Trish" Draper was born in Woodville, South Australia, the daughter of German migrants who came to Australia after W.W.2.... |
0.93 | 8.63 | 7.70 | Tony Zappia Tony Zappia Antonio "Tony" Zappia is the Australian Labor Party representative for the electoral division of Makin in north-eastern Adelaide, South Australia in the 2007 federal election... |
Labor | ||
| Moreton, Qld Division of Moreton The Division of Moreton is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named after Moreton Bay. The electorate is a bellwether in elections, having voted for the party winning government at every... |
Liberal | Gary Hardgrave Gary Hardgrave Gary Douglas Hardgrave , Australian politician, was the Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until 2007, representing the Division of Moreton, Queensland. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at Griffith University, Queensland... |
2.83 | 7.58 | 4.75 | Graham Perrett Graham Perrett Graham Douglas Perrett is an Australian Labor politician, and a member of the Australian House of Representatives in the seat of Moreton... |
Labor | ||
| Page, NSW Division of Page The Division of Page is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the far north-east of the state, adjoining the border with Queensland and the coast of the Pacific Ocean... |
National | Ian Causley Ian Causley Ian Raymond Causley is an Australian politician. He was a National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Page, New South Wales from 1996 to 2007.... |
5.47 | 7.83 | 2.36 | Janelle Saffin Janelle Saffin Janelle Anne Saffin is an Australian politician. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 2007, representing the electorate of Page. She previously served as a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1995 to... |
Labor | ||
| Parramatta, NSW Division of Parramatta The Division of Parramatta is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the locality of Parramatta. The name Parramatta has been sourced to an Aboriginal... |
Liberal | notional – Julie Owens Julie Owens Julie Ann Owens , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 2004, representing the division of Parramatta, New South Wales... |
0.83 | 7.71 | 6.88 | Julie Owens Julie Owens Julie Ann Owens , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 2004, representing the division of Parramatta, New South Wales... |
Labor | ||
| Petrie, Qld Division of Petrie The Division of Petrie is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1949 and named after Andrew Petrie , a noted civil engineer, pioneer and explorer, and the first free settler in Brisbane .... |
Liberal | Teresa Gambaro | 7.45 | 9.50 | 2.05 | Yvette D'Ath Yvette D'Ath Yvette Maree D'Ath is an Australian politician. She is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2007, representing the Division of Petrie.... |
Labor | ||
| Robertson, NSW Division of Robertson The Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal.... |
Liberal | Jim Lloyd Jim Lloyd James Eric Lloyd JP , Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representing the Division of Robertson in New South Wales.Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Lloyd was... |
6.87 | 6.98 | 0.11 | Belinda Neal Belinda Neal Belinda Jane Neal , a former Australian federal politician, was a Member of the House of Representatives representing the electorate of Robertson between 2007 and 2010; and representing the state of New South Wales in the Senate from 1994 to 1998, both of behalf of the Australian Labor... |
Labor | ||
| Solomon, NT Division of Solomon The Division of Solomon is an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory. It covers the cities of Darwin and Palmerston... |
Country Liberal | David Tollner | 2.81 | 3.00 | 0.19 | Damian Hale Damian Hale Damian Francis Hale is a former Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Solomon from 2007 to 2010... |
Labor | ||
| Swan, WA Division of Swan The Division of Swan is an Australian Electoral Division located in Western Australia. The division is named after the Swan River.For several decades, it has been a marginal seat, extending along the Swan and Canning Rivers from the affluent suburbs in the City of South Perth to the west, which... |
Labor | Kim Wilkie Kim Wilkie Kim Wilkie , Australianpolitician, was an Australian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives from October 1998 to December 2007, representing the Electoral Division of Swan, Western Australia. He was born in Perth, Western Australia, and was a Youth Employment Placement... |
0.08 | 0.19 | 0.11 | Steve Irons Steve Irons Stephen James "Steve" Irons is an Australian politician. He is the Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives for the electoral division of Swan in Western Australia. He was the sole Liberal to unseat a sitting Labor MP at the 2007 election, defeating Kim Wilkie by 164... |
Liberal | ||
| Wakefield, SA Division of Wakefield The Division of Wakefield is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of South Australia. It is located north of Adelaide, incorporating the outer northern suburbs of Salisbury and Elizabeth, and extending north as far as Clare. It covers the east coast of the Gulf St Vincent north of... |
Liberal | David Fawcett David Fawcett David Julian Fawcett is an Australian politician and member of the Australian Senate. He was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the division of Wakefield in South Australia for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election. Despite an extensive campaign in 2007 he... |
0.67 | 7.26 | 6.59 | Nick Champion Nick Champion Nicholas David "Nick" Champion , is the ALP Member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the electorate of Wakefield... |
Labor | ||
- Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
Key dates
- Prorogation of 41st Parliament: 12 noon, 15 October
- DissolutionDissolution of parliamentIn parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
of House of Representatives: 12 noon, 17 October - Issue of electoralWrit of electionA writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office.In the United Kingdom and in Canada, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons...
