Australian federal election, 2001

Australian federal election, 2001

10 November 2001 (2001-11-10)
All 150 seats in the House of Representatives 76 seats were needed for a majority in the House 40 (of the 76) seats in the Senate
Registered	12,054,664
Turnout	94.9%
First party Second party   Leader John Howard Kim Beazley Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Leader since 30 January 1995 (1995-01-30) 19 March 1996 (1996-03-19) Leader's seat Bennelong (NSW) Brand (WA) Last election 80 seats 67 seats Seats won 82 seats 65 seats Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 5,846,289 5,627,785 Percentage 50.95% 49.05% Swing 1.93 1.93
Prime Minister before election John Howard Liberal/National coalition Subsequent Prime Minister John Howard Liberal/National coalition

Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Kim Beazley.

Results

House of Representatives results

Government (82)
Coalition
     Liberal (68)
     National (13)
     CLP (1)

Opposition (65)
     Labor (65)

Crossbench (3)
     Independent (3)

The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2004 election was 8.67 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Liberal and Green Parties.

The disproportionality of the lower house in the 2001 election was 9.43 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the Coalition and Labor Parties.

House of Reps (IRV) — 2001–04 – Turnout 94.85% (CV) — Informal 4.82%

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Australian Labor Party		4,341,420	37.84	−2.26	65	−2
	Coalition
		Liberal Party of Australia	4,244,072	37.40	+3.18	68	+4
		National Party of Australia	643,926	5.61	+0.32	13	−3
		Country Liberal Party	36,961	0.32	+0.0	1	+1
	Australian Democrats		620,197	5.41	+0.28	0	0
	Australian Greens		569,074	4.96	+2.82	0	0
	One Nation Party		498,032	4.34	−4.09	0	0
	Christian Democratic Party		69,294	0.60	+0.02	0	0
	Unity Party		24,653	0.21	−0.58	0	0
	Citizens Electoral Council		18,352	0.16	+0.09	0	0
	liberals for forests		16,042	0.14	*	0	0
	No GST Party		14,164	0.12	+0.10	0	0
	Australians Against Further Immigration		12,033	0.10	*	0	0
	Save the ADI Site Party		6,029	0.05	*	0	0
	Progressive Labour Party		4,467	0.04	−0.02	0	0
	Lower Excise Fuel and Beer Party		4,292	0.04	*	0	0
	Help End Marijuana Prohibition		3,277	0.03	*	0	0
	Curtin Labor Alliance		2,496	0.02	*	0	0
	Non-Custodial Parents Party		769	0.01	*	0	0
	The Fishing Party		720	0.01	*	0	0
	Tasmania First Party		621	0.01	−0.03	0	0
	Outdoor Recreation Party		485	0.00	*	0	0
	Independents		311,121	2.71	+0.95	3	+2
	Not Affiliated		20,997	0.18	+0.05	0	0
	Total		11,474,074			150
Two-party-preferred vote
	Liberal/National Coalition		WIN	50.95	+1.93	82	+2
	Australian Labor Party			49.05	−1.93	65	-2

Independents: Peter Andren, Tony Windsor, Bob Katter

Popular Vote Labor   37.84% Liberal   37.40% National   5.61% Democrats   5.51% Greens   4.96% One Nation   4.34% CLP   0.32% Independents   2.71% Other   1.41%

Two Party Preferred Vote Coalition   50.95% Labor   49.05%

Parliament Seats Coalition   54.67% Labor   43.33% Independents   2.00%

Senate results

Government (35)
Coalition
     Liberal (31)
     National (3)
     CLP (1)

Opposition (28)
     Labor (28)

Crossbench (12)
     Democrats (8)
     Greens (2)
     One Nation (1)
     Independent (2)

Main article: Results of the Australian federal election, 2001 (Senate)

