Appendix 10—Party affiliations in the House of Representatives

Year of
election
Labor Free
trade
Protection
-ist
Anti-
Socialist
Liberali National
-ist
Country
Nationalii
United
Australia
NSW
Labor
Non-
communist
Labour
Indepen
-dent
Total

1901

14

28

31

2

75

1903

23

25

26

1iii

75

1906

26

16

27

6iv

75

1910

43

31v

1

75

1913

37

38

75

1914

42

32

1

75

1917

22

53vi

75

1919

26

37

11

1vii

75

1922

30

5

26

14

1

76viii

1925

24

37

14

1

76

1928

32

29

13

2ix

76

1929

47

14

10

5 x

76

1931

15

16

40xi

4

1

76

1934

18

14

33

9

1

75

1937

29

16

28

2xii

75

1940

32

14

23

4

2

75

1943

49

12xiii

12

2

75

1946

43

17

12xiii

3

75

  1. Members of the Liberal and Country League (SA) are included from 1946.
  2. The Country Party was formed after the 1919 election out of Members returned under the endorsement of primary producers’ organisations. In 1975 name of party changed to National Country Party of Australia. In 1982 name of party changed to National Party of Australia, and in 2003 to the Nationals.
  3. Identified by Hughes & Graham as Revenue Tariff Party.
  4. Includes 4 Independent Protectionists and 2 Western Australia Party.
  5. Derived from elements of former Protectionists and Anti-Socialists. Also referred to during election as ‘Fusion’.
  6. Formed by elements of Labor Party and former Liberals.
  7. Identified by Hughes & Graham as Independent Nationalist.
  8. From 1922 total figure includes a Member for the Northern Territory who did not have full voting rights until 1968.
  9. Includes one Country Progressive.
  10. Includes 3 Independent Nationalists and one Country Progressive.
  11. Formed by elements of the Labor Party and former Nationalists.
  12. Includes one Independent UAP.
  13. Includes one Liberal Country.
Year of election Labor Liberal Country
Liberal
Country
National
Independent Total

1949

48

55

19

1

123xiv

1951

54

52

17

123

1954

59

47

17

123

1955

49

57

18

124

1958

47

58

19

124

1961

62xv

45

17

124

1963

52

52

20

124

1966

41

61

21

1

124

1969

59

46

20

125

1972

67

38

20

125

1974

66

40

21

127

1975

36

68

23

127

1977

38

67

19

124

1980

51

54

20

125

1983

75

33

17

125

1984

82

45

21

148

1987

86

43

19

148

1990

78

55

14

1

148

1993

80

49

16

2

147

1996

49

75

1

18

5

148

1998

67 xvi

64

16

1

148

2001

65

68

1

13

3

150

2004

60

74

1

12

3

150

2007

83

55

10

2

150

 

Year of
election
Labor Liberalxvii Country
Liberal
Nationalsxvii Nationals WA Australian
Greens
Katter’s Australian
Party
Palmer United
Party
Nick Xenophon
Team
Independent Total

2010

72

60

1

11

1

1

4

150

2013

55

74

1

15

1

1

1

2

150

2016

69

60

16

1

1

1

2

150

  1. From 1949 figure includes a Member for the Australian Capital Territory who did not have full voting rights until 1966.
  2. Although the Labor Party had the same number of seats as the coalition parties (62), two of its Members (Northern Territory and the ACT) did not have full voting rights.
  3. Includes one seat filled at a supplementary election held after the first meeting of the new House.
  4. In 2008 the Queensland branches of the Liberal Party and the Nationals merged to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP). However, LNP candidates elected to the Federal Parliament have continued to sit as Liberals or Nationals.

This table has been compiled using House records, C. A. Hughes & B. D. Graham, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890–1964, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1968, pp. 285–422 and G. Sawer, Australian Federal Politics and Law 1901–1929 and Australian Federal Politics and Law 1929–1949. Party affiliations of Members were not officially recorded by the Department of the House of Representatives until 1956. Prior to 1956 contemporary records and subsequent histories do not always agree on the party affiliations of Members.

Party strengths indicated are those after general elections and do not allow for by-elections, changes in affiliation between elections or changes as a result of elections declared void and recontested.