1988 Victorian state election
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All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly 45 seats needed for a majority and 22 (of the 44) seats in the Victorian Legislative Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results in each electorate. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1988 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 1 October 1988, was for the 51st
Victoria to elect all 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council
.
The incumbent
Liberal leader and future Premier Jeff Kennett whose aggressive leadership style was still seen as a liability, as well as continuing instability in the federal Coalition.[1] Labor's narrow wins in middle class marginal seats saw it retain its majority despite the Liberals winning a bare majority of the two party preferred vote.[2]
Results
Legislative Assembly
Victorian state election, 1 October 1988 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enrolled voters | 2,739,614 | |||||
Votes cast | 2,530,027 | Turnout | 92.35 | -0.86 | ||
Informal votes | 98,525 | Informal | 3.89 | +1.21 | ||
Summary of votes by party | ||||||
Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
Labor | 1,131,750 | 46.55 | –3.46 | 46 | – 1 | |
Liberal | 986,311 | 40.56 | –1.30 | 33 | + 2 | |
National | 188,776 | 7.76 | +0.47 | 9 | – 1 | |
Democrats | 25,611 | 1.05 | +1.05 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Call to Australia | 25,543 | 1.05 | +1.05 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Democratic Labour | 6,018 | 0.25 | +0.25 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Independent | 67,493 | 2.78 | +1.94 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Total | 2,431,502 | 88 | ||||
Two-party-preferred | ||||||
Labor | 1,202,294 | 49.49 | –1.21 | |||
Liberal | 1,227,295 | 50.51 | +1.21 |
Legislative Council
Victorian state election, 1 October 1988 | ||||||
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Enrolled voters | 2,739,614 | |||||
Votes cast | 2,529,569 | Turnout | 92.33 | –0.86 | ||
Informal votes | 109,578 | Informal | 4.33 | +1.32 | ||
Summary of votes by party | ||||||
Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats won |
Seats held | |
Labor | 1,164,796 | 48.13 | +0.85 | 9 | 19 | |
Liberal | 1,052,591 | 43.50 | +2.35 | 10 | 19 | |
National | 181,074 | 7.48 | +0.81 | 3 | 6 | |
Call to Australia | 5,363 | 0.22 | –0.49 | 0 | 0 | |
Independent | 16,167 | 0.67 | +0.45 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 2,419,991 | 22 | 44 |
Seats changing hands
Seat | Pre-1988 | Swing | Post-1988 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
Mildura | National | Milton Whiting | 23.0 | -24.0 | 1.0 | Craig Bildstien | Liberal | ||
Warrandyte | Labor | Lou Hill | 0.2 | -1.7 | 1.5 | Phil Honeywood | Liberal |
- Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
Key dates
Date | Event |
---|---|
29 August 1988 | The Legislative Council was prorogued and the Legislative Assembly was dissolved.[3] |
29 August 1988 | Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[3] |
2 September 1988 | The Constitution Act Amendment (Electoral Procedures) Act 1988 (No.31) comes into operation.[4] |
5 September 1988 | The electoral rolls were closed. |
9 September 1988 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
1 October 1988 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
13 October 1988 | The Cain Ministry was reconstituted, with two new ministers sworn in.[5]
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21 October 1988 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
25 October 1988 | Parliament resumed for business.[6] |
Post-election pendulum
Aftermath
On 23 May 1989,
Nationals in over forty years, in part due to a belief by some (in spite of what political scientist Brian Costar called a "lack of psephological evidence to support this assertion") that had the parties been in coalition at the election, they would have won.[7]
References
- ^ Costar, Brian; Economou, Nick (1992). "Elections and Electoral Change 1982–92". In Considine, M.; Costar, B. J. (eds.). Trials in Power: Cain, Kirner and Victoria 1982–92. pp. 255–256.
- ISSN 0004-9522.
- ^ a b "Proroguing the Legislative Council and dissolving the Legislative Assembly: Proclamation". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 29 August 1988. p. 1988:S77 (Special).
- ^ "Constitution Act Amendment (Electoral Procedures) Act 1988 (No.31): Proclamation of Commencement". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 2 September 1988. p. 1988:S79 (Special).
- ^ "Ministers of the Crown". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 13 October 1988. p. 1988:S84 (Special).
- ^ "Fixing the time for holding the first session of the Fifty-first Parliament of Victoria". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 13 October 1988. p. 1988:S83.
- ^ B. J. Costar, 'Coalition Government: An Unequal Partnership' in B. J. Costar & N. Economou (eds) The Kennett Revolution: Victorian Politics in the 1990s, UNSW Press, Sydney, 1998, p. 89