Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
YaBB God
Posts: 4,167
Political Matrix
E: 8.00, S: 3.11
|
 |
« on: October 17, 2014, 07:43:16 PM » |
|
The 1985 election, the first following the demise of the Liberal Party in 1982, provided a closer result between the left and the right. While the Progress and National Country Parties won a combined 48.1% of the vote between them, partly courtesy of a National Country surge, Labor, the Natural Law Party and the Communists won 40.7% of the vote between them, a significant improvement from 1982. Factoring in Australia Party preferences, this resulted in a 53.74% two-party preferred vote for the incumbent government, similar to their 1979 figure.
Summary of 1985 election:
House of Representatives*
Labor – 46 (+10)
Progress – 38 (nc)
National Country – 27 (+8)
Australia Party – 12 (-6)
Natural Law – 2 (+2)
Communist – 1 (-2)
Liberal – 0 (-12)
* Changes are from 1982 election
Senate
1982: 11 Progress, 7 Labor, 5 National Country, 4 Australia Party, 2 Natural Law, 1 Communist
1985: 10 Progress, 7 Labor, 6 National Country, 6 Natural Law, 4 Australia Party, 1 Communist
Total: 21 Progress, 14 Labor, 11 National Country, 8 Australia Party, 8 Natural Law, 2 Communist
Two-party preferred vote: 53.74-46.26
While Labor managed to gain 10 seats in the House, and the Natural Law Party did well in the Senate, along with winning two seats in the House, these gains seemed to be from the Australia Party, although the Government's majority was reduced from 12 to 4. The Progress-NCP Government now held 65 seats out of a possible 126, and in the Senate, the government was now one seat away from a majority, keyword being away - the Australia Party were now even more serious about not rubberstamping government bills. On one issue, namely the composition of Parliament Don Chipp stated to PM Singleton that the current amount of seats, set back in the 1940s, was no longer sufficient for Australia's population, and an expansion, which had been recommended by the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) back in the late 1970s, was well overdue.
The first session of Parliament would be dominated by this issue, and that of granting the Australian Capital Territory self-government. A solution of expanding the Senate to 76 seats, by granting each state two extra Senators, and thus expanding the size of the House to 151 members, was eventually agreed to in October of 1985, effective for the next election. As for ACT self-government, no agreement could be made - The Progress Party opposed ACT self-government altogether, the NCP were weary of the idea, Labor, the Australia Party and the Natural Law supported it, and the Communists were against any government aside from the Commonwealth Government. Given the deadlock over the issue, it was decided to be put to a referendum. The model of self-government would be determined by the residents of the territory, should the referendum be successful, and would replace the local government system of the territory.
A referendum question has been set for the 30th of November, 1985.
"Do you support self-government for the Australian Capital Territory, similar in power to the Northern Territory government?"
Voting is open for 72 hours.
Me: NO
|
Poll
