South Australian legislative election, 1997
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1997 South Australian state election major party leaders | |||
---|---|---|---|
Labor | Liberal | ||
Mike Rann Opposition Leader |
John Olsen Premier of South Australia |
||
Parliament | 12 years | Parliament | 18 years |
Leader since | 1994 | Leader since | 1996 |
District | Ramsay | District | Kavel |
Legislative elections for State Parliament were held in South Australia on 11 October 1997.
Contents |
[edit] Background
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For previous results, see South Australian legislative elections.
Following the 1993 landslide to the Liberal Party, the Labor Party, led by Mike Rann held just 11 seats in the House of Assembly. The Liberals held 36 seats and there were no independent or minor party members in the House of Assembly. (They had held a record 37, but lost one in a by-election in 1994). Former deputy, John Olsen had successfully challenged Dean Brown for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1996 and had been Premier of South Australia for around 12 months on election day. The margin of 25 seats was seen as insurmountable for the Labor Party despite the Liberal leadership change.
The election was held just after the end of the football season (when the state had been captivated by the Adelaide Crows unexpectedly winning the AFL premiership), leaving only one week for campaigning uninterrupted by football. This was expected to work in the government's favour, though it seems it had the opposite effect.
[edit] Election Procedure
Under its state constitution, South Australia holds legislative elections approximately every four years. The Electoral Act stipulates that the election campaign must run for a minimum of 25 days and a maximum of 55 days.
In accordance with electoral regulations, the Electoral Commissioner then advertised key dates for this election of all 47 members of the House of Assembly and eleven members of the Legislative Council:
- Close of rolls
- Nominations
- Polling Day
- Return of Writs
[edit] House of Assembly Results
1997 State Election | |||
First preference | |||
Party | Seats | ||
Liberal Party of Australia | 40.4% | 23 | |
Australian Labor Party | 35.2% | 21 | |
Australian Democrats | 16.5% | ||
Independents/Other | 6.2% | 2 | |
Nationals SA | 1.7% | 1 | |
Two Party Preferred | |||
Liberal Party of Australia | 51.5% | 26 | |
Australian Labor Party | 48.5% | 21 |
To the surprise of most observers, the Labor Party polled exceptionally well, gaining 10 seats and coming within a couple of seats of winning government. The Liberals lost a massive 13 seats; 10 to Labor, one to the Nationals and two to conservative independents.
So the numbers were: Liberal 23 seats, Labor 21, Nationals 1 (Karlene Maywald), and two conservative independents (Mitch Williams and Rory McEwen). This left the Liberals one short of a majority, though they had the support of the National and Independents, and Williams later joined the Liberal party.
[edit] Post-election Pendulum
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For previous pendulums and maps, see South Australian legislative elections.
LABOR SEATS (21) | |||
Marginal | |||
Norwood | Vini Ciccarello | ALP | 0.8% |
Mitchell | Kris Hanna | ALP | 0.9% |
Florey | Frances Bedford | ALP | 1.3% |
Elder | Pat Conlon | ALP | 2.6% |
Wright | Jennifer Rankine | ALP | 3.1% |
Reynell | Gay Thompson | ALP | 3.7% |
Fairly safe | |||
Hanson | Stephanie Key | ALP | 5.6% |
Kaurna | John Hill | ALP | 5.8% |
Peake | Tom Koutsantonis | ALP | 7.0% |
