AK's Australian Election Series - 1985
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  AK's Australian Election Series - 1985
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Poll
Question: Here at last! My apologies for the massive delay!
#1
Progress
 
#2
National Country
 
#3
Labor
 
#4
Australia Party
 
#5
Communist
 
#6
Natural Law
 
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Partisan results

Total Voters: 27

Author Topic: AK's Australian Election Series - 1985  (Read 586 times)
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Anton Kreitzer
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« on: October 10, 2014, 05:49:18 AM »

NOTE: I've become a lot busier away from Atlas over the past month, I do intend to finish this series, it will just take a bit longer. Thank you all for your understanding and patience Smiley.

While the right-wing parties in Australia got 58.13% of the two-party preferred vote between them, the Liberal Party, party of not only PM Malcolm Fraser, but also notable former PM Eric Harrison, who had passed away back in 1974, declined to an all-time low vote of a tiny 6.45% - the same as their arch-rivals the Communist Party, who also lost votes. The new Natural Law Party managed to take votes from Labor and the Communists alike, polling 9.67% of the vote, the same as the National Country Party. The Australia Party, under new leader Don Chipp, held fairly steady in terms of vote, while the Progress Party was clearly the major right-wing party in Australia now. Indeed, the Progress Party got a swing to them of nearly 15% - although this was by and large from former Liberal and, to a lesser extent, NCP voters.
Summary of 1982 election:

House of Representatives
Progress – 38 (+18)
Labor – 36 (-7)
National Country – 19 (-3)
Australia Party – 18 (+6)
Liberal – 12 (-12)
Communist – 3 (-2)

Senate
1979: 10 Labor, 5 National Country, 5 Australia Party, 5 Liberal, 4 Progress, 1 Communist
1982: 11 Progress, 9 Labor, 2 Liberal, 5 Australia Party,  4 National Country,  2 Natural Law, 1 Communist
Total: 19 Labor, 15 Progress, 10 Australia Party, 9 National Country, 7 Liberal, 2 Natural Law, 2 Communist

Two-party preferred vote: 58.13-41.87

Three days after the election, PM Fraser announced his resignation as Prime Minister and from Parliament, but another shock announcement was to come from the outgoing PM. After a party meeting on the 31st of May, it was decided to disband the Liberal Party, given the poor result in the 1982 election, and the party's declining fortunes over the past few years at both the federal and state levels. Fraser stated that "Sadly, the party of Robert Menzies and Eric Harrison has come to an end, we've achieved many great things over the years, but it is time to call it a day". Liberal MPs and Senators by and large joined either the Progress or National Country Parties, although one MP joined the Australia Party. Indeed, highlighting the Liberals' weakened position, particularly in their old heartland Victoria, here is what the state/territory governments (except for the ACT, which had no territorial government) looked like in Australia at the start of June, 1982:

State/TerritoryGovernmentLargest Opposition Party
New South Wales Labor Progress
Victoria Liberal/National Country Labor
Queensland National Country Labor
South Australia Australia Party Labor
Western Australia Progress/National Country Labor
Tasmania Progress/Liberal Labor
Northern Territory Progress Labor

Labor, while holding the second largest number of seats in both houses, after the former Liberal members joined their new parties (see Parliament at dissolution at the bottom of the entry), weren't in too good of a position themselves - the rightward move under Hayden hadn't won back many Australia Party votes, and on the left, the new Natural Law Party had taken away a significant part of the Labor vote. Bill Hayden was dumped at the leadership spill held on the 3rd of June, 1982. He was replaced as leader by Bob Hawke, former Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) leader. Hawke, who was first elected to the House in 1979 after passing up running in 1976, was chosen as leader over other contenders, such as Lionel Bowen and Ralph Willis, as he would largely continue the party's centre-left policies under Hayden, with some differences, and his union background was seen as valuable for winning more voters back from the left.

With the government, the first Progress-led government, holding 31 seats in the new Senate, Australia Party co-operation was once again required for passing new legislation. A bill introduced by the Progress Party early in the Parliament was one to privatise the Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest public bank. Labor, the new Natural Law Senators, and the Communists outright opposed this move, and the Australia Party treaded the move with caution. By the end of 1982, it was agreed to privatise the bank, and the bank would be fully privatised by the start of financial year 1984/85. The Australia Party Senators were split over the issue – 4 of them supported privatisation, 6 opposed it. Don Chipp, party leader, opposed the measure, although believed his MPs should have a free vote, and the bill passed 35-29 in the Senate.

With the Commonwealth Bank privatisation bill passed, PM Singleton revived a proposal to restrict free university education to those from households earning less than $30,000 a year, those between $30,000-$50,000 would be eligible for the government loan scheme. This was slightly different to the proposal raised back in 1980, with a higher threshold for free education eligibility. After an Australia Party amendment in the Senate regarding the interest rate, and GST status of the loans (the loans would be 100% GST exempt), it was passed before the end of 1982.

