ID 0318

Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election

Election of 17 June 1950

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General election for the Legislative Assembly
New South Wales
Date of election (or first day of voting at elections held over more than one day)
17 June 1950

Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election

Government in office at election

Premier in office at date of election. (check notes to see if change of Premier since previous election)
James McGirr
Premier's party affiliation
Australian Labor Party
Legislative Assembly support for government at election
Majority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)

Government in office after election

Premier in office after election.
James McGirr
Premier's party affiliation
Australian Labor Party
Legislative Assembly support for government after election
Minority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)

Enrolment and voting

Total number of voters on the roll
1,919,479
Number of Assembly seats
94
Number of uncontested seats
8
If uncontested seats, number of voters on the roll in uncontested seats
150,878
Number of voters on the roll in contested seats
1,768,601
Total ballots cast (may differ from number of votes in multiple voting systems)
1,640,313
Turnout (rate of voting in contested seats)
92.75%
Total valid votes
1,611,349
Rate of informal (invalid) voting
1.77%
Informal (invalid) ballots in multiple voting system
Not applicable
Electoral system
Universal franchise at 21 years; single member districts; preferential voting (AV); compulsory preferences; compulsory voting

New South Wales, Legislative Assembly votes and seats won

Display Chart

Election held on 17 June 1950
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under 'listed party'

* to view table drag left or right.
Party Name First preference vote n First preference vote share % Change from previous election % Seats won n Uncontested seats held n Seat share %
Australian Labor Party  753,268  46.75  +0.80  46  1  48.94 
Liberal Party  604,428  37.51  +7.91  29  2  30.85 
Country Party  144,573  8.97  -1.25  17  5  18.09 
Independents  48,588  3.02  -3.85  0     
Independent Labor  46,279  2.87  *  2  0  2.13 
Communist Party  14,213  0.88  -1.02  0     
Votes for other than listed parties 0 0.00 -0.45       
Totals 1,611,349  100.00    94  8  100.00 

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* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.

Notes

Government in office after election: The results of the election left the Australian Labor Party two seats short of a majority in the assembly but McGirr remained in office as leader of a minority Labor government with the support of the two Independent Labor Party members.

Independent Labor Party: Several former Labor members of the legislative assembly contested the election under the banner of an Independent Labor Party because they had been expelled from the Australian Labor Party for breaking party rules, or had lost preselection for their seats; see Clune, '1950', pp. 278-282 (see 'Reference', below).

Reference: For a comprehensive survey of this election and the preceding period, see David Clune, '1950', in Michael Hogan and David Clune (editors), The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in 20th Century New South Wales, vol. 2 (1930 to 1965), pp. 269-295, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales and University of Sydney, 2001, ISBN 0909907404).

Sources

Colin A Hughes and B D Graham, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890-1964, pp. 423-460, (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1968, SBN 708102700); New South Wales, Parliament, The New South Wales Parliamentary Record: Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, 1824-1999, vol. VI, pp. 7-15, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales, 1999).


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