State elections were held in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
on 15 September 1979. All 47 seats in the
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.
Overview
The House of Assembly was creat ...
were up for election. The incumbent
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
led by
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
of South Australia
Des Corcoran
James Desmond Corcoran AO (8 November 1928 – 3 January 2004) was an Australian politician, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. He was the 37th Premier of South Australia, serving between 15 February 1979 ...
was defeated by the
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...
led by
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
David Tonkin
David Oliver Tonkin AO (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1 ...
.
The Liberals originally won 25 seats, but a court decision overturned their win in Norwood. Labor won the
Norwood by-election, which meant the Liberals held 24 seats, with Labor on 20 seats, and 1 each to the
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...
,
National Country Party, and an Independent Labor.
Background
Premier
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...
abruptly resigned as premier on 15 February 1979, due to ill health, and was succeeded by Deputy Premier
Des Corcoran
James Desmond Corcoran AO (8 November 1928 – 3 January 2004) was an Australian politician, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. He was the 37th Premier of South Australia, serving between 15 February 1979 ...
. Dunstan also resigned from parliament, and his seat was retained for Labor by
Greg Crafter
Gregory John Crafter (born 16 September 1944) is a former South Australian Labor Party politician. He was the member for Norwood from 1979 to 1993, with a short break from September 1979 to February 1980.
Crafter was elected in a March 1979 ...
at the
by-election in March 1979.
Spurred by positive opinion polls, and seeking to escape the shadow of Dunstan by gaining a mandate of his own, Corcoran called a snap election, without informing the party apparatus. The election campaign was plagued by problems, which allowed an opening for the Liberals under Tonkin. It did not help matters that
The Advertiser was biased toward the Liberal campaign.
Summary of results
Labor suffered a large swing, losing seven seats (six to the Liberals, one to Independent Labor
Norm Peterson
Hilary Norman Peterson is a regular fictional character on the American television show ''Cheers''. The character was portrayed by actor George Wendt and is named Hilary after his paternal grandfather.
Norm appeared in all 275 episodes of '' ...
). The Liberals also won 55 percent of the two-party vote to Labor's 45 percent. In most of Australia, this would have been enough for a landslide Liberal victory. However, the Liberals only won 13 seats in Adelaide, netting them a total of 25 seats, a bare majority of two. Narrow as it was, it was the first time the main non-Labor party in South Australia had won the most seats while also winning a majority of the vote since the
Liberal and Country League
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and ...
won 50.3 percent of the two-party vote in 1959.
The Liberal majority was pared back even further after the
Court of Disputed Returns
The Court of Disputed Returns is a court, tribunal, or some other body that determines disputes about elections in some common law countries. The court may be known by another name such as the Court of Disputed Elections. In countries that derive ...
struck down the result in Norwood. The court found that a Liberal Party advertisement in an Italian language newspaper, which described Liberal candidate
Frank Webster as "your representative" ("''il vostro deputato''"), gave the false impression that Webster was the sitting member. Labor regained Norwood at the
1980 Norwood state by-election, reducing the Liberals to 24 seats, just enough to govern.
In the
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...
, the Liberals won 6 seats, Labor won 4, and
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...
won 1; giving numbers of 11 Liberal, 10 Labor and 1 Democrat, leaving the Liberal government one seat short of a majority.
Aftermath
Corcoran was bitter in defeat, believing sections of the ALP had undermined him during the campaign. He resigned as leader soon after the election, and retired from politics in 1982.
In 1982, when legislation to enable the
Roxby Downs Roxby Downs may refer to.
* Roxby Downs, South Australia, a town and a locality
* Roxby Council, formerly Municipal Council of Roxby Downs, a local government area
See also
*Roxby Downs Station
Roxby Downs Station was a pastoral lease in centra ...
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
mine was opposed by both Labor and the Democrats,
Norm Foster resigned from the Labor Party to support the legislation, and sat as an independent in the Legislative Council.
Key dates
* House of Assembly dissolved: 22 August 1979, 2:00pm
* Issue of writ: 27 August 1979
* Close of nominations: 5 September 1979
* Polling day: 15 September 1979
* Return of writ: On or before 5 October 1979
Results
House of Assembly
These numbers include the result of the
1980 Norwood state by-election.
Seats changing hands
* Members in ''italics'' did not recontest their seats.
*
Keith Russack
Edwin Keith Russack (2 April 1918 – 26 February 1999) known as Keith Russack, was a politician in the State of South Australia.
History
Russack was born at Kadina, South Australia, the youngest son of Alfred Hermann Russack (1879 – 5 Novemb ...
was elected in 1977 as an Independent, but joined the Liberal party soon after.
Legislative Council
Post-election pendulum
These numbers include the result of the
1980 Norwood state by-election.
Subsequently, the
1982 Mitcham by-election and
1982 Florey by-election were held. The Democrats retained Mitcham by 45 votes, while Labor increased their margin in Florey.
See also
*
Results of the South Australian state election, 1979 (House of Assembly)
*
Results of the 1979 South Australian state election (Legislative Council)
*
Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1979-1982
*
Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1979-1982
References
History of South Australian elections 1857-2006, volume 1: ECSAState and federal election results in Australia since 1890
;Specific
{{South Australian elections
Elections in South Australia
1979 elections in Australia
1970s in South Australia
September 1979 events in Australia