New South Wales state election, 1999
Encyclopedia
Elections to the 52nd Parliament
of New South Wales
were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly
and half the seats in the Legislative Council
were up for election. The Australian Labor Party
, led by premier Bob Carr
won a second term with a 7% swing against the Liberal Party of Australia
and National Party of Australia
, led by Kerry Chikarovski
.
The poll was the first to be held after two key changes to the electoral system. In 1997, the number of electoral districts was reduced from 99 to 93. In 1995, fixed four-year terms were introduced.
was built on a number of specific promises, backed by a well directed marginal seat campaign. On taking office, the Carr Government faced difficulties presiding over a public sector that had fundamentally changed during the seven years of the Greiner and Fahey Governments. The major dynamic of the Carr Government’s first term was to be the clash between the old fashioned promises that won the 1995 election and the new orthodoxy of public sector financial accountability.
This new orthodoxy had its genesis in the election of the Hawke Government at the 1983 Federal election
. The new financial strictures applied by Canberra to deal with the nation’s trade imbalance created problems that forced change on the States. While the term micro-economic reform was not yet in use when the Greiner Government was elected in 1988, New South Wales became the first State that committed itself to a fundamental examination of the role and activities of the public sector. Focussing initially on the efficiency of service delivery and drawing distinctions between commercial functions and core Government services, the process evolved into using market mechanisms to improve the efficiency of services for which the public sector had previously been the monopoly provider. Later, the Kennett Government in Victoria and the Howard Government in Canberra were to take the process further with the wide scale use of privatisation and the outsourcing of services.
The Carr Government was always going to face problems because of the financial burden imposed by the building programme associated with the 2000 Olympics. The Government took the responsible course of choosing to fund the programme internally rather than through debt, resulting in the re-direction of Government expenditure. This approach created dilemmas with two key promises made by Labor to win the 1995 election.
The first was a promise by Carr and his Health Minister Andrew Refshauge to resign if they did not halve hospital waiting lists within twelve months. Changing a few definitions and devoting extra resources allowed the Government to claim it had met the commitment, but the public response to the claim was cynical. An attempt to save money by closing St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst was one of several politically damaging attempts by the Government to live within its financial means.
The second problem was a promise to abolish the tolls on the privately operated M4 and M5 motorways. Once elected, the Government announced it could not lift the tolls given the cost and contractual obligations. This was disastrous for the Government’s standing, forcing it in October 1996 to announce a toll cash-back scheme for private use in an effort to recover lost support.
Dealing with State debt, building the Olympic infrastructure and meeting the cost of normal Government functions caused Cabinet to propose a radical solution in 1997: sell the State’s electricity assets. The Victorian Government had raised billions in this way, and New South Wales had already divided the generating capacity into separate corporations that made privatisation possible. The policy had the additional advantaged of removing the financial risk faced by the State since the introduction of a national electricity grid with full competition between suppliers. This was privatisation taken too far for the Labor Party, a State Conference refusing to sanction the sale. Finances remained tight but the Cabinet back-down solved a different problem. The Coalition was still committed to electricity privatisation, allowing the Carr Government to appeal to its own traditional base by warning the only alternative Government would be far harsher.
A redistribution was due before the 1999 election. Before starting the process, Labor number crunchers turned to deciding what number of Lower House seats delivered the best advantage for Labor. With an increase in Members ruled out by the Premier, the eventual strategy adopted was a cut to 93 MPs.
Finalised in July 1998, the new boundaries were a disappointment for the Government. Rather than strengthening Labor’s hold on office, they removed the Government’s majority, with only 46 of the 93 seats notionally held by Labor. The Coalition was still disadvantaged, given that it won more of the vote in 1995 and still needed a bigger swing than Labor to take office. However, the Coalition was relieved that the boundaries were considerably fairer than Labor had tried to arrange.
Ten seats were abolished and four created, another six seats adopting new names. A net four seats disappeared in Sydney and one in Newcastle. The far western seats of Broken Hill and Murray were abolished and fashioned into a new notionally National Party seat called Murray-Darling. Several Members were forced to move while three seats, Maitland, Strathfield and the new seat of Ryde, were to see contests between sitting MPs.
