Australian federal election, 1993 Information & Australian federal election, 1993 Links at HealthHaven.com

	‹ 1990 1996 ›
Australian federal election, 1993
All 147 seats in the Australian House of Representatives; and 40 (of the 76) seats in the Australian Senate
13 March 1993
	Incumbent Prime Minister; Paul Keating; Labor Prime Minister-elect; Paul Keating; Labor

Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 March 1993. All 147 seats in the House of Representatives, and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating defeated the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by John Hewson with coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by Tim Fischer.

[edit] House Results

**House of Reps (IRV) — 1993-96 — Turnout 95.75% (CV) — Informal 2.97%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Australian Labor Party	4,751,390	44.92	+5.49	80	+2
Liberal Party of Australia	3,923,786	37.10	+2.06	49	-6
National Party of Australia	758,036	7.17	-1.25	16	+2
Australian Democrats	397,060	3.75	-7.51	0	0
Australian Greens	196,702	1.86	*	0	0
Independents	328,084	3.10	+0.56	2	+1
Other	221,721	2.10	-1.21	0	0
Total	10,576,779			147	-1
Australian Labor Party	WIN	51.44	+1.54	80	+2
Liberal/National coalition		48.56	-1.54	65	-4

Independents: Ted Mack, Phil Cleary

[edit] Senate Results

**Senate (STV GV) — 1993-96 — Turnout 96.22% (CV) — Informal 2.55%**
Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held
Australian Labor Party	4,643,871	43.50	+5.10	17	30
Liberal/National (Joint Ticket)	2,605,157	24.40	-0.06	6
Liberal Party of Australia	1,664,204	15.59	+1.03	11	29
Australian Democrats	566,944	5.31	-7.32	2	7
National Party of Australia	290,382	2.72	+0.12	1	6
Australian Greens	263,106	2.46	+0.43	0	0
WA Greens	53,757	0.50	-0.27	1	2
Country Liberal Party	35,405	0.33	+0.04	1	1
Harradine Group	32,202	0.30	-0.10	1	1
Other	519,777	4.87	+0.62	0	0
Total	10,674,805			40	76

[edit] Background

This was the first election after the full totality of the late 80s/early 90s recession. The opposition Liberal Party, under John Hewson, launched Fightback!, a radical prescription of tough, economically "dry" measures, including a radical overhaul of Medicare and Industrial Relations. But the contentious 15% Goods and Services Tax was the centrepiece of the campaign. Hewson had been forced by pressure group activity and public opinion to exempt food from the proposed GST, but this was not enough against the formidable campaigning skills of Paul Keating. The complexity surrounding what food was and wasn't to be exempt from the GST, and John Hewson's subsequent difficulty in explaining this to the Australian electorate was exemplified in the famous Birthday Cake Interview, considered by some as a turning point in the whole campaign.

For the first time since 1966, this election saw the incumbent government obtain both an increased share of the vote and an increased majority in the House of Representatives.

There was an unusual circumstance in the seat of Dickson. One of the candidates, an independent, died very shortly before the election, making it necessary to hold a unique 'special election' on 17 April. Following the return of the Labor Party to government, Keating announced the makeup of his new ministry to be sworn in on 24 March, but kept the portfolio of Attorney-General open for Michael Lavarch subject to him winning Dickson on 17 April. He won the seat, and was appointed to the ministry on 27 April.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
AEC 2PP vote
AustralianPolitics.com election details