The 2010 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 August 2010 to elect members of the 43rd
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
. The incumbent centre-left
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 Prime Minister
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
won a second term against the
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
centre-right
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
Opposition Leader
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 ...
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
and Coalition partner the
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an List of political parties in Australia, Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Au ...
, led by
Warren Truss
Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Governm ...
, after Labor formed a
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 ...
with the support of three
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 ...
MPs and one
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
MP.
Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat
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 ...
,
four short of the requirement for
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
, resulting in the first
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
since the
1940 election.
Six
crossbencher
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 ...
s held the
balance of power. Greens MP
Adam Bandt
Adam Paul Bandt (born 11 March 1972) is an Australian politician and former industrial lawyer who is the leader of the Australian Greens and federal MP for Melbourne. Previously, he served as co-deputy leader of the Greens from 2012 to 2015 an ...
and independent MPs
Andrew Wilkie
Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Clark. Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Australian Army., Australian Parliament House Biographies; 19 Augu ...
,
Rob Oakeshott
Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...
and
Tony Windsor
Antony Harold Curties Windsor, (born 2 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. Windsor was an independent member for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Tamworth from 1991 to 2001 − supporting the incumbent Greiner L ...
declared their support for Labor on
confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house.
A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of par ...
.
Independent MP
Bob Katter
Robert Bellarmine Carl Katter (born 22 May 1945) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1993. He was previously active in Queensland state politics from 1974 to 1992. Katter was a member of the ...
and
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election ...
MP
Tony Crook declared their support for the Coalition on confidence and supply.
The resulting 76–74 margin entitled Labor to form a minority government.
The Prime Minister, government
ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
and
parliamentary secretaries were sworn in on 14 September 2010 by the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the ...
. In November 2011, Coalition MP and Deputy Speaker
Peter Slipper
Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is a former Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987 and from 1993 to 2013, representing the Division of Fisher in Queensland. He was Speaker of the House of ...
replaced Labor MP
Harry Jenkins
Henry Alfred "Harry" Jenkins, (born 18 August 1952) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1986 to 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
Jenkins served as the 26th Speaker of ...
as
Speaker of the House of Representatives, increasing Labor's parliamentary majority from 76–74 to 77–73.
In the 76-seat
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 ...
, the Greens won one seat in each of the six states, gaining the sole balance of power with a total of nine seats, after previously holding a shared balance of power with the
Family First Party
The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into wh ...
and independent
Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian politician and lawyer who was a Senator for South Australia from 2008 to 2017. He was the leader of two political parties: Nick Xenophon Team federally, and Nick Xenophon ...
. The Coalition was reduced from 37 to 34 and Labor was reduced from 32 to 31. The two remaining seats were occupied by Xenophon and
Victoria's new
Democratic Labor Party Senator
John Madigan. Family First Party Senator
Steve Fielding
Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960) is a former Australian senator for the state of Victoria and the former federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party. He was elected to the upper house at the 2004 federal election on two per ...
was defeated. These changes took effect in the Senate on 1 July 2011.
More than 13 million Australians were enrolled to vote at the time of the election.
Australia has
compulsory voting
Compulsory voting, also called mandatory voting, is the requirement in some countries that eligible citizens register and vote in elections. Penalties might be imposed on those who fail to do so without a valid reason. According to the CIA World F ...
(since
1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
) and uses
preferential ballot
The term ranked voting (also known as preferential voting or ranked choice voting) refers to any voting system in which voters rank their candidates (or options) in a sequence of first or second (or third, etc.) on their respective ballots. Ran ...
(since
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
) in
single-member seats for the House of Representatives and
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
(since
1949) with optional
group voting ticket A group voting ticket (GVT) is a shortcut for voters in a preferential voting system, where a voter can indicate support for a list of candidates instead of marking preferences for individual candidates. For multi-member electoral divisions with s ...
s (since
1984) in the
proportionally represented Senate. The election was conducted by the
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums.
Responsibilities
The AEC's main responsibility is to ...
(AEC).
Prior to the Labor party's win in the
2022 Australian federal election
The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...
