ID 0406

Parliament of South Australia, House of Assembly election

Election of 15 September 1979

Show only vote and seat summary details

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General election for the House of Assembly
South Australia
Date of election (or first day of voting at elections held over more than one day)
15 September 1979

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 Desmond Corcoran
Premier's party affiliation
Australian Labor Party
House of Assembly support for government at election
Majority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)

Government in office after election

Premier in office after election.
David Oliver Tonkin
Premier's party affiliation
Liberal Party
House of Assembly support for government after election
Majority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)

Enrolment and voting

Total number of voters on the roll
826,586
Number of Assembly seats
47
Number of uncontested seats
0
If uncontested seats, number of voters on the roll in uncontested seats
Number of voters on the roll in contested seats
826,586
Total ballots cast (may differ from number of votes in multiple voting systems)
769,080
Turnout (rate of voting in contested seats)
93.04%
Total valid votes
734,976
Rate of informal (invalid) voting
4.43%
Informal (invalid) ballots in multiple voting system
Not applicable
Electoral system
Adult franchise (at 18 years from 1973), single member districts, preferential voting (AV), compulsory preferences, compulsory voting

South Australia, House of Assembly votes and seats won

Display Chart

Election held on 15 September 1979
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 %
Liberal Party  352,343  47.94  +6.73  25  0  53.19 
Australian Labor Party  300,277  40.86  -10.78  19  0  40.43 
Australian Democrats  60,979  8.30  +4.82  1  0  2.13 
National Country Party  14,013  1.91  +0.31  1  0  2.13 
Independents  7,364  1.00  +0.61  1  0  2.13 
Votes for other than listed parties 0 0.00 -0.23       
Totals 734,976  100.00    47  0  100.00 

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Notes

Premier in office at election: Corcoran replaced Dunstan as premier on 15 February 1979.

References: For comment on the decline of the Australian Labor Party vote at this election, see Blair Baldock, 'Was the South Australian Labor Party Struck Down by a Bus?', Politics, 17(1) May 1982: 77-83

Sources

Colin A Hughes, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1975-1984, Rushcutters Bay, NSW: Australian National University Press, 1986 (ISBN 0 08 033038 X).

There are small discrepancies in calculating the total valid vote given by Hughes (1986), and differences between these figures and those given by Jaensch (1986).


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