Senate (STV GV) — 2002–05 – Turnout 95.20% (CV) — Informal 3.89%

Party		Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held
	Australian Labor Party	3,990,997	34.42	-2.99	14	28
	Liberal/National (Joint Ticket)	2,776,052	23.88	+2.00	6
	Liberal Party of Australia	1,824,745	15.69	+2.06	12	31
	Australian Democrats	843,130	7.25	-1.20	4	8
	One Nation	644,364	5.54	-3.44	0	1
	Australian Greens	574,543	4.94	+2.22	2	2
	National Party of Australia	222,860	1.92	+0.06	1	3
	Christian Democratic Party	129,966	1.12	+0.03	0	0
	liberals for forests	87,672	0.75	*	0	0
	Progressive Labour Party	76,150	0.65	*	0	0
	Democratic Labor Party	66,547	0.57	+0.30	0	0
	Help End Marijuana Prohibition	63,648	0.55	*	0	0
	No GST Party	50,053	0.43	+0.29	0	0
	Country Liberal Party	40,680	0.35	+0.03	1	1
	Phil Cleary – Independent Australia	36,122	0.31	*	0	0
	Unity Party	30,193	0.26	-0.57	0	0
	The Fishing Party	27,591	0.24	*	0	0
	Lower Excise Fuel and Beer Party	23,767	0.20	*	0	0
	Australians Against Further Immigration	21,012	0.18	+0.11	0	0
	Republican Party of Australia	9,939	0.09	+0.08	0	0
	Citizens Electoral Council	8,896	0.08	+0.00	0	0
	Reform the Legal System	8,199	0.07	*	0	0
	Helen Caldicott – Our Common Future	5,358	0.05	*	0	0
	Nuclear Disarmament Party	4,596	0.04	-0.05	0	0
	Non-Custodial Parents Party	4,071	0.04	*	0	0
	Tasmania First Party	3,895	0.03	-0.01	0	0
	Curtin Labor Alliance	3,494	0.03	*	0	0
	Hope Party Australia	2,947	0.03	*	0	0
	Advance Australia Party	1,936	0.02	*	0	0
	Taxi Operators' Political Service	670	0.01	+0.01	0	0
	Other	43,712	0.38	+0.08	0	0
	Harradine Group	*	*	*	0	1
	Shayne Murphy	*	*	*	0	1
	Total	11,627,529			40	76

House of Representatives preference flows

• The Nationals had candidates in 14 seats where three-cornered-contests existed, with 87.34% of preferences favouring the Liberal Party.
• The Democrats contested 145 electorates with preferences favouring Labor (64.13%).
• The Greens contested 145 electorates with preferences strongly favouring Labor (74.83%).
• One Nation contested 120 electorates with preferences slightly favouring the Liberal/National Coalition (55.87%).

Seats changing hands

The following table indicates seats that changed hands from one party to another at this election. It compares the election results with the previous margins, taking into account redistributions in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories. As a result, it includes the seats of Macarthur and Parramatta, which were held by Liberal members but had notional Labor margins. The table does not include the new seat of Hasluck (retained by Labor); the abolished Northern Territory, which was divided into Lingiari (retained by Labor) and Solomon (retained by the CLP); or Paterson, a Labor seat made Liberal by the redistribution

• *Leonie Short was elected to Ryan in a by-election earlier in 2001.

Background

Throughout much of 2001, the Coalition had been trailing Labor in opinion polls, thanks to dissatisfaction with the government's economic reform programme and high petrol prices. The opposition Australian Labor Party had won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote at the previous election and had won a series of state and territory elections. Labor also recorded positive swings in two by-elections, taking the Queensland seat of Ryan and coming close in Aston.

The September 11 attacks and the Children Overboard and Tampa affairs were strong influences in the minds of voters at this election, focusing debate around the issues of border protection and national security. Polls swung strongly toward the coalition after the "Tampa" controversy but before the 11 September attacks. Another major issue was the collapse of the country's second biggest airline Ansett Australia and whether it should be given a bailout; the Coalition was opposed to the bailout because it was not the government's fault. However, Labor was for a bailout because the company's collapse was about to result in the biggest mass job loss in Australian history, whilst also arguing that the government was partially responsible for allowing Ansett to be taken over by Air New Zealand who had caused Ansett's failure.^[2] Although the two-party preferred result was reasonably close, the ALP recorded its lowest primary vote since 1934.^[3]

Political scientists have suggested that television coverage has subtly transformed the political system, with a spotlight on leaders rather than parties, thereby making for more of an American presidential-style system. In this election television news focused on international issues, especially terrorism and asylum seekers. Minor parties were largely ignored as the two main parties monopolized the camera's attention. The election was depicted as a horse race between Howard and Beazley; Howard ran ahead and was therefore given more coverage than his Labor rival.^[4]

The election-eve Newspoll reported the Liberal/National Coalition on a 53 percent two-party-preferred vote.^[5]

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 2001
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2001–2004
• Members of the Australian Senate, 2002–2005

References

External links

• Australian Electoral Commission Results
• University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
• AEC 2PP vote
• AustralianPolitics.com election details
• Preference flows – ABC