Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election
Election of 7 October 1978
Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election
Government in office at election
Government in office after election
Enrolment and voting
New South Wales, Legislative Assembly votes and seats won
Election held on 7 October 1978
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under 'listed party'
| 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 | 1,615,949 | 57.77 | +8.02 | 63 | 0 | 63.64 |
| Liberal Party | 754,796 | 26.98 | -9.31 | 18 | 0 | 18.18 |
| National Country Party | 276,984 | 9.90 | * | 17 | 0 | 17.17 |
| Australian Democrats | 74,019 | 2.65 | * | 0 | ||
| Independents | 62,655 | 2.24 | -0.66 | 1 | 0 | 1.01 |
| Communist Party | 8,472 | 0.30 | +0.22 | 0 | ||
| Votes for other than listed parties | 4,467 | 0.16 | -0.51 | |||
| Totals | 2,797,342 | 100.00 | 99 | 0 | 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
Referendum on Legislative Council Reform: On 17 June 1978, the electors in New South Wales were asked to approve a bill for the direct election of members of the Legislative Council (members had been chosen by indirect election since 1934). The referendum passed with 2,251,336 votes in favour of the proposal and 403,313 against; see Anne Twomey, The Constitution of New South Wales, p. 319 (Sydney: Federation Press, 2004, ISBN 1862875162). For a brief survey of the changes, see Bennett, pp. 159-161 (see 'Reference', below).
National Country Party: The Country Party in New South Wales changed its name to the National Country Party in 1977 (it changed its name again in 1982 to National Party); see Bennett, pp. 175-176 (see 'Reference', below).
Australian Democrats: The Australian Democrats emerged as a centre party immediately preceding the 1977 federal election to capture the support of voters who were dissatisfied with both the Labor and Liberal parties; see Rodney Smith, 'The Australian Democrats in NSW Politics', pp. 213- 233, in John Warhurst (editor), Keeping the Bastards Honest: The Australian Democrats' First Twenty Years, (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1997, ISBN 1864484209).
Reference: For a comprehensive survey of this election and the preceding period, see Scott Bennett, '1978', in Michael Hogan and David Clune (editors), The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in 20th Century New South Wales, vol. 3 (1968-1999), pp. 147-179, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales and University of Sydney, 2001, ISBN 0909907412).
Sources
Colin A Hughes, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1975-1984, pp. 189-196, (Rushcutters Bay, NSW: Australian National University Press, 1986, ISBN 008033038X); 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).