Further reforms were put on hold in early 1983, when on Ash Wednesday, or the 16th of February, the deadliest bushfires in Australian history to that point blazed southeastern Australia. The fires affected the southeastern part of South Australia and much of western Victoria. 75 people were killed, another 2,676 were injured, and an estimated $400,000,000 of property was destroyed. The fires also succeeded a large drought in 1982, started by a combination of power line failure and arson, and were spread by a severe change in the direction of the wind. As a result of the Ash Wednesday fires, it was announced, in an emergency measure, that income taxes would be hiked by 1 or 2%, depending on the tax bracket, and be effective as of the 1st of April, 1983. These measures would last for one year, to raise additional revenue for disaster relief, the revenue raised from these hikes would be strictly used for disaster relief only. These measures passed both Houses easily, and were the result of negotiations between the government, opposition and crossbenchers. This aid supplemented the revenue raising measures taken by the Victorian and South Australian state governments, and another 10% pay cut for MPs.

On the 22nd of April, Valery Ivanov, an official from the Soviet Union’s embassy, was permanently expelled from Australia, upon a failed attempt to recruit a member of the Labor Party to the Soviet side. PM Singleton called the move “yet another defense of liberty in Australia”. The remainder of 1983 witnessed the Premier of NSW, Neville Wran, in hot water over allegations of attempting to influence the state Magistracy, although his government would be returned to office in early 1984, with a reduced majority. Also, on the 26th of September, Australia II won boating race the America’s Cup, ending a 132-year long streak by the New York Yacht Club.

1984 began with the government introducing legislation to deregulate the banking industry, and allow for the construction of nuclear power plants in Australia. While the banking industry legislation passed relatively easily, the nuclear energy bill did not – The Natural Law and Communists outright opposed the measures, and it would be a tough sell to the Australia Party and Labor. Much of 1984 was spent negotiating the nuclear legislation in the Senate, it eventually passed after one Labor Senator and four Australia Party Senators crossed the floor, once regulations stating that uranium, which had already been mined for a few years, was not to be used to produce nuclear weapons, and that the nuclear power plants were to adhere to security standards similar to those in the US and Western Europe were agreed upon.

Remainder of entry and party platforms in next post.
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2014, 05:49:56 AM »

1984 would also see the Federal Budget, under treasurer John Hyde, televised on TV for the first time, a nasty shootout in the southwestern Sydney suburb of Milperra, between bikie gangs Comancheros and Bandidos, resulting in 6 deaths, and green and gold officially made Australia’s national colours, representing the golden wattle, Australia’s national floral emblem, in time for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. By this time, inflation was steady at 2%, and unemployment had dropped to 4.9% - the best level since the mid-1970s. It would appear that Australia was prospering greatly in the 1980s.

Legislation banning unauthorised phone tapping, namely tapping with no warrant, was passed before Parliament adjourned for the Christmas break at the end of 1984, it passed both houses easily. 1985 saw AM stereo radio commence broadcasting in Australia, with some government run stations converting quickly to the new medium. Having been Progress Party leader since its inception ten years ago, and in government in some form since 1976, rumours began to spread of PM Singleton’s retirement, which were crushed in an interview on TV, the Prime Minister stating “I have no plans to retire any time soon, ultimately, the people of Australia will decide that fate”, referring to the impeding election, due in the first half of 1985.

Parliament at time of dissolution:

House of Representatives
Progress – 45 (+7)
Labor – 36 (nc)
National Country – 23 (+4)
Australia Party – 19 (+1)
Communist – 3 (nc)

Senate
Progress – 20 (+5)
Labor – 19 (nc)
National Country – 11 (+2)
Australia Party – 10 (nc)
Natural Law –  2 (nc)
Communist –  2 (nc)

An election has been called for the 26th of May, 1985.

Party platforms at this election:

Progress Party – Prime Minister John Singleton and the Progress Party are running on their record of enabling conditions for job creation, namely the deregulations, allowing nuclear power plants to be built in Australia, and getting unemployment down to 4%. Singleton has stated that “our model has proven to be effective in getting Australians back to work, and increasing their prosperity”. The Progress Party’s 1985 slogan is “For An Even Better Australia”.

National Country Party – Deputy Prime Minister Doug Anthony and the National Country Party are campaigning alongside their senior partners in government regarding job creation, particularly over the likes of the Franklin Dam and nuclear energy. The NCP's 1985 slogan is "Stand Up For Outback Australia".

Labor Party – Opposition Leader Bob Hawke and Labor are running on a platform of creating a National Disaster Fund, which had been in Labor’s platform since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, introducing a capital gains tax while not touching income taxes for lower and middle class Australians, more funding for the ABC, self-government for the Australian Capital Territory, and more restrictions over nuclear energy. Labor’s slogan for 1985 is “Bringing Australia Together”.

Australia Party – Don Chipp and the Australia Party are running once again as a centrist alternative. Chipp has defended criticism of allowing some of the government’s decisions to pass, such as nuclear energy, by stating that “Free votes on issues are vital to democracy in Australia, and without our moderation, these pieces of legislation would have passed in their unrestricted forms”. The Australia Party also supports self-government for the Australian Capital Territory. The Australia Party's 1985 slogan is "Keep Australia Honest".