writWritIn common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
s: 17 October - Close of rolls (if not currently on roll): 8 p.m., 17 October
- Close of rolls (if currently on roll and updating details): 8 p.m., 23 October
- Close of nominations: 12 noon, 1 November
- Declaration of nominations: 12 noon, 2 November
- Polling Day: 24 November
- Territory senators begin their terms: 24 November 2007
- Return of writs: 21 December
- First meeting of the 42nd Parliament: 12 February 2008
- New state senators begin their terms: 1 July 2008
Under the provisions of the Constitution
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
, the current House of Representatives may continue for a maximum of three years from the first meeting of the House after the previous federal election. The first meeting of the 41st Parliament after the 2004 election was on 16 November 2004, hence the parliament would have expired on 15 November 2007 had it not been dissolved earlier. There must be a minimum of 33 days and a maximum of 68 days between the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the day of the election. Prime Minister Howard opted for a 39-day campaign.
The prime minister of the day chooses the election date and requests the governor-general
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
to dissolve the House and issue the writs for the election. On 14 October, John Howard gained the agreement of the governor-general, Major-General Michael Jeffery
Michael Jeffery
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC was the 24th Governor-General of Australia , the first Australian career soldier to be appointed governor-general...
, to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a general election for the House and half the Senate on 24 November 2007.
During the last term of parliament before the 2007 election, the deadline for new voter enrolment was brought forward from 7 working days after the issue of the writ to the same day. When the election was announced, the writ was not issued the next day, but on the following Wednesday. This kept the roll open for three days, during which 77,000 enrolment additions were processed.
Week 1
On 14 October, Howard announced a 24 November election. The Coalition had been trailing Labor in the polls since 2006, and most pundits predicted that Howard would not be reelected. ABC Online election analyst Antony GreenAntony Green
Antony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
noted the Coalition's numbers were similar to what Labor had polled before losing power in 1996.
A Galaxy poll showed a Labor 53-47 per cent Coalition two-party-preferred result, with a 2 per cent gap on primaries, and ACNielsen polling reported a 2 per cent swing to the Coalition, reducing Labor's lead to 54–46. Rudd dropped 5 per cent as preferred prime minister. A Newspoll sampling 1,700 voters taken over the weekend prior to the leaders' debate reported a swing to Labor, increasing their two-party-preferred lead to 58 per cent, a rise of 2 points. Labor's primary vote increased 3 points to 51 per cent, and the Liberals decreased by 2 points to 34 per cent. Rudd extended his lead by 2 points to 50 per cent, with Howard down by 2 points to 37 per cent.
On the first full day of the campaign, Howard and Costello announced a 'major restructuring of the income tax system' with tax cuts worth $35 billion over three years and a tax cut "goal" for the next five years. A few days later, Rudd released his policy which supported the reform measures, however offered education and health tax rebates instead of immediate cuts to the top rate as proposed by the Liberal Party, with a slower progression for the top rate.
The Liberals slogan, "go for growth" was launched after announcing the largest tax cut in Australian history. Media and political commentators questioned the suitability of the slogan in the context of rising inflation and interest rates.
During the latter part of the week union influence over the ALP was questioned after the launch of the Liberal party's first campaign ads. Labor responded with commercials attacking the Liberals' campaign as 'smears', which was disputed by John Howard. One of the Liberal Party election commercials was corrected after it incorrectly said Wayne Swan
Wayne Swan
Wayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
and Craig Emerson
Craig Emerson
Craig Anthony Emerson , Australian politician, has represented the House of Representatives seat of Rankin in Queensland for the Australian Labor Party since the 1998 federal election...
had previously been union officials.
Leaders' debate
A debate between the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister, under the moderation of the National Press ClubNational Press Club (Australia)
The National Press Club is an association of primarily news journalists, but also includes academics, business people and members of the public service, and is based in Canberra, Australia. It was founded in the 1960s as the National Press Luncheon Club by a few journalists with the backing of the...
, was shown live on ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
, the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, and Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia is an Australian 24 hour cable and satellite news channel available in 2.5 million homes on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television and Neighbourhood Cable subscription platforms....
at 7.30 p.m. on 21 October. Rudd had called for a minimum of three debates between himself and Howard, while Howard, who had been rated poorly by studio audiences at past leadership debates, pressed for a single debate. A total of 2.4 million Australians watched the event, with Nine averaging 1.42 million, the ABC averaging 907,000, and Sky News averaging 62,000. The last election debate in 2004 was watched by 1.77 million on Nine and the ABC, while in 2001, average audiences on Nine, Seven and the ABC totalled 2.44 million. David Speers
David Speers
David Speers is an Australian journalist and the political editor at Sky News Australia. He worked with the Macquarie Radio Network, including the station 2GB, and the Southern Cross radio network, including stations 2UE and 3AW, before joining Sky in 2000. He has been a member of the National...
, Sky News's political editor, moderated the debate which was held in the Great Hall of Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
. The debate audience was 400, with the Coalition and Labor each selecting 200.
