1969 Queensland state election
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Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 17 May 1969 to elect the 78 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.[1]
The
The election campaign was characterised by tension between the governing coalition partners.
Key dates
Date | Event |
---|---|
8 April 1969 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved and writs were issued.[2] |
17 April 1969 | Close of nominations.[3] |
17 May 1969 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
29 May 1969 | The Bjelke-Petersen Ministry was reconstituted.[4]
|
21 June 1969 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared.[5] |
30 June 1969 | Deadline for return of the writs. |
5 August 1969 | Parliament resumed for business.[6] |
Candidates
By the close of nominations on 17 April, 247 candidates had nominated—two more than at the 1966 election. The Courier-Mail reported the following split of candidates by party:[7]
Party | Candidates |
---|---|
Labor | 77 |
DLP | 61 |
Liberal |
44 |
Country |
39 |
Social Credit | 3 |
Communist | 2 |
NQP (Aikens) | 1 |
Independent | 20 |
Six of the 78 seats—Albert, Bundaberg, Cairns, South Coast, Toowoomba West and Townsville North—had three-cornered contests between the Labor, Liberal and Country parties.[7]
Results
The election resulted in another win for the Coalition, but a strengthening of the Country Party's position vis-a-vis the Liberal Party. Labor gained back two seats held by ex-Labor ministers who had defected in the 1957 split when both retired, and gained one seat off each of the coalition partners; however, the Country party gained the seat of Burdekin following the conservative independent incumbent's retirement. Labor retained Isis, which it had gained unexpectedly at a November 1968 by-election from the Country Party following Premier Jack Pizzey's death.
Queensland state election, 17 May 1969 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enrolled voters | 945,583 | |||||
Votes cast | 867,743 | Turnout | 91.77% | -1.50% | ||
Informal votes | 15,566 | Informal | 1.79% | +0.16% | ||
Summary of votes by party | ||||||
Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
Labor
|
383,388 | 44.99% | +1.15% | 31 | + 4 | |
Liberal | 201,765 | 23.68% | -1.81% | 19 | – 1 | |
Country
|
179,125 | 21.02% | +1.73% | 26 | ± 0 | |
Queensland Labor | 61,661 | 7.24% | +0.99% | 1 | ± 0 | |
Social Credit | 1,295 | 0.15% | +0.15% | 0 | ± 0 | |
Communist | 476 | 0.06% | +0.06% | 0 | ± 0 | |
Independent | 22,497 | 2.64% | -2.12% | 1 | – 3 | |
Total | 852,177 | 78 |
Seats changing hands
Seat | Pre-1969 | Swing | Post-1969 | ||||||
Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
Bundaberg | Independent | Ted Walsh | 3.5 v ALP | N/A | 8.1 v CP | Lou Jensen | Labor | ||
Burdekin | Independent | Arthur Coburn | 8.5 v LIB | N/A | 4.2 v ALP | Val Bird | Country | ||
Cook | Independent | Bunny Adair | 5.2 v ALP | N/A | 6.1 v CP | Bill Wood | Labor | ||
Logan | Country | Dick Wood | 3.2 | -4.8 | 1.6 | Ted Baldwin
|
Labor | ||
Rockhampton South | Liberal | Rex Pilbeam | 6.7 | -8.9 | 2.2 | Keith Wright | Labor |
- Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
- In addition, Labor retained the seat of Isis, which it had won from the Country party at the 1968 by-election.
Post-election pendulum
See also
- Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1966–1969
- Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1969–1972
- Bjelke-Petersen Ministry
References
- ^ "Parliament of Queensland, Legislative Assembly election results for 17 May 1969". Australian Politics and Elections Archive 1856-2018. University of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "A Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 8 April 1969. p. 230:1173.
- ^ "Extraordinary". Queensland Government Gazette. 8 April 1969. p. 230:1175.
- ^ "Extraordinary". Queensland Government Gazette. 29 May 1969. p. 231:563–567.
- ^ "Notices of Results of General Election". Queensland Government Gazette. 21 June 1969. p. 231:915–928.
- ^ "A Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 26 June 1969. p. 231:1097.
- ^ a b "Six three-cornered contests for State election". The Courier-Mail. 18 April 1969. p. 7.