1974 Queensland state election|
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Turnout | 89.42 ( 2.99 pp) |
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Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 7 December 1974[1] to elect the 82 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.[1]
The National-Liberal Coalition won a third consecutive victory under Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and the seventh consecutive victory for the National Party in Queensland, which had renamed itself from the Country Party since the previous election. The Labor Party lost two-thirds of its seats, including that of leader Perc Tucker, its worst showing in an election until 2012 and thus a landslide victory for the Coalition.
Labor was reduced to only 11 seats, leading observers to call Labor's caucus a "cricket team." William Bowe of Crikey wrote that for years, the election stood as "the gold standard for Australian election massacres".[2]
Key dates
Date
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Event
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23 October 1974
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Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen announced the early election date at a news conference.[3]
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2 November 1974
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The Legislative Assembly was dissolved.[4]
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2 November 1974
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Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[5]
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8 November 1974
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Close of nominations.
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7 December 1974
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Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
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23 December 1974
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The Bjelke-Petersen Ministry was reconstituted.[6]
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11 January 1975
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The writ was returned and the results formally declared.[7]
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3 February 1975
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Deadline for return of the writs.
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25 February 1975
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Parliament resumed for business.[8]
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Results
Queensland state election, 7 December 1974 Legislative Assembly
<< 1972–1977 >>
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Enrolled voters
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1,186,378
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Votes cast
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1,060,910
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Turnout
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89.42%
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-2.99%
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Informal votes
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16,742
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Informal
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1.58%
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+0.05%
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Summary of votes by party
|
Party
|
Primary votes
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%
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Swing
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Seats
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Change
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Labor
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376,187
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36.03%
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-10.72%
|
11
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-22
|
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Liberal
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324,682
|
31.09%
|
+8.87%
|
30
|
+9
|
|
Nationals
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291,088
|
27.88%
|
+7.88%
|
39
|
+13
|
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Independent
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29,582
|
2.83%
|
-0.49%
|
2
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±0
|
|
Queensland Labor
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19,952
|
1.91%
|
-5.78%
|
0
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± 0
|
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Australia
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1,929
|
0.18%
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+0.18%
|
0
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±0
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Australian Advancement
|
416
|
0.04%
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+0.04%
|
0
|
±0
|
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Socialist
|
332
|
0.03%
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+0.03%
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0
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±0
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Total
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1,044,168
|
|
|
82
|
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Popular vote |
|
|
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Labor |
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36.03% |
Liberal |
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31.09% |
Nationals |
|
27.88% |
Democratic Labor |
|
1.91% |
Australia |
|
0.18% |
Independents |
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2.83% |
Others |
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0.07% |
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Seats |
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Nationals |
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47.56% |
Liberal |
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36.59% |
Labor |
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13.41% |
Independents |
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2.44% |
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Seats changing hands
- Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
Post-election pendulum
See also
References