1925 Australian federal election

1925 Australian federal election
← outgoing members elected members →
All 76 seats in the House of Representatives; 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House ; 22 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
Registered	3,302,016 10.79%
Turnout	2,987,200 (91.39%); (32.03 pp)
	Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.
Prime Minister before election; Stanley Bruce; Nationalist/Country coalition	Subsequent Prime Minister ; Stanley Bruce; Nationalist/Country coalition

The 1925 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 14 November 1925. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 22 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist–Country coalition, led by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, defeated the opposition Labor Party led by Matthew Charlton in a landslide. This was the first time any party had won a fourth consecutive federal election.

Compulsory voting for federal elections was introduced in 1924 and first used in the 1925 elections, where 91.4% of the electorate cast a vote, compared to 59.4% at the 1922 elections.

Background

In 1924, Bruce and Page formulated an electoral pact between the Nationalist Party and Country Party, whereby each party agreed not to oppose incumbent candidates from the other party and to co-operate to choose the strongest candidate in seats held by the ALP. Both parties agreed to accept the pact, although only after both Bruce and Page made clear they would resign as party leaders if the pact was rejected. The pact proved particularly controversial within the Country Party, with cabinet minister Percy Stewart resigning in protest and some members of the organisational wing seeing it as an attack on the party's independence.^[1]

Campaign

Prime Minister Stanley Bruce was a supporter of the White Australia Policy, and made it an issue in his campaign for the 1925 Australian Federal election.^[2]

It is necessary that we should determine what are the ideals towards which every Australian would desire to strive. I think those ideals might well be stated as being to secure our national safety, and to ensure the maintenance of our White Australia Policy to continue as an integral portion of the British Empire.^[2] We intend to keep this country white and not allow its people to be faced with the problems that at present are practically insoluble in many parts of the world.^[3]

Results

House of Representatives

House of Reps (IRV) – 1925–28 – Turnout 91.39% (CV) – Informal 2.36%
Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Nationalist–Country coalition		1,551,760	53.20	+5.41	51	+11
		Nationalist	1,238,397	42.46	+7.23	37	+11
		Country	313,363	10.74	–1.82	13	–1
	Labor		1,313,627	45.04	+2.74	24^[f]	–6
	Independents		51,251	1.76	–2.80	2	+1
	Total		2,916,638			76
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
	Nationalist–Country coalition		Win	53.80	+2.60	51	+11
	Labor			46.20	−2.60	23	–6

Notes

Independents: Percy Stewart (Wimmera, Vic.), William Watson (Fremantle, WA).
Labor lost Kennedy, Qld., when the sitting member Charles McDonald died on the day before the election, leading to his opponent Grosvenor Francis being declared elected unopposed.^[4]

Popular vote

Labor			45.04%
Nationalist			42.46%
Country			10.74%
Others			1.76%

Two-party-preferred vote

Coalition			53.80%
Labor			46.20%

Parliament seats

Coalition			68.00%
Labor			30.67%
Others			2.67%

Senate

Senate (P BV) – 1925–28 – Turnout 91.31% (CV) – Informal 6.96%
		Votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Seats held	Change
Nationalist–Country coalition		1,537,282	54.81	N/A	22	28	N/A
	Nationalist	1,272,127	45.35	+9.12	18	24	0
	Country	265,155	9.45	–3.53	4	4	+4
Labor		1,262,912	45.02	–0.67	0	8	–4
Independents		4,808	0.17	–1.87	0	0	0
Total		2,805,002			22	36

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1925				Swing	Post-1925
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Angas, SA		Labor	Moses Gabb	8.0	8.3	0.3	Walter Parsons	Nationalist
Balaclava, Vic		Liberal	William Watt	100.0	30.3	19.7	William Watt	Nationalist
Barker, SA		Liberal	Malcolm Cameron	2.3	9.3	11.6	Malcolm Cameron	Nationalist
Barton, NSW		Labor	Frederick McDonald	7.6	8.6	1.0	Thomas Ley	Nationalist
Darwin, Tas		Country	Joshua Whitsitt	0.4	10.9	10.5*	George Bell	Nationalist
Denison, Tas		Labor	David O'Keefe	0.4	2.6	2.2	John Gellibrand	Nationalist
Gwydir, NSW		Labor	Lou Cunningham	0.1	3.2	3.1	Aubrey Abbott	Country
Kennedy, Qld		Labor	Charles McDonald	N/A	100.0	100.0	Grosvenor Francis	Nationalist
Kooyong, Vic		Liberal	John Latham	0.6	18.3	17.7	John Latham	Nationalist
Wakefield, SA		Liberal	Richard Foster	5.3	9.5	14.8	Richard Foster	Nationalist
Wannon, Vic		Labor	John McNeill	0.8	4.8	4.0	Arthur Rodgers	Nationalist
Wimmera, Vic		Country	Percy Stewart	21.2	77.8	27.8	Percy Stewart	Independent

Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
*Figure is Nationalist versus Labor.

Notes

^ Turnout in contested seats
^ The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.
^ As there was no formal Coalition between the Nationalist Party and the Country Party before the previous election, the seats were won by individual party. However, post-1922 election the two parties combined could form a majority in Parliament and formally announced a Coalition agreement.
^ The Member for Wimmera (Percy Stewart) was represented as an "Independent Country" candidate.
^ As Nationalist–Country Coalition. If separate parties, Nationalist: +11, Country –1.
^ Including Northern Territory

References

^ Wilks, Stephen (2020). 'Now is the Psychological Moment': Earle Page and the Imagining of Australia (PDF). ANU Press. p. 145. ISBN 9781760463687.
^ ^a ^b "ISSUES OF THE ELECTIONS". The Age. No. 21, 999. Victoria, Australia. 6 October 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 9 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Bowen, James; Bowen, Margarita (2002). The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage. Cambridge University Press. p. 301. ISBN 0-521-82430-3. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
^ "Kennedy Seat". Brisbane Courier. 14 November 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2010.

External links

University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
Two-party-preferred vote since 1919
Compulsory Voting in Australia

[1] Turnout in contested seats

[2] The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.

[3] As there was no formal Coalition between the Nationalist Party and the Country Party before the previous election, the seats were won by individual party. However, post-1922 election the two parties combined could form a majority in Parliament and formally announced a Coalition agreement.

[4] The Member for Wimmera (Percy Stewart) was represented as an "Independent Country" candidate.

[5] As Nationalist–Country Coalition. If separate parties, Nationalist: +11, Country –1.

[9] Including Northern Territory

[6] Wilks, Stephen (2020). 'Now is the Psychological Moment': Earle Page and the Imagining of Australia (PDF). ANU Press. p. 145. ISBN 9781760463687.

[Policy_Launch_Speech-7] "ISSUES OF THE ELECTIONS". The Age. No. 21, 999. Victoria, Australia. 6 October 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 9 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

[Bowen-8] Bowen, James; Bowen, Margarita (2002). The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage. Cambridge University Press. p. 301. ISBN 0-521-82430-3. Retrieved 24 January 2008.

[10] "Kennedy Seat". Brisbane Courier. 14 November 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2010.

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