Retiring former Ministers caused five by-elections in May 1996, Labor receiving a bonus when former Federal MP Harry Woods won the North Coast seat of Clarence from the National Party, increasing the Government’s majority to three.
Peter Collins had taken over the Liberal Leadership after the 1995 election. Although he had held several senior portfolios in the previous Government, he remained relatively unknown to the electorate. Despite the low profile of Collins, the Coalition remained competitive in opinion polls until the middle of 1998. Collins was deposed by a surprise coup in December 1998 and replaced by Kerry Chikarovski, the first woman to lead a major Party in New South Wales. Less experienced at handling the media than Collins, especially television, Chikarovski struggled during the March 1999 campaign. The Coalition’s campaign was also hampered by its unpopular proposal to sell the State’s electricity assets. The task of selling it became more difficult when polls indicated that the promised cash rebates made voters even more suspicious of privatisation. As a result, Chikarovski bore much of the criticism of the Coalitions performance.
The election was a landslide. Labor’s historic hold on the city of Broken Hill was maintained when Labor won Murray-Darling. Labor also won the head-to-head contests between sitting MPs in the notionally Liberal seats of Maitland, Ryde and Strathfield. Labor also gained Georges River, Menai and Miranda in southern Sydney and the far North Coast seat of Tweed. It retained Clarence and gained South Coast. Optional preferential voting was responsible for Labor holding Clarence, with the failure of Liberal voters to direct preferences denying the National candidate victory.
The two-party swing to Labor was 7.2%, winning 56.0% of the two-party preferred vote. However, Labor’s primary vote had barely risen while the combined Coalition vote was down 10%. A new arrival, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party, fresh from success at the 1998 Queensland and Federal elections, polled 7.5% of the vote. Exhausted One Nation preferences played their part in creating the swing against the Coalition. Worse for the National Party, both Dubbo and Northern Tablelands were lost to Independents, bringing to three the number of Independents in safe National Party seats.
:
Elections were held for half the seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council
:
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
and half the seats in the Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
were up for election. The 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...
, led by premier Bob Carr
Bob Carr
Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...
won a second term with a 7% swing against the Liberal Party of Australia
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...
and National Party of Australia
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...
, led by Kerry Chikarovski
Kerry Chikarovski
Kerry Anne Chikarovski was leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. She served as Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2002....
.
The poll was the first to be held after two key changes to the electoral system. In 1997, the number of electoral districts was reduced from 99 to 93. In 1995, fixed four-year terms were introduced.
Background
The Labor Party’s victory at the 1995 electionNew South Wales state election, 1995
Elections to the 51st Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 25 March 1995. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election. The minority Liberal Party of Australia-led Coalition government of Premier John Fahey was defeated by...
was built on a number of specific promises, backed by a well directed marginal seat campaign. On taking office, the Carr Government faced difficulties presiding over a public sector that had fundamentally changed during the seven years of the Greiner and Fahey Governments. The major dynamic of the Carr Government’s first term was to be the clash between the old fashioned promises that won the 1995 election and the new orthodoxy of public sector financial accountability.
This new orthodoxy had its genesis in the election of the Hawke Government at the 1983 Federal election
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...
. The new financial strictures applied by Canberra to deal with the nation’s trade imbalance created problems that forced change on the States. While the term micro-economic reform was not yet in use when the Greiner Government was elected in 1988, New South Wales became the first State that committed itself to a fundamental examination of the role and activities of the public sector. Focussing initially on the efficiency of service delivery and drawing distinctions between commercial functions and core Government services, the process evolved into using market mechanisms to improve the efficiency of services for which the public sector had previously been the monopoly provider. Later, the Kennett Government in Victoria and the Howard Government in Canberra were to take the process further with the wide scale use of privatisation and the outsourcing of services.
The Carr Government was always going to face problems because of the financial burden imposed by the building programme associated with the 2000 Olympics. The Government took the responsible course of choosing to fund the programme internally rather than through debt, resulting in the re-direction of Government expenditure. This approach created dilemmas with two key promises made by Labor to win the 1995 election.
