The 1985 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 2 March 1985, was for the 50th

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly an ...

. It was held in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

to elect all 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council. Since the previous election, the number of members of the Legislative Assembly was increased by 7 to 88.

Lindsay Thompson Lindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson AO, CMG (15 October 1923 – 16 July 2008) was an Australian Liberal Party politician who served the 40th Premier of Victoria from June 1981 to April 1982. He was previously the Deputy Premier between 1972 and ...

, who led the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

to a defeat at the 1982 election with a 17-seat swing against it, resigned the leadership of the party on 5 November 1982. He was succeeded by Jeff Kennett. At the election, the incumbent Labor Party government led by John Cain Jr. maintained its electoral support, though the Liberal Party did increase the number of seats. It was the first time since Federation that a Labor government had been reelected in Victoria.

Results

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Seats changing hands

*Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats. *In addition, the National party retained the seat of

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peo ...

, which it had won from the Liberals in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

Redistribution affected seats

Post-election pendulum

References

{{Victorian elections 1985 elections in Australia Elections in Victoria (Australia) 1980s in Victoria (Australia) March 1985 events in Australia John Cain