Kevin Rudd argued that the Liberal Party was being influenced by the H. R. Nicholls Society
H. R. Nicholls Society
The H.R. Nicholls Society is an Australian think tank of the New Right on industrial relations. It was created in March 1986 after John Stone, Peter Costello, Barrie Purvis, and Ray Evans organised a seminar aimed at discussing the Hancock Report and other industrial matters.The Society is named...
to make further reforms to industrial relations, citing Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin
Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
's speech at the Society's 2008 conference where he told the audience that the Coalition "knew its reform to WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
were not popular but the process of change must continue", and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it..." In response to the Liberal Party message that 70 per cent of Labor's front bench was made up of former union officials, Rudd said 70 per cent of Liberal Party ministers were either lawyers or former Liberal Party staffers. On the same day, Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
admitted when questioned that the 70 per cent figure was in reference to union members rather than union officials.
Rudd said that Howard had "no plan for the future" on tackling climate change. Howard said that a Coalition government would establish a climate change fund after 2011, which would be financed by carbon offsets.
The Nine Network, which broadcast the debate as an extended edition of 60 Minutes, used 'the Worm
Worm (marketing)
The "worm" is a market research analysis tool developed by Roy Morgan Research , with the purpose of gauging an audience's reaction to some visual stimuli over some time period...
' in its broadcast despite prior objections from the Liberal Party and action from the National Press Club to cease its video feed. As a result, the Nine Network's feed was cut part way into the broadcast, which Nine then replaced with Sky News's coverage. The Nine television network's live audience, via the Worm's average, scored the debate 65 to 29 in Rudd's favour, with 6 per cent remaining undecided. Both sides, however, claimed victory. Nine had a separate group of 80 it said were 'swinging' voters (chosen by McNair Research) in its studio to control 'the Worm'. Steps were taken to ensure equal numbers so as not to taint the Worm. At one point, Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
was asked to cease interjecting.
Week 2
Figures released on the Tuesday, showed a stronger than expected underlying rate of inflation of 3 per cent. Treasurer Peter CostelloPeter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
argued against an increase in interest rates, saying the Reserve Bank
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
should concentrate on the headline consumer price index
Consumer price index
A consumer price index measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI, in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of...
(CPI) inflation rate which rose of 1.9 per cent for the period.
Controversy arose over the Coalition's climate change policy, with The Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review is a leading business and finance newspaper in Australia.Fairfax Media publishes it in a compact format six days a week, Monday to Saturday....
citing "government sources" who claimed Turnbull told Cabinet six weeks ago it should sign the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
. Neither Howard nor Turnbull denied the story. The story said that "internal critics" are claiming Turnbull is "selfishly positioning himself for a Coalition defeat" and a "possible post-poll leadership battle with Treasurer Peter Costello". The story led to claims of major splits in Cabinet.
Labor also suffered from mixed messages. Kevin Rudd was compelled to clarify Labor policy on climate change after an interview in which Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
suggested Labor would sign up to the post-Kyoto agreement at 2012 even if carbon-emitting developing countries did not. Rudd's comments, which he described as having "always been [Labor's] position", saw Labor's policy move closer to Liberal policy, insofar as Labor would ratify the agreement only after persuading all major carbon emitters, developing and developed, to ratify. Rudd also committed Labor to a target of a 20 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020, a 5-point increase on the Liberal target, assisted by the use of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, but without the use of clean coal
Clean coal
Historically used to refer to technologies for reducing emissions of ash, sulfur, and heavy metals from coal combustion; the term is now commonly used to refer to carbon capture and storage technology...
, arguing that it would ultimately be a benefit, not a detriment to the economy.
Week 3
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
replied that lack of government action has cost jobs. It was also reported that a recommendation by Howard's Environment Minister in 2005 for higher renewable energy targets, on the basis that 15 per cent was insufficient, was rejected at the time, which Howard declined to confirm or deny.
The Coalition announced a promise to open 50 new emergency medical centres around Australia if re-elected. Adding to the campaign trend of both major parties criticising their opponent for plagiarism and "me-tooism", Labor responded that the government had copied its policy.
Peter Garrett was criticised by the Coalition when radio announcer Steve Price
Steve Price (broadcaster)
Steve Price is a radio broadcaster currently working as program director and breakfast presenter on Melbourne talkback radio station MTR 1377...
revealed Garrett had said to TV presenter Richard Wilkins
Richard Wilkins (TV presenter)
Richard Stephen Wilkins is a television presenter.Wilkins is currently the Nine Network's Entertainment editor for Today.- Career :...
, that "once we get in we'll just change it all" in reference to copying Coalition policies. Garrett said the comment was made during a "short, jocular and casual" conversation and Wilkins supported Garrett's response, saying that it was a "light-hearted throwaway line".
Tim Costello
Tim Costello
Timothy Ewen Costello AO is a prominent Baptist minister and current CEO of World Vision Australia.He is an "Australian Living Treasure". He is the brother of former treasurer of Australia and Federal Member for Higgins Peter Costello....
, director of World Vision Australia and Peter Costello's brother, criticised Australia's ranking of 19th out of 22 OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
countries for provision of overseas aid, and for government unwillingness to increase its policy of 0.35 per cent of national GDP to match Labor's commitment of 0.5 per cent. Howard said his party planned to lift the rate to 3.5 per cent.