Lee | Michael Wright | ALP | 7.1% |
Napier | Annette Hurley | ALP | 9.5% v AD |
Safe | |||
Torrens | Robyn Geraghty | ALP | 10.1% |
Giles | Lyn Breuer | ALP | 11.4% |
Playford | Jack Snelling | ALP | 12.9% |
Elizabeth | Lea Stevens | ALP | 14.3% |
Ross Smith | Ralph Clarke | ALP | 14.8% |
Ramsay | Mike Rann | ALP | 18.2% |
Very safe | |||
Taylor | Trish Worth | ALP | 22.2% |
Hart | Kevin Foley | ALP | 22.7% |
Spence | Michael Atkinson | ALP | 23.3% |
Price | Murray De-Laine | ALP | 24.4% |
LIBERAL SEATS (26) | |||
Marginal | |||
Gordon | Rory McEwen | IND | 0.1% v LIB |
Hartley | Joe Scalzi | LIB | 0.7% |
Stuart | Graham Gunn | LIB | 1.5% |
Heysen | David Wotton | LIB | 1.9% v AD |
Chaffey | Karlene Maywald | NAT | 2.6% v LIB |
Frome | Rob Kerin | LIB | 2.9% |
Colton | Steve Condous | LIB | 4.0% |
Davenport | Iain Evans | LIB | 4.3% v AD |
Unley | Mark Brindal | LIB | 4.5% |
Mawson | Robert Brokenshire | LIB | 4.7% |
Fairly safe | |||
Adelaide | Michael Armitage | LIB | 5.4% |
Waite | Martin Hamilton-Smith | LIB | 5.9% v AD |
Bright | Wayne Matthew | LIB | 6.2% |
Light | Malcolm Buckby | LIB | 6.3% |
Kavel | John Olsen | LIB | 6.3% v AD |
Finniss | Dean Brown | LIB | 7.3% v AD |
Coles | Joan Hall | LIB | 7.8% |
MacKillop | Mitch Williams | IND | 7.9% v LIB |
Newland | Dorothy Kotz | LIB | 8.0% |
Schubert | Ivan Venning | LIB | 8.7% v AD |
Fisher | Bob Such | LIB | 9.8% |
Safe | |||
Flinders | Liz Penfold | LIB | 10.0% v NAT |
Morphett | John Oswald | LIB | 13.0% |
Hammond | Peter Lewis | LIB | 14.7% |
Goyder | John Meier | LIB | 17.2% |
Bragg | Graham Ingerson | LIB | 18.8% |
Very safe |
[edit] Legislative Council Results
1997 Legislative Council Result | |||
Party | Seats | ||
Liberal Party of Australia | 37.8% | 4 | |
Australian Labor Party | 30.6% | 4 | |
Australian Democrats | 16.7% | 2 | |
No Pokies | 2.9% | 1 | |
HEMP Legalise Marijuana | 1.7% | ||
SA Greens | 1.7% | ||
Grey Power | 1.6% | ||
United Australia Party | 1.3% | ||
Nationals SA | 1.0% | ||
1997-2002 Legislative Council | |||
Party | Seats | ||
Liberal Party of Australia | 10 | ||
Australian Labor Party | 8 | ||
Australian Democrats | 3 | ||
No Pokies | 1 |
In the Legislative Council, voter disquiet was reflected in the fact that 3 of the 11 candidates were from minor parties, with the Australian Democrats having two MLCs elected for the first time. Elected were 4 Liberal, 4 Labor, 2 Australian Democrats, and No Pokies candidate Nick Xenophon. Carrying over from the 1993 election were 6 Liberal, 4 Labor, 1 Democrat; leaving the numbers at: 10 Liberal, 8 Labor, 3 Democrats, 1 No Pokies.
Both on 1.72%, the HEMP Legalise Marijuana party received 15432 votes and the SA Greens received 15377 votes.
[edit] Legacy
The 1997 result put Labor within striking distance of winning government at the next election in 2002. John Olsen was left with internal disquiet over the leadership challenge and poor election result while his opponent, Mike Rann was seen to have 'won' the campaign despite losing the election.
[edit] See also
- South Australian legislative elections
- South Australian Legislative Council
- South Australian House of Assembly
[edit] References
- State Electoral Office - 1997 results
- Background leading up to the election/Liberals in power. Crikey. Archived from the original on 2005-12-13.
- Political Parties
- Australian Labor Party
- Liberal Party of Australia
- Australian Greens
- Australian Democrats
- The Nationals
State and Territory governments: ACT ('04 election) – NSW ('07 election) – NT ('05 election) – Qld ('06 election) – SA ('06 election) – Tas. ('06 election) – Vic. ('06 election) – WA ('05 election)