1928 Australian federal election explained

Election Name:1928 Australian federal election
Country:Australia
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1925 Australian federal election
Previous Year:1925
Next Election:1929 Australian federal election
Next Year:1929
Outgoing Members:Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1925–1928
Elected Members:Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1928–1929
Registered:3,444,769
Turnout:2,728,815 (93.64%)
(2.25 pp)
Seats For Election:All 76 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
Leader1:Stanley Bruce
Leader Since1:9 February 1923
Party1:Nationalist/Country coalition
Leaders Seat1:Flinders (Vic.)
Percentage1:51.60%
Swing1: 2.20%
Last Election1:51 seats
Seats1:42
Seat Change1:9
Leader2:James Scullin
Leader Since2:26 April 1928
Party2:Australian Labor Party
Leaders Seat2:Yarra (Vic.)
Percentage2:48.40%
Swing2:2.20
Last Election2:23 seats
Seats2:31 + NT
Seat Change2:8
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Subsequent Prime Minister
Before Election:Stanley Bruce
Before Party:Nationalist/Country coalition
After Election:Stanley Bruce
After Party:Nationalist/Country coalition

The 1928 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 17 November 1928. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist–Country coalition, led by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce won a record fifth consecutive election defeating the opposition Labor Party led by James Scullin.

The election was held in conjunction with a referendum on Commonwealth–State relations, which was carried.

Future Prime Ministers John Curtin and Ben Chifley both entered parliament at this election. Both then lost their seats in the 1931 election and did not re-enter parliament until 1934 and 1940 respectively.

Issues

In September 1928, federal treasurer Earle Page introduced the National Insurance Bill 1928 into the House of Representatives, which provided for the establishment of a National Insurance scheme inclusive of "sickness, old age, disability and maternity benefits, mainly paid for by compulsory contributions by workers and employers, along with smaller payments to parents of children under 16 and to orphans".[1] The bill failed to pass before the dissolution of the House, but the scheme was "strongly promoted" by the government during the election campaign.

Results

House of Representatives

See also: Results of the Australian federal election, 1928 (House of Representatives).

Party! style="width:70px"
Votes%SwingSeatsChange
 Nationalist–Country coalition1,286,20849.56–3.6442–8
 Nationalist1,014,52239.09–3.3729–8
 Country271,68610.47–0.27130
 Labor1,158,50544.64–0.4032+8
 Country Progressive41,7131.61+1.611+1
 Protestant Labor20,2120.78+0.7800
 Independents88,4473.41+1.651–1
 Total2,595,085  76
 Nationalist–Country coalitionWin51.60−2.2042–8
 Labor48.40+2.2031+8
----
Notes

Senate

Party! style="width:70px"
Votes%SwingSeats wonSeats heldChange
 Nationalist–Country coalition1,466,32350.46–4.351229+1
 Nationalist1,141,40539.28–6.0710240
 Country324,91811.18+1.7325+1
 Labor1,422,41848.95+3.9377–1
 Independents17,0920.59+0.42000
 Total2,905,833  1936

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1928SwingPost-1928
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Barton, NSW NationalistThomas Ley1.07.36.3James TullyLabor 
Boothby, SA NationalistJack Duncan-Hughes7.67.70.1John PriceLabor 
Denison, Tas NationalistJohn Gellibrand2.22.50.3Charles CulleyLabor 
Franklin, Tas NationalistAlfred SeabrookN/A7.21.6William McWilliamsIndependent 
Fremantle, WA IndependentWilliam Watson8.11.22.1John CurtinLabor 
Herbert, Qld NationalistLewis Nott0.30.50.2George MartensLabor 
Indi, Vic CountryRobert Cook6.7N/A(Unopposed)Paul JonesLabor 
Lang, NSW NationalistElliot Johnson5.99.43.5William LongLabor 
Macquarie, NSW NationalistArthur Manning1.36.24.9Ben ChifleyLabor 
Wakefield, SA NationalistRichard Foster14.824.49.6Maurice CollinsCountry 
Wilmot, Tas CountryLlewellyn Atkinson7.0N/A4.6Llewellyn AtkinsonNationalist 

In the Division of Indi, the sitting candidate Robert Cook lost his seat after forgetting to file nomination papers, resulting in Labor candidate Paul Jones winning the seat unopposed.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Wilks, Stephen. 2020. 'Now is the Psychological Moment': Earle Page and the Imagining of Australia. ANU Press. 9781760463687. 175.