Commentators pronounced Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
and Wayne Swan
Wayne Swan
Wayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
's debate on 30 October as ending in a draw. Costello focused mainly on the government's past record, advocating the need for Australia to build into the future, while Swan said Labor were interested in "investing in people". Howard said he believed Costello "creamed" his opponent, while Rudd said Swan did a "fantastic job".
Liberal Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
and Labor's Nicola Roxon
Nicola Roxon
Nicola Louise Roxon is an Australian politician, and is the Minister for Health and Ageing. She has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since 1998, representing the Division of Gellibrand, in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.-Early and personal life:She...
debated health at the National Press Club on ABC television. Abbott's character and ministerial capacity were questioned by Roxon for his comments about terminally ill asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton
Bernie Banton
Bernard Douglas Banton AM was an Australian social justice campaigner. He was the widely-recognised face of the legal and political campaign to achieve compensation for the many sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, which they contracted after working for the company James Hardie.Banton...
and for arriving 35 minutes late to debate. At the end of the debate, Roxon suggested to Abbott that he "could have arrived on time" if he had "really wanted to", to which Abbott replied "bullshit". Former Liberal campaign strategist Sue Cato said "you just don't run late for things like that". Abbott apologised to Mr Banton but not to Ms Roxon.
Week 4
On 10 November, the Australian DemocratsAustralian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
held their campaign launch in Melbourne.
The Reserve Bank of Australia
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
adjusted interest rates upwards by another 0.25 per cent, the sixth rise since the last election, to a 10-year high of 6.75 per cent, and the first time the Bank had been changed rates during an election campaign. The Coalition said that only the current government had the proper experienced team to manage the economy in future, less prosperous years. Costello argued that the inflationary reasons for the rate rise were "outside the control of a Government". In response, Labor accused the Coalition of having "hauled up the white flag in the fight against inflation", saying that they had backflipped from their past statements that they could keep interest rates low. Howard stated that he was sorry for the negative consequences for and burden on Australian borrowers, but subsequently denied that this constituted an apology for the rate rise itself.
On 7 November, Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey
Joe Hockey
Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey , is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996....
and Labor's Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
debated industrial relations including WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
at the National Press Club in Canberra. Hockey argued that Labor's policy to drop Workchoices was Australia's biggest threat to inflation.
On 8 November, Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
and opposition spokesman Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
debated environment issues at the National Press Club in Canberra. Garrett criticised the government's record on climate change to which Turnbull responded that Garrett's current claims betray his previous career as a political activist.
Week 5
Both major parties had their official campaign launches in Brisbane, Queensland; the Liberal Party on Monday 12 November and Labor on Wednesday 14 November. At their launch, the Coalition pledged a rebate for education costs, including private school fees, of all Australian children, totalling $9.4 billion. Under the plan, primary school students would have be eligible for $400, while secondary-school students would have been eligible for $800. Tax cuts worth $1.6 billion over four years were proposed to encourage people to save for first homes, and extra funding of $652 million for child care and $158 million to support carers was promised.The Labor Party promised to spend only a quarter of the $9.4 billion promised by the Coalition, saying it would have a smaller impact on inflation. It accused the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
of being "irresponsible". In addition to previous education funding announcements, Rudd promised Labor would provide an additional 65,000 apprenticeships, migrate all schools to new high speed broadband, and provide all year 9–12 students with access to their own computer. A doubling of the number of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships available at a tertiary level was announced, and the party re-iterating its view on climate change and WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
.
The Labor Party released footage on Thursday 15 November to Lateline, showing Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
addressing a room of people, stating "I accept that certain protections, in inverted commas, are not what they were" in reference to WorkChoices legislation. Referring to award structures, Abbott said in the same footage: "I accept that that has largely gone. I accept that." When questioned, Abbott said he stood by the comments that WorkChoices means "certain protections" are not what they used to be, but denied conceding workers had lost protections. He said the video released by Labor was a "cut-and-paste job".
A report by the National Audit Office found that the Coalition had been interfering in the $328 million regional grants program, with a bias toward their marginal seats, where projects under the Regional Partnerships Program were apparently approved without proper assessment, or none at all, and that there was an increase in approvals prior to the 2004 election.
Week 6
- see also: Photos of polling around Australia.
Lynton Crosby
Lynton Crosby AO is an Australian political strategist.Having masterminded four successive election victories for John Howard, he has been described as a "master of the dark political arts," "the Australian Karl Rove," and in 2002 The Age newspaper described Crosby as "one of the most powerful and...
said that the Coalition was "closing in on Labor" in the final week and could "still win a tight election" on a campaign of defending marginal seats, declaring a win still possible on 48.5 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote.