, this was the most recent federal contest in which Labor formed government. It remains the most recent election in which the leader of the party forming government represented a division outside
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Background
Key dates
* Announcement of election: Saturday 17 July
[8pm Monday is the deadline to get on the electoral roll for the 2010 federal election](_blank)
Australian Electoral Commission, 17 July 2010 AEST.
* Prorogation of 42nd Parliament: 4.59 p.m., Monday 19 July AEST
[Special Gazette No. S136](_blank)
Commonwealth of Australia, 19 July 2010.
* Dissolution of House of Representatives: 5 p.m., Monday 19 July AEST
* Issue of
electoral
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
writ
In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
s: Monday 19 July
[Special Gazette No. S139](_blank)
Commonwealth of Australia, 20 July 2010.
* Close of
rolls
Roll or Rolls may refer to:
Movement about the longitudinal axis
* Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis
** Roll (aviation), ...
(if not currently on roll): 8 p.m., Monday 19 July AEST
[On 6 August 2010, the ]High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
ruled in the case ''Rowe v Electoral Commissioner
''Rowe v Electoral Commissioner''.''Rowe v Electoral Commissioner''Judgement summaryat High Court of Australia Website. is a High Court of Australia case dealing with the requirement of the Australian Constitution that members of Parliament be ...
'' that certain provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 were invalid, specifically those introduced in the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2006, which closed the electoral roll on the day the writ for a federal election is issued. An estimated 100,000 enrolments were reconsidered by the Australian Electoral Commission, which contacted applicants to inform them they would be eligible to vote in this election.
* Close of rolls (if currently on roll and updating details): 8 p.m., Thursday 22 July AEST
* Close of nominations: 12 noon, Thursday 29 July AEST
* Declaration of nominations: 12 noon, Friday 30 July AEST
* Polling day: Saturday 21 August
* Return of writs (latest date): Wednesday 27 October
House of Representatives
The Labor Party, led by Julia Gillard, and the Liberal Party, led by Tony Abbott, were the predominant parties to contest the election. The smaller National Party led by
Warren Truss
Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Governm ...
is in a coalition with the Liberal Party. Following the
2007 federal election, the 150-member
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members of the ...
consisted of 83 Labor-held seats, 65 Coalition seats (55 Liberal and 10 National), and two seats held by
independents. The
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
won 8 per cent of the 2007 vote, and the
Family First Party
The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into wh ...
won 2 per cent, with the Greens winning 1 seat in the lower house.
The coalition total was reduced to 64 seats when
Rob Oakeshott
Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...
, former state Nationals turned independent MP, won the seat of
Lyne at the September 2008
Lyne by-election, resulting from the resignation of former Howard minister and Nationals leader
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile (born 18 April 1956) is a former deputy prime minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia. Vaile is currently a non-executive director of a number of public listed corporations.
Early li ...
. The April 2008
Gippsland by-election, resulting from the resignation of the former Howard minister and Nationals MP
Peter McGauran, saw the Nationals'
Darren Chester
Darren Jeffrey Chester (born 13 September 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria, representing the Nationals since 2008. Chester had served as the Minister for Veterans ...
retain the seat, receiving a swing of 6%. The Liberals suffered a swing in the September 2008
Mayo by-election resulting from the resignation of former Howard minister and Liberal leader
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...
, and came close to losing the seat to the Greens candidate. The Liberals retained seats at the
Bradfield and
Higgins by-elections in December 2009. The member for
Ryan,
Michael Johnson, was expelled from the
Liberal National Party on 20 May 2010, reducing the Coalition to 63 seats.
Redistributions
Since the previous national election in 2007 there were a number of
redistributions. These realignments of electorate boundaries are regularly undertaken by the Australian Electoral Commission and they maintain similar voter numbers in each electorate. They saw Labor's notional number of seats increase to 88 with the coalition's notional number decreased to 59, with independents in three. The swing required by the opposition to win
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
had decreased by approximately 0.1 percent.
[Notional seats held following redistribution of electoral boundaries]
Federal 2010 post-redistribution pendulum
Antony Green
Antony John Green (born 2 March 1960) is an Australian psephologist and commentator. He is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's chief election analyst.
Early years and background
Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in northern England, Gre ...
