Queensland state election, 1969
Encyclopedia
Elections were held in the Australia
n state
of Queensland
on 17 May 1969 to elect the 78 members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
.
The National
-Liberal
Coalition won its fifth consecutive victory since it won government in 1957. It was also the Coalition's first victory under new leader Joh Bjelke-Petersen
after the brief premierships of Gordon Chalk
and Jack Pizzey
, who in turn had succeeded Frank Nicklin
when he had retired the previous year.
The election campaign was characterised by tension between the governing coalition partners.
following the conservative independent incumbent's retirement. Labor retained Isis, which it had gained unexpectedly at a November 1968 by-election from the Country Party following Premier Jack Pizzey
's death.
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Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
on 17 May 1969 to elect the 78 members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
Queensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
.
The National
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...
-Liberal
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...
Coalition won its fifth consecutive victory since it won government in 1957. It was also the Coalition's first victory under new leader Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
after the brief premierships of Gordon Chalk
Gordon Chalk
Sir Gordon William Wesley Chalk, KBE was Premier of Queensland for a week, from 1 to 8 August 1968. He was the first, and only, Queensland Premier from the modern Liberal Party of Australia....
and Jack Pizzey
Jack Pizzey
Jack Charles Allan Pizzey was a Queensland Country Party politician. He was Premier of Queensland, in a coalition with the Liberal Party, from 17 January 1968 until his death on 31 July that year....
, who in turn had succeeded Frank Nicklin
Frank Nicklin
Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, KCMG, MM was Premier of the Australian state of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, and the first Country Party Premier since 1932.-Early life and career:...
when he had retired the previous year.
The election campaign was characterised by tension between the governing coalition partners.
Results
The election resulted in another win for the Coalition, but a strengthening of the Country Party's position vis-a-vis the Liberal Party. Labor gained back two seats held by ex-Labor ministers who had defected in the 1957 split when both retired, and gained one seat off each of the coalition partners; however, the Country party gained the seat of BurdekinElectoral district of Burdekin
Burdekin is an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the state of Queensland, Australia. Centred on the Ayr–Home Hill region, the electorate also includes some of Townsville's southern suburbs as well as the coal-mining town of Collinsville...
following the conservative independent incumbent's retirement. Labor retained Isis, which it had gained unexpectedly at a November 1968 by-election from the Country Party following Premier Jack Pizzey
Jack Pizzey
Jack Charles Allan Pizzey was a Queensland Country Party politician. He was Premier of Queensland, in a coalition with the Liberal Party, from 17 January 1968 until his death on 31 July that year....
's death.
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See also
- Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1966–1969Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1966–1969This is a list of members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1966 to 1969, as elected at the 1966 state election:*Queensland state election, 1966*Nicklin Ministry...
- Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1969–1972Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1969–1972This is a list of members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1969 to 1972, as elected at the 1969 state election:...
- Candidates of the Queensland state election, 1969
- Bjelke-Petersen Ministry