On 20 November, John Howard defended the government's advertising spending in the months prior to the campaign, paid for with public money. The advertising, which covered topics including the controversial "Workchoices", cost $360 million over approximately 18 months. An article in the 20 November issue of the Herald Sun suggested spending could have been up to $500 million, though this took a broader view of what was included in that sum. Mr Howard was criticised for not revealing documents written by his department about further changes to industrial relations laws in addition to WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
legislation. In response, the government said the proposals had been cancelled, and that WorkChoices would not be expanded upon. The Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
failed in attempt to access the documents under Freedom of Information.
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
said that he the possibility of his crossing the floor to support Labor's amendments to WorkChoices remained open, and that he would judge all legislation on its merits, for which he was criticised by Nationals leader Mark Vaile
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
.
On 21 November, three days before the election, fake pamphlets were distributed
Lindsay pamphlet scandal
The Lindsay pamphlet scandal was an Australian electoral scandal in which Liberal Party volunteers distributed fake election pamphlets, claiming to be from an Islamic organisation that was later found not to exist, that claimed the Labor Party candidate would support clemency for convicted...
in the electorate of Lindsay
Division of Lindsay
The Division of Lindsay is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, and is centred around Penrith. It also includes the suburbs of Castlereagh, Mulgoa and Werrington....
, which purported to be from an Islamic group. The group was non-existent and the pamphlets thanked the Labor Party for supporting the Bali bombers and encouraged people to vote Labor. Those involved included a member of the Liberals' state executive, Jeff Egan; Gary Clark, husband of retiring MP Jackie Kelly
Jackie Kelly
Jacqueline Marie Kelly , former Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until November 2007, representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales.-Early career:...
; and Greg Chijoff, the husband of Lindsay candidate Karen Chijoff. Kelly said the incident was a "Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
-style prank." John Howard condemned the statement. Egan and Greg Chijoff were immediately expelled from the Liberal Party a day before John Howard's address to the Australian Press Club; although, Egan denied any wrongdoing. Court cases are progressing.
Citing a clause of the Constitution
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
that states parliamentarians are not permitted to hold an "office of profit under the crown", government frontbencher Andrew Robb
Andrew Robb
Andrew John Robb AO , Australian politician and former federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Goldstein, Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election.Robb, one of nine children, was...
said that up to 13 Labor candidates standing in the election may be ineligible for nomination. According to Robb, a "search of public records" indicated that the 13 candidates may have still been employed by government agencies, boards or offices, and that the Liberal Party may consider legal challenges to their election. According to Labor Senator Penny Wong
Penny Wong
Penelope "Penny" Ying-yen Wong , is an Australian Labor Party senator for South Australia and the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation. Wong was the first Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water. Her appointment was amended on 26 February 2010, by the Prime Minister, to the...
, all Labor's candidates were eligible to stand, and that the Liberals had obtained the information from outdated websites.
Election day was Saturday 24 November.
Television coverage
Election night was covered extensively by three of the Australian free-to-air networks, from the National Tally Room: ABC TelevisionABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
, the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and SBS Television included brief updates and news bulletins through the night, but not to the other networks' extent. Sky News
Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia is an Australian 24 hour cable and satellite news channel available in 2.5 million homes on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television and Neighbourhood Cable subscription platforms....
offered extensive coverage on Pay TV.
- Seven went with a new election coverage team for 2007, led by SunriseSunrise (TV program)Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network. On weekdays the programme follows Seven Early News, and runs from 6am through to 9am.-History:...
hosts David Koch and Melissa DoyleMelissa DoyleMelissa Jane Doyle is an Australian television personality.Doyle is currently co-host of the Seven Network's Sunrise, The Zoo and Where Are They Now.-Early career:...
, who were assisted by journalist Mark RileyMark Riley (journalist)Mark Riley is an Australian journalist, who is chief political reporter for Seven News based in Canberra.Riley started his journalism career in 1979 at The Newcastle Herald, where he covered the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. He soon moved to The Sydney Morning Herald, where he worked in politics...
and game show host Andrew O'KeefeAndrew O'KeefeAndrew Patrick O'Keefe is an Australian entertainer, best known for being the host of the hit game-show Deal or No Deal. He is also the co-host of Weekend Sunrise....
. Special guests included Liberal politicians Joe HockeyJoe HockeyJoseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey , is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996....
, Jackie KellyJackie KellyJacqueline Marie Kelly , former Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until November 2007, representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales.-Early career:...
, Andrew RobbAndrew RobbAndrew John Robb AO , Australian politician and former federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Goldstein, Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election.Robb, one of nine children, was...
and former Victorian Premier Jeff KennettJeff KennettJeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
, Labor politicians Tanya PlibersekTanya PlibersekTanya Joan Plibersek, MP , is an Australian politician with the Australian Labor Party, and Federal Minister for Social Inclusion and Minister for Human Services. She has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the seat of Sydney, New South Wales...
, Mark ArbibMark ArbibMark Victor Arbib is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of New South Wales. He was the Australian Labor Party State Secretary of the New South Wales branch from 2004 to 2007...
and former Queensland Premier Peter BeattiePeter BeattiePeter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
, and National politician Barnaby JoyceBarnaby JoyceBarnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
. The broadcast was watched by 967,000 viewers, coming second after the ABC.