The first was a promise by Carr and his Health Minister Andrew Refshauge to resign if they did not halve hospital waiting lists within twelve months. Changing a few definitions and devoting extra resources allowed the Government to claim it had met the commitment, but the public response to the claim was cynical. An attempt to save money by closing St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst was one of several politically damaging attempts by the Government to live within its financial means.
The second problem was a promise to abolish the tolls on the privately operated M4 and M5 motorways. Once elected, the Government announced it could not lift the tolls given the cost and contractual obligations. This was disastrous for the Government’s standing, forcing it in October 1996 to announce a toll cash-back scheme for private use in an effort to recover lost support.
Dealing with State debt, building the Olympic infrastructure and meeting the cost of normal Government functions caused Cabinet to propose a radical solution in 1997: sell the State’s electricity assets. The Victorian Government had raised billions in this way, and New South Wales had already divided the generating capacity into separate corporations that made privatisation possible. The policy had the additional advantaged of removing the financial risk faced by the State since the introduction of a national electricity grid with full competition between suppliers. This was privatisation taken too far for the Labor Party, a State Conference refusing to sanction the sale. Finances remained tight but the Cabinet back-down solved a different problem. The Coalition was still committed to electricity privatisation, allowing the Carr Government to appeal to its own traditional base by warning the only alternative Government would be far harsher.
A redistribution was due before the 1999 election. Before starting the process, Labor number crunchers turned to deciding what number of Lower House seats delivered the best advantage for Labor. With an increase in Members ruled out by the Premier, the eventual strategy adopted was a cut to 93 MPs.
Finalised in July 1998, the new boundaries were a disappointment for the Government. Rather than strengthening Labor’s hold on office, they removed the Government’s majority, with only 46 of the 93 seats notionally held by Labor. The Coalition was still disadvantaged, given that it won more of the vote in 1995 and still needed a bigger swing than Labor to take office. However, the Coalition was relieved that the boundaries were considerably fairer than Labor had tried to arrange.
Ten seats were abolished and four created, another six seats adopting new names. A net four seats disappeared in Sydney and one in Newcastle. The far western seats of Broken Hill and Murray were abolished and fashioned into a new notionally National Party seat called Murray-Darling. Several Members were forced to move while three seats, Maitland, Strathfield and the new seat of Ryde, were to see contests between sitting MPs.
Retiring former Ministers caused five by-elections in May 1996, Labor receiving a bonus when former Federal MP Harry Woods won the North Coast seat of Clarence from the National Party, increasing the Government’s majority to three.
Peter Collins had taken over the Liberal Leadership after the 1995 election. Although he had held several senior portfolios in the previous Government, he remained relatively unknown to the electorate. Despite the low profile of Collins, the Coalition remained competitive in opinion polls until the middle of 1998. Collins was deposed by a surprise coup in December 1998 and replaced by Kerry Chikarovski, the first woman to lead a major Party in New South Wales. Less experienced at handling the media than Collins, especially television, Chikarovski struggled during the March 1999 campaign. The Coalition’s campaign was also hampered by its unpopular proposal to sell the State’s electricity assets. The task of selling it became more difficult when polls indicated that the promised cash rebates made voters even more suspicious of privatisation. As a result, Chikarovski bore much of the criticism of the Coalitions performance.
The election was a landslide. Labor’s historic hold on the city of Broken Hill was maintained when Labor won Murray-Darling. Labor also won the head-to-head contests between sitting MPs in the notionally Liberal seats of Maitland, Ryde and Strathfield. Labor also gained Georges River, Menai and Miranda in southern Sydney and the far North Coast seat of Tweed. It retained Clarence and gained South Coast. Optional preferential voting was responsible for Labor holding Clarence, with the failure of Liberal voters to direct preferences denying the National candidate victory.
The two-party swing to Labor was 7.2%, winning 56.0% of the two-party preferred vote. However, Labor’s primary vote had barely risen while the combined Coalition vote was down 10%. A new arrival, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party, fresh from success at the 1998 Queensland and Federal elections, polled 7.5% of the vote. Exhausted One Nation preferences played their part in creating the swing against the Coalition. Worse for the National Party, both Dubbo and Northern Tablelands were lost to Independents, bringing to three the number of Independents in safe National Party seats.