ABC
The redistribution of electoral divisions for
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
made the Liberal held
Swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
notionally Labor, and vastly changed
Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
and
O'Connor, with the former being safer for the Liberals, and the latter becoming more marginal. Kalgoorlie was also renamed
Durack. The redistribution also damaged the
WA Nationals
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election ...
' chances of a House of Representatives seat.
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
was also redistributed but, while there were some changes to boundaries, little changed in terms of seat margins.
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
lost a seat to
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
due to population changes for the second election in a row. The Labor Party suggested the abolition of the marginal Liberal seat of
Macarthur, while the Liberal Party suggested that Liberal-held
Hume and National-held
Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
be merged to create a new seat called "Bradman" in honour of Sir
Donald Bradman. The National Party suggested the abolition of the Labor-held city seat of
Banks
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
. The draft New South Wales redistribution, published in August 2009, proposed that
Reid
Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red".
People with the surname
* Alan Reid (disambiguation)
* Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid
* Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete
* Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Australia ...
be abolished and that
Lowe be renamed "McMahon" in honour of former Prime Minister Sir
William McMahon
Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, t ...
. In response to widespread criticism of the abolition of the name "Reid", the finalised redistribution, published in October 2009, instead had Lowe renamed "Reid" and
Prospect replaced with
McMahon
McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'.
The surname came into use around the 11th c ...
. Boundary changes also resulted in the Liberal seats of
Macarthur,
Greenway and
Gilmore becoming notionally Labor-held, with major changes to other seats, including
Calare,
Parkes Parkes may refer to:
* Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation
Named for Henry Parkes
* Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town
* Parkes Observatory, a radi ...
and
Macquarie.
In Queensland, the seat of
Wright
Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...
was created as a Liberal-held seat based on the
Gold Coast hinterland. The redistribution saw the status of
Blair change from marginal Labor to a safe Labor seat. The status of marginal Liberal seats
Dickson and
Herbert
Herbert may refer to:
People Individuals
* Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert
Name
* Herbert (given name)
* Herbert (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Herbert Mountains, Coats Land
* Herbert Sound, Graham Land
Australia
* Herbert ...
also changed to marginal Labor seats.
A redistribution for
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 ...
commenced in 2010, but was not finalised before the election was called.
Senate
In the 76-member
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
, from July 2008 to June 2011, the Labor and Liberal parties hold 32 seats each, and the Liberals' coalition partner, the
National Party (including one
CLP), five seats. The
balance of power rests with the
crossbench
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 ...
, consisting of:
* 5
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
* 1
Family First,
Steve Fielding
Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960) is a former Australian senator for the state of Victoria and the former federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party. He was elected to the upper house at the 2004 federal election on two per ...
* 1 Independent,
Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian politician and lawyer who was a Senator for South Australia from 2008 to 2017. He was the leader of two political parties: Nick Xenophon Team federally, and Nick Xenophon ...
For a majority, the government requires an additional seven votes from non-Labor senators. If the Liberal Party chooses to vote with the Labor Party, support from the crossbench is not required.
Senate terms expiring
Forty seats in the Senate were up for election:
* 36 senators representing the six states; each state elected half of its 12 Senate seats. The six-year terms of these 36 senators will start on 1 July 2011; the terms of the existing senators representing the states will end on 30 June 2011.
* 4 territory senators: the ACT and the NT each elected two senators, whose terms started on election day and will expire the day before the next election for the House of Representatives.
The party composition of these 40 senators whose terms will expire is:
* Liberal: 18 (14 ongoing, to expire 30 June 2014)
* National: 2 (3 ongoing)
* CLP: 1 (0 ongoing)
* ALP: 16 (16 ongoing)
* Green: 2 (3 ongoing)
* Family First: 1 (0 ongoing)
* Independent Nick Xenophon: 0 (1 ongoing)
These seats are listed in order of election for the six states and two territories:
House of Representatives opinion polling
Newspoll
The election-eve
Newspoll
Newspoll is an Australian opinion polling brand, published by ''The Australian'' and administered by international market research and data analytics group, YouGov. Newspoll has a long tradition of predicting Australian Federal Election resul ...
of over 2000 voters reported Labor on a 50.2 percent
two-party-preferred vote
In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...
