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This large election billboard by the Liberal Party attacking Mark Latham's credentials on economic management was typical of many used during the campaign. Economic management has been identified by most commentators as the issue which most benefitted the government. The "L" plate is a reference to Latham's alleged lack of economic credentials (in Australia young drivers have to put an "L" for "learner" plate on their cars).
The coalition parties won 46.7 percent of the primary vote, a gain of 3.7 percent over the 2001 election. LaborThe Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australia's oldest political party. It is so-named because of its origins in and close links to the trade union movement. While Australians normally spell Labour with an "-our" ending, in the name of the party it is sp polled 37.6 percent, a loss of 0.2 percent. The Australian GreensAustralian Greens Current Leader No official leader Founded 1992 Political ideology green politics Holds government none Website The Australian Greens is the national Greens party in Australia. It was formed as a coalition of the various state Greens part emerged as the most prominent minor party, polling 7.2 percent, a gain of 2.2 percent. Both the Australian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats (in regular parlance, just the Democrats , is an Australian social liberal party formed in 1977 from the earlier Australia Party by Don Chipp, who left the Liberal Party of Australia to do so. His stated aim was to "Keep the Basta and One NationOne Nation (officially called Pauline Hanson's One Nation at the federal level, but known by different variants of the name in the states) is a conservative, nationalist and protectionist political group in Australia. After creating a political sensation had their vote greatly reduced. After a notional distribution of preferences, the Australian Electoral CommissionThe Australian Electoral Commission is the federal government's agency in charge of organising and supervising federal elections. Local and state elections are overseen by the State Electoral Office of each state. The Australian Electoral Commission also estimated that the Coalition had polled 52.6 percent of the two-party preferred vote2001 Australian federal election. Most Australian voters follow these cards when casting their vote The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government, and has a number of distinctive features including c, a gain of 2.1 percent from 2001.
The Liberal Party has won 75 seats and the National Party 12 seats, against the Australian Labor Party 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 clinching of a majority in the Senate. Even Howard had described that feat as "a big ask."
100px Mackerras Pendulum for the 2004 Federal Election (84kB)
The election result was a triumph for Howard, who is now set to become Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister, and who will see 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 makes Labor's task in winning the next election more difficult.
A provisional pendulum for the new House of Representatives can be seen at Adam Carr's Electoral Archive. It shows that at the next election Labor will need to win about 15 seats and gain a swing of over 4 percent.
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.
A party worker for the Australian Labor Party hands out How-to-Vote Cards at a polling place in St Kilda, Melbourne, in the Division of Melbourne Ports, on election day, 9 October, 2004.
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.
Detailed results are available at the Australian Electoral Commission's virtual tally room website.
Minor parties had mixed results. The Australian Democrats polled their lowest vote since their creation in 1977, and will lose the three Senate seats they were defending. The Australian Greens have 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.
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 percent of the vote nationally, and their candidate Steve Fielding won a Senate seat in Victoria.
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