Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 May 1917. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Billy Hughes, defeated the opposition Labor Party led by Frank Tudor.
Hughes, at the time a member of the ALP, had become prime minister when Andrew Fisher retired in 1915. The Australian Labor Party split of 1916 over the conscription issue had led Hughes and 24 other pro-conscription Labor MPs to split off as the National Labor Party, which was able to form a minority government supported by the Commonwealth Liberal Party under Joseph Cook. Later that year, National Labor and the Liberals merged to form the Nationalist Party, with Hughes as leader and Cook as deputy leader. The election was fought in the aftermath of the 1916 plebiscite on conscription, which had been narrowly defeated. The Nationalists won a decisive victory, securing the largest majority government since Federation. The ALP suffered a large electoral swing against it, losing almost seven percent of its vote from 1914. The swing was magnified by the large number of former Labor MPs who followed Hughes out of the party.
Results
House of Representatives
Labour: 22 seats
Nationalist: 52 seats
House of Reps 1917–19 (FPTP) — Turnout 78.30% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.64%
Party |
Votes |
% |
Swing |
Seats |
Change |
|
Nationalist |
1,021,138 |
54.22 |
+7.01 |
53 |
+21 |
|
Labor |
827,541 |
43.94 |
–6.96 |
22 |
–20 |
|
Independents |
34,755 |
1.85 |
−0.05 |
0 |
–1 |
|
Total |
1,883,434 |
|
|
75 |
|
|
Nationalist |
WIN |
|
|
53 |
+21 |
|
Labor |
|
|
|
22 |
−20 |
- Notes
- Ten members were elected unopposed – seven Nationalist and three Labor.
- The changes recorded for the Nationalist Party are with regard to the Commonwealth Liberal Party's performance in 1914.
Popular Vote |
|
|
|
|
|
Nationalist |
|
54.22% |
Labor |
|
43.94% |
Independent |
|
1.85% |
|
Parliament Seats |
|
|
|
|
|
Nationalist |
|
70.67% |
Labor |
|
29.33% |
|
Senate
Senate 1917–19 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 77.69% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A
Party |
Votes |
% |
Swing |
Seats Won |
Seats Held |
Change |
|
Nationalist |
3,516,354 |
55.37 |
+7.60 |
18 |
24 |
+18 |
|
Labor |
2,776,648 |
43.72 |
−8.42 |
0 |
12 |
−18 |
|
Socialist |
32,692 |
0.51 |
+0.51 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Independents |
24,676 |
0.39 |
+0.39 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
6,350,370 |
|
|
18 |
36 |
|
- Notes
Seats changing hands
Seat |
Pre-1917 |
Swing |
Post-1917 |
Party |
Member |
Margin |
Margin |
Member |
Party |
Bass, Tas |
|
Labor |
Jens Jensen |
6.0 |
15.9 |
9.9 |
Jens Jensen |
Nationalist |
|
Bendigo, Vic |
|
Labor |
Alfred Hampson |
0.9 |
12.5 |
7.4 |
Billy Hughes |
Nationalist |
|
Boothby, SA |
|
Labor |
George Dankel |
5.3 |
19.8 |
14.5 |
William Story |
Nationalist |
|
Corio, Vic |
|
Labor |
Alfred Ozanne |
1.2 |
8.5 |
7.3 |
John Lister |
Nationalist |
|
Darwin, Tas |
|
Labor |
King O'Malley |
6.1 |
14.9 |
8.8 |
Charles Howroyd |
Nationalist |
|
Denison, Tas |
|
Labor |
William Laird Smith |
5.9 |
12.2 |
6.3 |
William Laird Smith |
Nationalist |
|
Fawkner, Vic |
|
Labor |
Joseph Hannan |
9.3 |
10.7 |
N/A |
George Maxwell |
Nationalist |
|
Fremantle, WA |
|
Labor |
Reginald Burchell |
6.3 |
25.2 |
18.9 |
Reginald Burchell |
Nationalist |
|
Gippsland, Vic |
|
Independent |
George Wise |
1.0 |
24.7 |
22.7 |
George Wise |
Nationalist |
|
Grey, SA |
|
Labor |
Alexander Poynton |
4.0 |
11.7 |
7.7 |
Alexander Poynton |
Nationalist |
|
Gwydir, NSW |
|
Labor |
William Webster |
3.8 |
10.3 |
6.5 |
William Webster |
Nationalist |
|
Herbert, Qld |
|
Labor |
Fred Bamford |
14.4 |
15.7 |
1.3 |
Fred Bamford |
Nationalist |
|
Hindmarsh, SA |
|
Labor |
William Archibald |
24.4 |
30.2 |
5.8 |
William Archibald |
Nationalist |
|
Illawarra, NSW |
|
Labor |
George Burns |
4.2 |
8.5 |
4.3 |
Hector Lamond |
Nationalist |
|
Indi, Vic |
|
Labor |
Parker Moloney |
1.0 |
7.2 |
6.2 |
John Leckie |
Nationalist |
|
Kalgoorlie, WA |
|
Labor |
Hugh Mahon |
100.0 |
51.3 |
1.3 |
Edward Heitmann |
Nationalist |
|
Oxley, Qld |
|
Labor |
James Sharpe |
6.8 |
9.6 |
2.3 |
James Bayley |
Nationalist |
|
Werriwa, NSW |
|
Labor |
John Lynch |
0.0 |
2.8 |
2.8 |
John Lynch |
Nationalist |
|
- Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
References
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Federal elections | |
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Referendums | |
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Surveys | |
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- Elections in: Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
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