Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election
Election of 25 May 1991
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 25 May 1991
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 | 1,204,066 | 39.05 | +0.56 | 46 | 0 | 46.46 |
| Liberal Party | 1,053,100 | 34.16 | -1.65 | 32 | 0 | 32.32 |
| National Party | 324,214 | 10.52 | -3.22 | 17 | 0 | 17.17 |
| Independents | 257,807 | 8.36 | +0.27 | 4 | 0 | 4.04 |
| Australian Democrats | 165,229 | 5.36 | +3.54 | 0 | ||
| Call to Australia | 36,807 | 1.19 | +0.75 | 0 | ||
| Country Residents Party | 16,557 | 0.54 | * | 0 | ||
| Greens | 16,556 | 0.54 | * | 0 | ||
| Citizens Electoral Council | 5,198 | 0.17 | * | 0 | ||
| Independents EFF (Enterprise, Freedom & Family) | 3,135 | 0.10 | -1.12 | 0 | ||
| Socialist Labor League | 311 | 0.01 | * | 0 | ||
| Marie Bignold Team | 280 | 0.01 | * | 0 | ||
| Votes for other than listed parties | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| Totals | 3,083,260 | 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
Size of Legislative Assembly and redistribution: The membership of the Legislative Assembly was reduced from 109 members to 99 in 1990 and a redistribution carried out in 1990-1991; see Green, pp. 302-304 (see 'References', below).
Electoral system and informal (invalid) voting: Changes in 1990 to the optional preferential electoral system meant that a tick or a cross would no longer be acceptable as the expression of a single preference. This change contributed to the large increase in informal (invalid) voting; see Green, pp. 317-318 (see 'References', below).
Government after election: The Liberal and National parties won only 49 of the 99 seats in the Assembly but Greiner was able to form a Liberal Party and National Party coalition minority government with the support of Tony Windsor, the Independent member for Tamworth. Negotiations with other Independents led to their conditional support for the government in a memorandum of understanding in October 1992; see Tony Smith, '1995', in Michael Hogan and David Clune (editors), The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in 20th Century New South Wales, vol. 3 (1968-1999), pp. 323-368 at pp. 323-328, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales and University of Sydney, 2001, ISBN 0909907412), and David Clune and Gareth Griffith, Decision and Deliberation: The Parliament of New South Wales 1856-2003, pp. 540-545, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2006, ISBN 186287591X).
Greens: The Greens fielded 8 candidates at this, their first New South Wales Legislative Assembly election.
Independents: At this election there were 89 Independent candidates and 20 candidates from unlisted minor parties.
References: For a comprehensive survey of this election and the preceding period, see Antony Green, '1991', in Michael Hogan and David Clune (editors), The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in 20th Century New South Wales, vol. 3 (1968-1999), pp. 283-322, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales and University of Sydney, 2001, ISBN 0909907412); note also, Antony Green, NSW Elections 1984 to 1991: A Comparative Analysis, (Sydney: New South Wales Parliamentary Library, Current Issues: Background Paper, 1994, ISSN 0817-3796; ISBN 0724095632).
Sources
Antony Green, Changing Boundaries, Changing Fortunes: An Analysis of the NSW Elections of 1988 and 1991, p. 51, (Sydney: New South Wales Parliamentary Library, Occasional Paper No. 7 October 1998, 1998, ISSN 1325-5142; ISBN 0731316290); Colin A Hughes, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1985-1999, pp. 302-303, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2002, ISBN 1862874344); 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).