- Nine's coverage was hosted by journalist Ray MartinRay Martin (television presenter)Raymond George "Ray" Martin AM is an Australian television journalist. He is best known for his various on-air roles on Channel Nine from 1978 to 2008. In 2011 he returned to 60 Minutes....
and political editor Laurie OakesLaurie OakesLaurie Oakes is an Australian political journalist, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections....
. Special guests included Labor politicians Senator Robert RayRobert Ray (Australian politician)Robert Francis Ray , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from July 1981 to May 2008, representing the state of Victoria....
and Shadow Treasurer Wayne SwanWayne SwanWayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
, Liberals Michael KrogerMichael KrogerMichael Norman Kroger is a businessman and a powerbroker within the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne.-Early Life :...
and Communications Minister Helen CoonanHelen CoonanHelen Lloyd Coonan is a former Australian politician, who was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing New South Wales from July 1996 to August 2011.-Early life:...
. The broadcast was watched by 763,000 people and came third among the free-to-air networks doing full election count coverage.
- The ABC's coverage was hosted by Kerry O'Brien, Tony JonesTony Jones (news journalist)Anthony William Jones, known as Tony Jones, is a Walkley Award-winning Australian television journalist.-Early life:Jones attended Newington College and the University of Sydney as a resident of St Paul's College.-Career:...
and Antony GreenAntony GreenAntony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
. Special guests included Senator Nick MinchinNick MinchinNicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
(Finance Minister), representing the Coalition, and Julia GillardJulia GillardJulia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
(Deputy Labor Leader). The ABC provided live crosses to key electorates around Australia. The broadcast was watched by 1,112,000 viewers and was the most watched election coverage.
- Sky News AustraliaSky News AustraliaSky News Australia is an Australian 24 hour cable and satellite news channel available in 2.5 million homes on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television and Neighbourhood Cable subscription platforms....
's coverage was hosted by David SpeersDavid SpeersDavid Speers is an Australian journalist and the political editor at Sky News Australia. He worked with the Macquarie Radio Network, including the station 2GB, and the Southern Cross radio network, including stations 2UE and 3AW, before joining Sky in 2000. He has been a member of the National...
in Sydney with Helen DalleyHelen DalleyHelen Dalley is an award winning Australian journalist, who formerly worked for Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited media stable. She is best known for her work on the Nine Network television programs Sunday, Today and A Current Affair...
at the tally room in Canberra. Guests included former prime minister Bob HawkeBob HawkeRobert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
, former Labor Leader Kim BeazleyKim BeazleyIn the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
, former Liberal Leader John HewsonJohn HewsonJohn Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994 and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
, and current members in Parliament, including Brendan NelsonBrendan NelsonDr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
and Concetta Fierravanti-WellsConcetta Fierravanti-WellsConcetta Anna Fierravanti-Wells , Australian politician, is a member of Australian Senate for the state of New South Wales...
from the Liberal Party, Natasha Stott DespojaNatasha Stott DespojaNatasha Jessica Stott Despoja AM is an Australian former politician and former leader of the Australian Democrats. She was a Democrats senator for South Australia from 1995 to 2008...
from the Democrats, Christine MilneChristine MilneChristine Anne Milne is an Australian Senator and deputy leader of the Australian Greens.Christine Milne first came to public attention for her role in opposing the building of the Wesley Vale pulp mill near Bass Strait in North Western Tasmania on the basis of its allegedly harmful environmental...
from The Greens and Stephen ConroyStephen ConroyStephen Michael Conroy is an Australian politician and the current Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy in the Gillard Ministry...
from the Labor Party.
- Ten NewsTen NewsTen News is the national news service of Network Ten in Australia. The majority of its news bulletins are presented from the TEN-10 studios in Pyrmont...
covered the results in a special news bulletin airing about 10:30pm. Anchored by Bill WoodsBill WoodsWilliam "Bill" Woods is an Australian television broadcaster.Woods is currently the presenter of Network Ten's Ten News at Five in Sydney, alongside Sandra Sully.-Early Career:...
and Paul BongiornoPaul BongiornoPaul Bongiorno is an Australian political journalist, National Affairs editor for Ten News and a member of the Canberra Press Gallery.Bongiorno is former Roman Catholic priest and attended St Patrick's College, Ballarat....
in Canberra, and featuring Sandra SullySandra Sully (journalist)Sandra Sully is an Australian journalist and news presenter.Sully is currently a presenter of Network Ten's Ten News at Five in Sydney, alongside Bill Woods-Career:...
with Kevin Rudd in Brisbane, Deborah KnightDeborah KnightDeborah Knight, is an Australian journalist and news presenter.Knight is currently news presenter on Weekend Today and Monday & Friday news presenter on Today.-Career:...
with John Howard in Sydney, and Helen KapalosHelen KapalosHelen Kapalos is an Australian television news presenter.Kapalos began her career in her hometown of Newcastle, New South Wales, as a reporter for ABC Radio in 1994, before moving to television on SBS in Sydney...
with Peter Costello in Victoria. The network had heavily advertised that they would be airing The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
as an alternative to the coverage on the other networks.
