House of Representatives Practice, 6th edition – HTML version

Appendix 10 - Party affiliations in the House of Representatives

Right click over the text to activate a context menu for House of Representatives Practice and Procedures. (Note: on iPad Safari this function is activated by a finger press and holding down for several seconds.)

Contents

Year of election	Labor	Free Trade	Protect ionist	Anti-Socialist	Liberal[1]	Nation alist	Country/ National[2]	United Austra lia	NSW Labor	Non- comm unist Labour	Indep endent	Total
1901	14	28	31	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	75
1903	23	25	26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1[3]	75
1906	26	—	16	27	—	—	—	—	—	—	6[4]	75
1910	43	—	—	—	31[5]	—	—	—	—	—	1	75
1913	37	—	—	—	38	—	—	—	—	—	—	75
1914	42	—	—	—	32	—	—	—	—	—	1	75
1917	22	—	—	—	—	53[6]	—	—	—	—	—	75
1919	26	—	—	—	—	37	11	—	—	—	1[7]	75
1922	30	—	—	—	5	26	14	—	—	—	1	76[8]
1925	24	—	—	—	—	37	14	—	—	—	1	76
1928	32	—	—	—	—	29	13	—	—	—	2[9]	76
1929	47	—	—	—	—	14	10	—	—	—	5[10]	76
1931	15	—	—	—	—	—	16	40[11]	4	—	1	76
1934	18	—	—	—	—	—	14	33	9	—	1	75
1937	29	—	—	—	—	—	16	28	—	—	2[12]	75
1940	32	—	—	—	—	—	14	23	—	4	2	75
1943	49	—	—	—	—	—	12[13]	12	—	—	2	75
1946	43	—	—	—	17	—	12 xiii	—	—	—	3	75

Year of election	Labor	Liberal	Country Liberal	Country/ National	Nationals WA	Australian Greens	Independent	Total
1949	48	55		19			1	123[14]
1951	54	52	—	17			—	123
1954	59	47	—	17			—	123
1955	49	57	—	18			—	124
1958	47	58	—	19			—	124
1961	62[15]	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[16]	64	—	16			1	148
2001	65	68	1	13			3	150
2004	60	74	1	12			3	150
2007	83	55	—	10			2	150
2010	72	60	1	11	1	1	4	150

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

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.
14. From 1949 figure includes a Member for the Australian Capital Territory who did not have full voting rights until 1966.
15. 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.
16. Includes one seat filled at a supplementary election held after the first meeting of the new House.

Contents