. A post-election Newspoll taken 27–29 August 2010 of 1134 voters revealed 47 percent wanted a Gillard Labor government, to 39 percent for an Abbott Coalition government, while 14 percent were uncommitted. There was no difference between male and female voters. Ages 18–34 and 34–49 were even stronger for Labor, while those above 50 bucked the trend preferring the Coalition 45 percent to 40 percent.
Poll of 28,000
A JWS Research "mega-poll" was conducted by
robocall late in the campaign and published by
Fairfax. It polled an Australian record of 22,000 voters in 54 marginal seats and a further 6,000 in safe seats. It revealed a national
two-party-preferred vote
In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...
for Labor of 51.6 percent. Losses in Queensland and New South Wales were offset by the gains of
Dunkley,
McEwen
The Scottish surname MacEwen derives from the Old Gaelic ''Mac Eoghainn'', meaning 'the son of Eógan (given name), Eoghann'. The name is found today in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. Because it was widely used before its spelling was standa ...
(both 57 percent for Labor), and Division of Cowper, Cowper and Division of Boothby, Boothby (both 54 percent for Labor), finishing with a total of 79 Labor, 68 coalition, 3 independent.
Two-party-preferred vote
The graph shows a timeline of the estimates by three main polling companies – Roy Morgan Research, Roy Morgan (green), Nielsen Company, Nielsen (blue), and
Newspoll
Newspoll is an Australian opinion polling brand, published by ''The Australian'' and administered by international market research and data analytics group, YouGov. Newspoll has a long tradition of predicting Australian Federal Election resul ...
(red) – of the two-party-preferred vote for Labor from January 2008 to 20 July 2010. The pink dot on the left side represents the actual 2PP vote for Labor in the November 2007 election.
Primary vote
The graph shows a timeline of Newspoll's estimates of the primary vote for Labor (red), the Coalition (blue), the Greens (green), and other parties or independent candidates (magenta) from 2007 to 2010. The four dots on the left side represent the actual vote for each party in the November 2007 election.
Newspoll leader ratings
Newspaper endorsements
Candidates and seats
Results
House of Representatives
Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, a loss of eleven and a gain of seven respectively. Labor retained a majority of seats in a majority of states against the Coalition − New South Wales (26 to 20), Victoria (22 to 14), South Australia (6 to 5), and Tasmania (4 to 0), but fell sharply in Queensland (8 to 21) with a pre-existing minority in Western Australia (3 to 11). Labor won their largest two-party preferred vote in Victoria and Tasmania since official two-party records began in 1949, and in South Australia, their fourth-largest.
On the crossbench, one member of the
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
, one member of the
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election ...
and four independent members held the balance of power. After gaining the support of four crossbenchers Labor was able to form a minority government.
On the crossbenches:
*
Adam Bandt
Adam Paul Bandt (born 11 March 1972) is an Australian politician and former industrial lawyer who is the leader of the Australian Greens and federal MP for Melbourne. Previously, he served as co-deputy leader of the Greens from 2012 to 2015 an ...
won the first seat for the Greens at a general election in the seat of Division of Melbourne, Melbourne. He had previously announced he would align with Labor in the event of a hung parliament. On 1 September the Greens declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply.
*
Andrew Wilkie
Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Clark. Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Australian Army., Australian Parliament House Biographies; 19 Augu ...
, a former Greens candidate and now independent, was elected as the Member for Division of Denison, Denison. On 2 September 2010 he declared his support for Labor on confidence and supply.
*
Tony Crook won the seat of
O'Connor for the
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election ...
, defeating Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party incumbent Wilson Tuckey. There was dispute over affiliation, with some classing Crook as a member of the Coalition and including him in their Coalition totals. The WA National Party subsequently issued a statement saying in part, "The Nationals WA as an independent political party are not bound by the rules of a coalition agreement". Crook says, "In every news report and press report we see, my number is being allocated in with the Coalition and it shouldn't be". The National Party of Western Australia prior to and for more than 20 months subsequent to the election were in no federal Coalition agreement, Crook stated he was a crossbencher, and that he and the WA Nationals were open to negotiating with either side to form government. On 6 September Crook declared his support for the Coalition on confidence and supply, but would otherwise sit on the crossbenches. On 6 May 2012, it was announced that Crook would join the Nationals party room and be formally part of the Coalition.
