Elections were 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 ...
of
Queensland on 22 May 1915 to elect the 72 members of the state's
Legislative Assembly.
The election was the second for the
Liberal government of
Digby Denham, who had been
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 ...
since 7 February 1911. The opposition
Labor Party, led by
T. J. Ryan
Thomas Joseph Ryan (1 July 1876 – 1 August 1921) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919, as leader of the state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Represe ...
, had two previous Premiers —
Anderson Dawson in 1899 and
William Kidston in 1906 — but the former did not command a majority of parliamentary support, while the latter maintained it by splitting the Labor Party. Labor had never before held majority government.
The election was the first in Australia to be conducted using
compulsory voting due to Denham's concern that
Trade Unions were effectively mobilising the ALP vote; he felt that compulsory voting would ensure a more level playing field. However, it turned out that the change to compulsory voting was not enough to save Denham's premiership.
The election resulted in the defeat of the government, and Queensland's first majority Labor government. All except two members of the Ministry up for election, including Denham himself, lost their seats.
Key dates
Results
The election saw a landslide to Labor from the
1912 election.
: 335,195 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 8 seats (11.1% of the total) were uncontested—6 Labor seats representing 24,564 enrolled voters, one Liberal seat representing 3,999 voters, and one Farmers' Union seat representing 4,571 voters.
Seats changing party representation
This table lists changes in party representation at the 1915 election.
* Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
Aftermath
This was the start of a period of Labor hegemony over the Assembly which lasted until 1957; the only breach was the
Moore ministry of the 1929–1932 period.
See also
*
Candidates of the Queensland state election, 1915
The 1915 Queensland state election was held on 22 May 1915.
The main parties in the election were the Liberal Party, led by Premier Digby Denham and the Labor Party, led by Leader of the Opposition T. J. Ryan.
By-elections
* On 26 October 191 ...
*
Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1912–1915
This is a list of members of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1912 to 1915, as elected at the 1912 Queensland state election, 1912 state election held on 27 April 1912.
Apart from the Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembl ...
*
Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1915–1918
This is a list of members of the 20th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1915 to 1918, as elected at the 1915 Queensland state election, 1915 state election held on 22 May 1915.
The election was a landslide for the Labor Party, with the pre ...
*
Denham Ministry
*
Ryan Ministry
References
{{Queensland elections
Elections in Queensland
1915 elections in Australia
1910s in Queensland
May 1915 events