Australian legislative election, 2004

Legislative elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. The conservative Coalition of the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister John Howard, and the National Party of Australia led by Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, won a fourth three-year term, with a net gain of four seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. The Coalition also won control of the Senate for the first time since 1981, winning 39 of the 76 seats.

Overall result

The Coalition parties won 46.7% of the primary vote, a gain of 3.7% over the 2001 election. The opposition Australian Labor Party polled 37.6%, a loss of 0.2%. The Australian Greens emerged as the most prominent minor party, polling 7.2%, a gain of 2.2%. Both the Australian Democrats and One Nation had their vote greatly reduced. After a notional distribution of preferences, the Australian Electoral Commission estimated that the Coalition had polled 52.6% of the two-party preferred vote, a gain of 2.1% from 2001.

Related Topics:
2001 election - Australian Labor Party - Australian Greens - Australian Democrats - One Nation - Australian Electoral Commission - Two-party preferred vote

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The Liberal Party won 74 seats, the National Party 12 seats and the Country Liberal Party (the Northern Territory branch of the Liberal Party) one seat, against the Labor opposition's 60 seats. Three independent members were re-elected. The Coalition also won 39 seats in the 76-member Senate, making the Howard Government the first government to have a majority in the Senate since 1981. The size of the government's win was unexpected: few commentators had predicted that the coalition would actually increase its majority in the House of Representatives, and almost none had foreseen its gaining a majority in the Senate. Even Howard had described that feat as "a big ask."

Related Topics:
Country Liberal Party - Northern Territory - Senate - 1981

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The election result was a triumph for Howard, who in December 2004 became Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister, and who saw the election result as a vindication of his policies, particularly his decision to join in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The results were a setback for the Labor leader, Mark Latham, and led to his resignation in January 2005. It made Labor's task in winning the next election more difficult.

Related Topics:
2004 - 2003 invasion of Iraq - Mark Latham - 2005 - The next election

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A provisional pendulum for the House of Representatives can be seen at Adam Carr's Electoral Archive. It shows that in order to win the next election, Labor will need to win 16 seats, which could be generated if it picked up a nationally-uniform swing of about 5%.

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Members and Senators defeated in the election include Larry Anthony, the National Party Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, defeated in Richmond, New South Wales; former Labor minister Con Sciacca, defeated in Bonner, Queensland; Liberal Parliamentary Secretaries Trish Worth (Adelaide, South Australia) and Ross Cameron (Parramatta, New South Wales); and Democrat Senators Aden Ridgeway (the only Aboriginal member of the outgoing Parliament), Brian Greig and John Cherry. Liberal Senator John Tierney (New South Wales), who was dropped to number four on the Coalition Senate ticket, was also defeated.

Related Topics:
Larry Anthony - Richmond - Con Sciacca - Bonner - Trish Worth - Adelaide - Ross Cameron - Parramatta - Aden Ridgeway - Brian Greig - John Cherry - John Tierney

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Celebrity candidates Peter Garrett (Labor, Kingsford Smith, New South Wales) and Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal, Wentworth, New South Wales) easily won their contests. Prominent clergyman Fred Nile failed to win a Senate seat in New South Wales. The first Muslim candidate to be endorsed by a major party in Australia, Ed Husic, failed to win the seat of Greenway, New South Wales, for Labor. The former One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, failed in her bid to win a Senate seat in Queensland as an independent.

Related Topics:
Peter Garrett - Kingsford Smith - Malcolm Turnbull - Wentworth - Fred Nile - Muslim - Ed Husic - Greenway - One Nation - Pauline Hanson

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Detailed results are available at the Australian Electoral Commission's virtual tally room website.

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Minor parties had mixed results. The Australian Democrats polled their lowest vote since their creation in 1977, and lost the three Senate seats they were defending. The Australian Greens won Senate seats in Western Australia and in Tasmania. They missed seats in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, partly because of preference deals by other parties. This was a poorer result than they had expected. They failed to win a seat in the House, losing the seat of Cunningham which they gained at a 2002 by-election.

Related Topics:
Australian Democrats - 1977 - Australian Greens - Cunningham - 2002

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The Australian Progressive Alliance leader, Senator Meg Lees, and the One Nation parliamentary leader, Senator Len Harris, lost their seats. One Nation's vote in the House of Representatives collapsed. The Christian Democratic Party, the Citizens Electoral Council, the Democratic Labor Party, the Progressive Labour Party and the Socialist Alliance all failed to make any impact. The Family First Party polled 2% of the vote nationally, and their candidate Steve Fielding won a Senate seat in Victoria.

Related Topics:
Australian Progressive Alliance - Meg Lees - One Nation - Len Harris - Christian Democratic Party - Citizens Electoral Council - Democratic Labor Party - Progressive Labour Party - Socialist Alliance - Family First Party - Steve Fielding

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