- SBS aired a results bulletin at 9:30 p.m., anchored by Stan GrantStan GrantStan Grant may refer to:*Stan Grant , , Australian journalist*Stan Grant , elder of the Wiradjuri tribe of Indigenous Australians...
alongside Canberra correspondent Karen Middleton.
Pre-election issues
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
was a reason for Labor party support, and a fear of union dominance and support for Coalition economic management policy as the biggest reasons behind the Coalition vote. Several big business organisations, including the Australian Industry Group, declined a request from the Prime Minister to run advertisements to counter the union-funded campaign. The share of voters concerned about industrial relations grew from 31 per cent to 53 per cent in the two years to June 2006, with around three fifths of voters backing Labor's ability to handle the issue over the Liberal Party.
A Newspoll released in June 2006 reported health and Medicare
Medicare (Australia)
Medicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
were the most important issue for voters; 83 per cent of respondents rated it "very important". Other key issues included education (79 per cent), the economy (67 per cent), the environment (60 per cent) and national security (60 per cent). Taxation and interest rates, key issues in previous campaigns, were rated very important by 54 per cent and 51 per cent respectively. Immigration, a key issue in 2001, scored 43 per cent. The poll showed that voters considered Labor marginally better-placed to handle health and education, and gave the government strong backing on the economy and national security.
Kevin Rudd promised Labor would introduce a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 60 per cent by 2050, ratify the Kyoto protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
and introduce a mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) of 20 per cent by 2020. The Howard government reiterated their position of not ratifying the Kyoto protocol, setting "voluntary aspirational emission reduction targets" and introducing a carbon emissions trading scheme by 2012.
Labor pledged a $4.7 billion fibre-to-the-node broadband network.
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
, the sixth rise since the last election in 2004. Labor used the news to argue that the Coalition could not be trusted to keep interest rates low, while Costello argued that interest rates would be higher under Labor. In November 2007 interest rates were raised for the sixth time since the 2004 election, to a 10-year high of 6.75 per cent. In response to Labor criticism of the government on the rate rises, Mr Howard stated in August 2007 "[Rudd] can scour every transcript, and I will make them available, of every interview that I gave during that election campaign and he will find no such commitment." In October 2007, Mr Howard "admitted breaking a promise to keep interest rates at record lows". During the 2004 campaign, Howard was also cited as giving the same promise, personally, on radio. Inflation figures released on 24 October indicated underlying inflation was higher than expected, which resulted in seven of eight financial companies believing there will be an interest rate rise when the reserve bank met in the middle of November, the first during an election campaign.
Rudd advocated four-year fixed terms for federal parliaments if elected. Howard supported four-year terms but opposed fixed election dates. Any change would require approval by referendum. In mid-October, Howard said that if re-elected, the government would hold a referendum on the inclusion a statement of reconciliation in the preamble of the constitution.
Polling
Kim Beazley
In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
, at which point Rudd also assumed the lead as preferred prime minister. While Labor was ahead in opinion polling, Howard had led Beazley on this question by a wide margin.
According to Australian political analyst Adam Carr, WorkChoices was one of five key reasons for "...a change of heart by the decisive sectors of the electorate". The new industrial relations program, Carr said, angered the "Howard battlers" – the traditional Labor voters who had supported Howard for most of the last 11 years – because they saw it as a direct attack on their livelihood.
ACNielsen
ACNielsen
ACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, Illinois. As of May 2010, it is part of The Nielsen Company.-History:...
polling in March 2007 had Rudd's personal approval rating at 67 per cent, which made him the most popular opposition leader in the poll's 35-year history, with Newspoll
Newspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
(News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
) 2PP polling the highest in its history. The largest 2PP election result for the ALP in its history was at the 1943 election
Australian federal election, 1943
Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 August 1943. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin easily defeated the opposition Country Party led...
on an estimate of 58.2 per cent.
A weighted collaboration of all polling since Rudd assumed the ALP leadership shows an average Labor 2PP figure of 57 per cent compared with the Coalition's 43 per cent, and Rudd's consistent outpolling of Howard as preferred prime minister, something not achieved under previous leaders Mark Latham
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
, Kim Beazley
Kim Beazley
In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
or Simon Crean
Simon Crean
Simon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...
.
By the time the writs were issued, the Coalition was well behind Labor in opinion polling, which election analyst Antony Green
Antony Green
Antony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
believed to show Labor winning government "in a canter". According to Green, this was a nearly exact reversal of the run-up to the 1996 election. The Coalition was running ahead of Labor in two-party opinion polling for much of 1995 and 1996, however the mantle of preferred prime minister regularly switched between Howard and Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
.
Possums Pollytics, an anonymous weblog, stated that due to the uneven nature of the swings, where safe Liberal seats were swinging up to 14.6 per cent with safe Labor seats swinging around only 4.1 points, the Labor party stood to potentially end up with a maximum of 106 of the 150 lower house seats.
Polling consistently showed that the economy and national security were the Coalition's strong areas. In August 2007 an Ipsos poll showed 39 per cent of voters thought Labor was a better economic manager, compared to 36 per cent for the Coalition, with 25 per cent undecided.
