1946 Australian federal election

* * *

| <- 1943 | 28 September 1946 | 1949 ->

|
|

<- outgoing members

elected members ->

* * *

All 75[a] seats of the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
19 (of the 36) seats of the Senate
Registered| 4,739,853 ( 6.12%)
Turnout| 4,453,941 (93.97%)
(2.35 pp)
|  | First party  | Second party

|
|

|  |
Leader  | Ben Chifley | Robert Menzies
Party  | Labor | Liberal/Country coalition
Leader since  | 13 July 1945 | 23 September 1943
Leader's seat  | Macquarie (NSW)  | Kooyong (Vic.)
Last election  | 49 seats  | 19 seats
Seats won  | 43 seats | 29 seats
Seat change  |  6  |  10
Popular vote  | 2,159,953 | 1,896,349
Percentage  | 49.71% | 43.65%
Swing  |  0.22  |  13.20
TPP | 54.10% | 45.90%
TPP swing  |  4.10  |  4.10

* * *

| Third party  | Fourth party
|  |

IND

Leader  | Jack Lang | N/A
Party  | Labor (Non-Communist) | Independents
Leader since  |  | N/A
Leader's seat  | Reid (NSW)
(won seat) | N/A
Last election  | 0 seats  | 3 seats
Seats won  | 1 seat  | 2 seats
Seat change  |  1  |  1
Popular vote  | 69,138  | 79,040
Percentage  | 1.59%  | 1.82%
Swing  |  0.87  |  −10.34

* * *

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

* * *

| Prime Minister before election

Ben Chifley
Labor

| Subsequent Prime Minister

Ben Chifley
Labor

|

The 1946 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley defeated the opposition Liberal–Country coalition, led by Robert Menzies. It was the Liberal Party's first federal election since its creation. This was the first time the Labor party had won a second consecutive election. This was also the last time the Labor party would win a federal election until the 1972 election.

The election was held in conjunction with three referendum questions, one of which was carried.

## Results

[edit]

### House of Representatives

[edit]

Main article: Results of the 1946 Australian federal election (House of Representatives)

Labor: 43 seats

Liberal: 18 seats

Country: 11 seats

Lang Labor: 1 seat

Independent: 1 seat

House of Reps (IRV) — 1946–49—Turnout 93.97% (CV) — Informal 2.45% Party  | Votes  | %  | Swing  | Seats  | Change

|
|
|
|
|

| Labor | 2,159,953  | 49.71  | −0.22  | 43  | −6
| Liberal–Country coalition | 1,896,349  | 43.65  | +13.20  | 29  | +6
| Liberal | 1,431,682 | 32.95 | +11.05 | 18 | +4
| Country | 464,667 | 10.70 | +2.16 | 11 | +2
| Labor (Non-Communist) | 69,138  | 1.59  | +0.87  | 1  | +1
| Communist | 64,811  | 1.49  | +1.49  | 0  | 0
| Services | 55,140  | 1.27  | +1.27  | 0  | 0
| Protestant People's | 20,111  | 0.46  | +0.46  | 0  | 0
| Independents | 79,040  | 1.82  | −10.34  | 2[b] | -1
| Total  | 4,344,542  |  |  | 75 |
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
| Labor | Win | 54.10 | −4.10  | 43 | −6
| Liberal–Country coalition |  | 45.90  | +4.10  | 29  | +6

* * *

Notes

* Independent: Doris Blackburn (Bourke, Vic.)
* In South Australia, the Liberal Party was known as the Liberal and Country League.

| Popular vote

|  |
Labor |

| 49.71%
Liberal |

| 32.95%
Country |

| 10.70%
Lang Labor |

| 1.59%
Independent/Other |

| 1.83%

| Two-party-preferred vote

|  |
Labor |

| 54.10%
Coalition |

| 45.90%

| Parliament seats

|  |
Labor |

| 58.11%
Coalition |

| 35.14%

### Senate

[edit]

Senate (P BV) — 1946–49—Turnout 93.97% (CV) — Informal 8.01% Party  | Votes  | %  | Swing  | Seats won  | Seats held  | Change

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Labor | 2,133,272  | 52.06  | −3.02  | 16  | 33  | +11
| Liberal–Country coalition | 1,775,022  | 43.33  | +5.18  | 3  | 3  | –11
| Liberal–Country joint ticket  | 1,561,718 | 38.12 | N/A | 3 | N/A | N/A
| Liberal | 213,304 | 5.21 | N/A | 0 | 2 | –10
| Country | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 1 | –1
| Protestant People's | 123,541  | 3.02  | +3.02  | 0  | 0  | 0
| Services | 37,724  | 0.92  | +0.92  | 0  | 0  | 0
| Independents | 27,767  | 0.68  | –3.83  | 0  | 0  | 0
| Total  | 4,097,326  |  |  | 19  | 36  |

* * *

Notes

* Of the three senators elected on Liberal–Country joint tickets, two were Liberal Party members and one was a Country Party member.

## Seats changing hands

[edit]

Seat  | Pre-1946  | Swing  | Post-1946

|
|
|

Party  | Member  | Margin  | Margin  | Member  | Party
Bourke, Vic |  | Labor  | Bill Bryson | 3.6  | 4.7  | 1.1  | Doris Blackburn | Independent  |
Calare, NSW |  | Labor  | John Breen | 9.9  | 11.7  | 1.8  | John Howse | Liberal  |
Capricornia, Qld |  | Labor  | Frank Forde | 5.9  | 8.8  | 2.9  | Charles Davidson | Country  |
Franklin, Tas |  | Labor  | Charles Frost | 9.9  | 10.0  | 0.1  | Bill Falkinder | Liberal  |
Henty, Vic |  | Independent  | Arthur Coles | 5.5  | 9.8  | 4.3  | Jo Gullett | Liberal  |
Reid, NSW |  | Labor  | Charles Morgan | N/A  | 7.4  | 4.2  | Jack Lang | Lang Labor  |
Swan, WA |  | Labor  | Don Mountjoy | 3.0  | 3.2  | 0.2  | Len Hamilton | Country  |
Wakefield, SA |  | Labor  | Albert Smith | 1.2  | 3.9  | 2.7  | Philip McBride | Liberal  |
Wilmot, Tas |  | Liberal  | Allan Guy | 1.7  | 3.4  | 1.7  | Gil Duthie | Labor  |

* Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

## See also

[edit]

* Candidates of the 1946 Australian federal election
* Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1946–1949
* Members of the Australian Senate, 1947–1950

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ 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.
2. ^ Including Northern Territory

## References

[edit]

* University of WA Archived 18 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine election results in Australia since 1890
* Two-party-preferred vote since 1937

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