*
Bob Katter
Robert Bellarmine Carl Katter (born 22 May 1945) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1993. He was previously active in Queensland state politics from 1974 to 1992. Katter was a member of the ...
,
Tony Windsor
Antony Harold Curties Windsor, (born 2 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. Windsor was an independent member for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Tamworth from 1991 to 2001 − supporting the incumbent Greiner L ...
and
Rob Oakeshott
Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...
, all independents, were re-elected.
Both Katter and Windsor were successful at previous elections, while Oakeshott was elected at the 2008 Lyne by-election. All are former members of the
National Party, a minor party in the Coalition. However, all three said they would be open to negotiating with either side to form government. They said they would engage in discussion as a bloc but vote individually. On 7 September, Katter declared his support for the Coalition on confidence and supply.
Later that day, Windsor and Oakeshott declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply.
A year after the election, ''The Age'' summarised the collective positions of the crossbenchers as one of "no regrets". On 24 November 2011, the Coalition's
Peter Slipper
Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is a former Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987 and from 1993 to 2013, representing the Division of Fisher in Queensland. He was Speaker of the House of ...
replaced Labor's
Harry Jenkins
Henry Alfred "Harry" Jenkins, (born 18 August 1952) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1986 to 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
Jenkins served as the 26th Speaker of ...
as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, increasing Labor's parliamentary majority from 75–74 to 76–73. On 21 January 2012 Andrew Wilkie withdrew his support for Labor, changing the majority to 75–73.
Senate
The Senate has 76 seats. Forty seats were up for election; six in each of the six states and two in each of the two territories. The terms of the four senators from the territories commenced on election day, all other terms took effect from 1 July 2011.
[''Senate (Representation of Territories) Act'' 1973]
Section 6. Retrieved August 2010.
/ref> The Coalition (Australia), Coalition holds 34 seats and Australian Labor Party, Labor holds 31 seats, with the balance of power shifting solely to the Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
with nine seats, after previously holding a shared balance of power with the Family First Party
The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into wh ...
and independent Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian politician and lawyer who was a Senator for South Australia from 2008 to 2017. He was the leader of two political parties: Nick Xenophon Team federally, and Nick Xenophon ...
. The Labor government required the support of at least eight non-Labor Senators to pass legislation.
Labor and the Coalition incurred swings against them in votes and seats. The Greens received a four percent swing and won a seat in each of the six states at the election, a first for an Australian minor party. John Madigan (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 ...
) of the Democratic Labor Party won a seat, while Steve Fielding
Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960) is a former Australian senator for the state of Victoria and the former federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party. He was elected to the upper house at the 2004 federal election on two per ...
(Victoria) of the Family First Party
The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into wh ...
lost his seat. Xenophon was not required to stand at this election but will be up for re-election at the next. Minor parties not winning a seat but receiving a notable swing include the Australian Sex Party (+2.0), the Liberal Democratic Party (Australia), Liberal Democratic Party (+1.7) and the Shooters and Fishers Party (+1.4).
Seats changing hands
Members listed in italics did not re-contest their House of Representatives seats at this election. Six notional boundary redistributed seats were contested at this election. Based on booths contested at the previous election, the seats redistributed by the AEC from being marginal Coalition seats to marginal Labor seats – Dickson, Gilmore, Herbert
Herbert may refer to:
People Individuals
* Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert
Name
* Herbert (given name)
* Herbert (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Herbert Mountains, Coats Land
* Herbert Sound, Graham Land
Australia
* Herbert ...
, Macarthur and Swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
– were all retained by the Coalition. Greenway was redistributed to become a marginal to fairly safe Labor seat, and was retained by Labor.
See also
* Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2010–2013
* Members of the Australian Senate, 2011–2014
* Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives
* List of political parties in Australia
* National Tally Room
* Second Gillard Ministry
Notes
References
External links
Australian Electoral Commission
The Green Guide—Antony Green's Guide to the 2010 Federal Election
(Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Federal Election, 2010
2010 elections in Australia
Federal elections in Australia
August 2010 events in Australia