The morning of the election announcement, a special Sun-Herald Taverner survey of 979 people across New South Wales and Victoria had been released, indicating a Labor 2PP of 59 per cent, with the 18–29 year old category voting at 72 per cent. The fortnightly Newspoll was released the day after the election was called, showing the 2PP remaining steady at Labor 56–44 Liberal. Howard increased his Preferred PM rating up one per cent to 39 per cent, while Rudd increased his rating up one per cent to 48 per cent. On the day after the election was called, Centrebet
Centrebet
Centrebet is an Australian bookmaker licensed in the Northern Territory.Centrebet originated from Alice Springs, Northern Territory and was the first bookmaker to be licensed in Australia in 1993 and the first bookmaker to go online in the Southern Hemisphere. Centrebet was acquired by its biggest...
had odds of 1.47 on Labor, with 2.70 on the Coalition. Half way through the campaign, with no overall change in the polls, saw Centrebet odds for Labor shorten to 1.29, with the Liberals on 3.60. Centrebet odds two days out from the election were at 1.22 for Labor, with 4.35 for the Coalition.
Newspoll a week out from the election of 3,600 voters in 18 of the Coalition's most marginal seats revealed an ALP 54–46 Coalition 2PP, a swing to Labor of 6–9 per cent. A uniform swing would see 18–25 seats fall to Labor, The Australian said.
Former Labor number-cruncher Graham Richardson
Graham Richardson
Graham Frederick Richardson , a former Australian politician, was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983–94 for the Australian Labor Party, a senior minister in Hawke and Keating governments, and is now a political lobbyist, public speaker, and media commentator. During his time in politics,...
, who news.com.au (News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
) claims to have correctly picked the winner of every election for the past three decades, tipped Kevin Rudd and Labor to win with a 6–7 per cent two-party-preferred
Two-party-preferred vote
In politics, the two-party-preferred vote , or two-candidate-preferred vote , in an election or opinion poll uses preferential voting to express the electoral result after the distribution of preferences...
, 20-seat swing.
Peter Day, a journalist (ex-The Australian), stated two days before the election that, if the Coalition were re-elected, it would be "the biggest polling embarrassment in any developed country since Truman beat Dewey
Dewey Defeats Truman
"Dewey Defeats Truman" was a famously inaccurate banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent United States President Harry S. Truman beat Republican challenger and Governor of New York Thomas E...
in 1948".
The election-eve Newspoll and Galaxy poll reported the ALP on a 2PP of 52 per cent, Roy Morgan on 53.5 per cent, with ACNielsen on 57 per cent. Seven News reported that TAB
Totalizator Agency Board
Totalisator Agency Board in Australia and New Zealand, universally shortened to TAB, is the name given to monopoly totalisator organisations. All were originally government owned...
had updated their odds for the election, with Labor having safe odds of $1.20 and the Coalition an outside chance on $4.60.
Sky News
Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia is an Australian 24 hour cable and satellite news channel available in 2.5 million homes on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television and Neighbourhood Cable subscription platforms....
-Channel 7
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
-Auspoll exit poll
Exit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
s on election day of 2,787 voters in the 31 most marginal seats suggested a 53 per cent two-party preferred figure to Labor, 53 per cent to Labor in Bennelong
Division of Bennelong
The Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip...
, and 58 per cent to Labor in Eden-Monaro
Division of Eden-Monaro
The Division of Eden-Monaro is anAustralian Electoral Division in New South Wales.The division was created in 1900, and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the town of Eden and the Monaro district of southern New South Wales...
. Key issue questions swung Labor's way.
See also
- Australian federal election, 2010
- Australian electoral systemAustralian electoral systemThe Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government, and has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, preferential voting and the use of proportional voting to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.- Compulsory voting...
- List of political parties in Australia
- List of Australian federal electorates
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2007–2010
- Members of the Australian Senate, 2008–2011
- Candidates of the Australian federal election, 2007Candidates of the Australian federal election, 2007This article provides details on candidates who stood at the 2007 Australian federal election.Nominations were formally declared open by the Australian Electoral Commission following the issue of the writ on Wednesday, 17 October 2007. Nominations closed at 12 noon Thursday, 1 November 2007...
- Climate change in AustraliaClimate change in AustraliaClimate change has become a major issue in Australia due to drastic climate events since the turn of the 21st century that have focused government and public attention. Rainfall in Australia has increased slightly over the past century, although there is little or no trend in rainfall in northeast...
External links
Official- Parliament of Australia – Election Timetable
- Australian Electoral Commission
- Australian Senate 2007 ballot papers and preference flows
Media
Unofficial Sites
- AustralianPolitics.com: 2007 Federal Election
- The Poll Bludger – Federal Election 2007
- OzPolitics – Australian Federal Election 2007
- Adam Carr's Guide to the 2007 Federal Election
- Possums Pollytics
- Simon Jackman's 2007 Election Analysis
- Australia Votes 2007
- TrendLines Research's International Seat Projection Charts