Communist Party – Eric Aarons and the Communists are once again running on a similar platform to 1982 and years gone by, namely a 100% nationalised economy, full ties with the Soviet Union, and the abolition of all governments barring the Commonwealth Government. An addition to the platform in 1985 is the proposal to eventually abolish political parties, and providing a true alternative for trade unionists, as . The Communist slogan for 1985 is "Australia’s Radical Alternative".

Natural Law Party - Bob Brown and the Natural Law Party are campaigning on an immediate reversal of the decision to build nuclear power plants, raising taxes on petrol, blocking developments on the Great Barrier Reef, reforming the voting system for Commonwealth politics, and a gradual phasing out of logging. The Natural Law Party's 1985 slogan is "Preserve Australia’s Natural Beauty".

Voting is open for 72 hours.

Me: Progress.
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Cranberry
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« Reply #2 on: October 10, 2014, 07:49:38 AM »

Yay this is back! Congratulations, AK, for making such a great election series, it's always a pleasure to vote in them Tongue

But anyway, I'm leaving Labor for the first time...
Natural Law for me
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2014, 08:45:59 AM »

Yay this is back! Congratulations, AK, for making such a great election series, it's always a pleasure to vote in them Tongue

But anyway, I'm leaving Labor for the first time...
Natural Law for me

Glad to hear you're enjoying it! And hopefully, the next entry will be up sooner than it took me to do this one.
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ElectionsGuy
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« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2014, 03:09:15 PM »

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BaconBacon96
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« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2014, 04:58:18 PM »

Australia Party
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Goldwater
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« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2014, 06:22:42 PM »

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Cranberry
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« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2014, 02:37:00 AM »

Question - would a Labor/NL/Australia Coalition or a Progress/(Country)/Australia Coalition be more likely?
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2014, 05:33:38 AM »

Question - would a Labor/NL/Australia Coalition or a Progress/(Country)/Australia Coalition be more likely?

All depends on which out of Labor/NL and Progress/NCP win more seats, and how many seats they win, and what the left/right are willing to negotiate.
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Cranberry
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« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2014, 05:42:24 AM »

Question - would a Labor/NL/Australia Coalition or a Progress/(Country)/Australia Coalition be more likely?

All depends on which out of Labor/NL and Progress/NCP win more seats, and how many seats they win, and what the left/right are willing to negotiate.

So basically this makes the Australia Party the Kingmaker, being able to choose whoever they like/ whoever would give them more in a possible coalition?
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2014, 05:59:19 AM »

Question - would a Labor/NL/Australia Coalition or a Progress/(Country)/Australia Coalition be more likely?

All depends on which out of Labor/NL and Progress/NCP win more seats, and how many seats they win, and what the left/right are willing to negotiate.

So basically this makes the Australia Party the Kingmaker, being able to choose whoever they like/ whoever would give them more in a possible coalition?

I guess you could say that, although the Westminster protocol would still apply. As the incumbent, PM Singleton would get the first go of forming a government, in the event of a hung parliament.
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #11 on: October 12, 2014, 04:40:03 AM »

Bumping, with a reminder that voting closes at 7pm tomorrow night AWST, or in 25 hours and 20 minutes.
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tpfkaw
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« Reply #12 on: October 12, 2014, 04:44:31 AM »

It looks like having the Liberal Party was helpful to the right because of forumites voting for it for its name.
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #13 on: October 12, 2014, 05:09:20 AM »

It looks like having the Liberal Party was helpful to the right because of forumites voting for it for its name.

Are you referring to the 1950s/1960s entries of this series? I think most people on this forum would know the difference between the American and non-American definitions of liberalism.
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Cranberry
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« Reply #14 on: October 12, 2014, 06:43:31 AM »

Question - would a Labor/NL/Australia Coalition or a Progress/(Country)/Australia Coalition be more likely?

All depends on which out of Labor/NL and Progress/NCP win more seats, and how many seats they win, and what the left/right are willing to negotiate.

So basically this makes the Australia Party the Kingmaker, being able to choose whoever they like/ whoever would give them more in a possible coalition?

I guess you could say that, although the Westminster protocol would still apply. As the incumbent, PM Singleton would get the first go of forming a government, in the event of a hung parliament.

Okay, thank you for answering my questions! Smiley
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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Posts: 4,167
Australia


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E: 8.00, S: 3.11

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« Reply #15 on: October 12, 2014, 08:51:57 AM »

Question - would a Labor/NL/Australia Coalition or a Progress/(Country)/Australia Coalition be more likely?

All depends on which out of Labor/NL and Progress/NCP win more seats, and how many seats they win, and what the left/right are willing to negotiate.

So basically this makes the Australia Party the Kingmaker, being able to choose whoever they like/ whoever would give them more in a possible coalition?

I guess you could say that, although the Westminster protocol would still apply. As the incumbent, PM Singleton would get the first go of forming a government, in the event of a hung parliament.

Okay, thank you for answering my questions! Smiley

No problem, happy to help!
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #16 on: October 13, 2014, 01:31:01 AM »

Only 3 and a half hours left to vote!
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2014, 07:50:22 AM »

Voting is now closed, thank you all for your participation.

On a side note, I will aim to have 1988 (or next election, depending on events) up sooner, hopefully within a week.
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