The 1940 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and 19 of the 36 seats in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

were up for election. The incumbent

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

, consisting of the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

led by Prime Minister

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and the Country Party led by

Archie Cameron Archie Galbraith Cameron (22 March 18959 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a government minister under Joseph Lyons and Robert Menzies, leader of the Country Party from 1939 to 1940, and finally Speaker of the House of Represe ...

, defeated the opposition Labor Party under

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

despite losing the overall popular vote. The Coalition won 36 seats, two short of a majority, but formed a government on 28 October 1940 with the support of both

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

crossbenchers A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

, Alexander Wilson and

Arthur Coles Sir Arthur William "A.W." Coles (7 August 1892 – 14 June 1982) was a prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist, a son of St James, Victoria shopkeeper George W. Coles (died 1932). With his brothers George James "G.J." (1885 ...

. The four MPs elected to

Lang Labor Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939. Following the expulsion of the N ...

's successor, the

Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist) The Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist), which operated from 1940 to 1941, was a breakaway from the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and was associated with the Lang Labor faction and former New South Wales premier Jack Lang. History Lang los ...

, officially re-joined the ALP just months after the election in February 1941, bringing the ALP to 36 seats. The UAP–Country

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

lasted only until October 1941, when the two independents

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

and allowed the ALP to form a minority government with Curtin as prime minister. It remains the only time since the 1910 introduction of the

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

where the government has changed as the result of a parliamentary

confidence vote A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. Future opposition leaders H.V. Evatt and

Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party to three federal elections. Calwell grew up in Melbourne and attended St J ...

both entered parliament at this election.

Background

The 15th parliament elected in the 1937 election first sat on 30 November 1937. Under the constitution, the parliament would expire in November 1940 and a general election would have to held by January 1941. Throughout 1940, there were debates on whether the general election should be held or postponed in the midst of a

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

. Throughout July and August 1940, Prime Minister

contemplated the prospect of an early election. The loss of three Cabinet ministers in the 1940 Canberra air disaster on 13 August also meant that three by-elections would have been required, followed within a few short months by a general election. Both the Coalition and Labor supported Australia's ongoing participation in World War II. The Coalition's advertisements asked Australians to "Cast Your Vote for Unity and an All-in War Effort / Back the Government that's Backing

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

", with a large picture of the British Prime Minister. Labor promised "A

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

/ for the Soldier / for the Soldier's wife / Widows, the Aged and Infirm / the Taxpayer / the Working Man / the Primary Producer".

Results

House of Representatives

---- ;Notes * Independents:

(

Henty Henty may refer to: Australian geography *Henty, New South Wales * Henty, Victoria * Henty (wine) an Australian geographical indicator and wine region in southwestern Victoria *Division of Henty, a former federal electorate in Victoria *Henty Highw ...

, Vic) (see below), Alexander Wilson (

Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Aust ...

, Vic) * The Country Party in Victoria was split over membership of the Coalition, with the state party opposing its members taking office. The official United Country Party elected two members, one of whom,

George Rankin George James Rankin, (1 May 1887 – 28 December 1957) was an Australian soldier and politician. He served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, representing the Country Party of Australia. Early life Rankin was born at Bamawm ...

, sat in the federal Country Party room and the other, Alexander Wilson, sat as an Independent. A breakaway faction, the

Liberal Country Party The Liberal Country Party (LCP) was a splinter group of the United Country Party, the Victorian branch of the Australian Country Party, formed after federal MP John McEwen was expelled from the state branch for accepting a ministry in the Lyon ...

, was formed to support sitting ministers and elected two members,

John McEwen Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...

and

Thomas Paterson Thomas Paterson (20 November 1882 – 24 January 1952) was an Australian politician who served as deputy leader of the Country Party from 1929 to 1937. He held ministerial office in the governments of Stanley Bruce and Joseph Lyons, represent ...

, who both sat in the federal Country Party room.

Senate

---- ;Notes * Of the ten senators elected on UAP–Country joint tickets, seven were UAP members and three were Country Party members.

Seats changing hands

* Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Notes

References

University of WA
election results in Australia since 1890

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Federal Election, 1940 Federal elections in Australia 1940 elections in Australia September 1940 events