Overview
In the New South Wales Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
:
- the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe 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...
won 55 seats - the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal Party of AustraliaThe 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...
won 20 seats - the National Party of AustraliaNational Party of AustraliaThe 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...
won 13 seats - independent candidates won 5 seats
Elections were held for half the seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
:
- the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe 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...
won 8 seats for a total of 16 - the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal Party of AustraliaThe 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...
won 4 seats for a total of 10 - the National Party of AustraliaNational Party of AustraliaThe 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...
won 2 seats for a total of 4 - the Australian GreensAustralian GreensThe 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...
won 1 seat for a total of 2 - the Christian Democratic PartyChristian Democratic Party (Australia)The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:...
won 1 seat for a total of 2 - the Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe 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...
won 1 seat for a total of 2 (although Richard JonesRichard Jones (Australian politician)Richard Stanley Leigh Jones was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 13 March 1988 to 28 February 2003....
was sitting as an independentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
) - One Nation won 1 seat for a total of 1
- the Unity PartyUnity Party (Australia)Unity Party is a small multiculturist party in Australia, formed in 1997 with the aim of opposing the rise of controversial anti-immigration politician Pauline Hanson. Initially billed as a party to unite Australians of all ethnicities against racism, in practice it has never managed to draw...
won 1 seat for a total of 1 - the Outdoor Recreation PartyOutdoor Recreation PartyThe Outdoor Recreation Party is a minor political party in Australia. It largely represents the outdoor community and such interests as cycling, mountain biking, bushwalking, camping, kayaking, 4WDing, skiing, fishing lobbies, as well as similar recreational groups with an interest in the outdoors...
won 1 seat for a total of 1 - Reform the Legal SystemReform the Legal SystemReform the Legal System, later known as the Human Rights Party, was a political party in New South Wales. It was largely associated with MLC Peter Breen, its leader, who was elected in the 1999 state election. The party was renamed the "Human Rights Party" after Breen's brief membership of the...
won 1 seat for a total of 1 - the Shooters PartyShooters PartyThe Shooters and Fishers Party, formerly known as the Shooters Party, is an Australian state political party. It is registered for state elections in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia...
won 0 seats for a total of 1 - A Better Future for Our ChildrenA Better Future For Our ChildrenA Better Future For Our Children was a New South Wales political party. It contested the 1995 state election, at which it won a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Council despite receiving only 1.24% of the vote. The party's leader, Alan Corbett, was elected due to preference flows from other...
won 0 seats for a total of 1
Changing hands
- Burrinjuck. Liberal seat won by National with a swing of 6.0%
- DubboElectoral district of DubboDubbo is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Troy Grant of the National Party of Australia....
. National seat won by an independent with a swing of 19.4% - Georges RiverElectoral district of Georges RiverGeorges River was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1930 to 2007. It was replaced by Oatley.-Members for Georges River:-Election results:...
. Liberal seat won by Labor with a swing of 8.3% - MenaiElectoral district of MenaiMenai is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Melanie Gibbons of the Liberal Party of Australia. Currently, it is the only state seat in the state of New South Wales to have always been represented by a woman.-Members for...
. Liberal seat won by Labor with a swing of 6.1% - Murray DarlingElectoral district of Murray-DarlingMurray-Darling is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by John Williams of the National Party of Australia....
. National seat won by Labor with a swing of 7.7% - Northern TablelandsElectoral district of Northern TablelandsNorthern Tablelands is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently represented by independent member Richard Torbay....
. National seat won by an independent with a swing of 24.0% - South CoastElectoral district of South CoastSouth Coast is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Shelley Hancock of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for South Coast:-Election results:...
. Liberal seat won by Labor with a swing of 5.0% - StrathfieldElectoral district of StrathfieldStrathfield is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was first created in 1988, and derives its name from the suburb of the same name. Strathfield is an urban electorate, covering 17.94 km² and taking in the suburbs of Strathfield,...
. Liberal seat won by Labor with a swing of 11.1% - TweedElectoral district of TweedTweed is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Geoff Provest of the National Party of Australia. It includes eastern Tweed Shire, including Tweed Heads, Kingscliff, Fingal Head, Chinderah, Cudgen, Bogangar, Pottsville and...
. National seat won by Labor with a swing of 4.7%