1995 New South Wales state election

The 1995 New South Wales state election was held on Saturday 25 March 1995. All seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council were up for election. The minority Liberal Coalition government of Premier of New South Wales John Fahey was defeated by the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Bob Carr, who went on to become the longest continuously-serving premier in the state's history, before stepping down in 2005. Fahey pursued a brief career as a Federal Government minister.

1995 New South Wales state election

← 1991 25 March 1995 (1995-03-25) 1999 →

All 99 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
and 21 (of the 42) seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council
50 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Bob Carr John Fahey
Party Labor Liberal/National coalition
Leader since 6 April 1988 24 June 1992
Leader's seat Maroubra Southern Highlands
Last election 46 seats 49 seats
Seats before 47 seats 48 seats
Seats won 50 46
Seat change Increase3 Decrease2
Popular vote 1,408,616 1,500,068
Percentage 41.26% 43.94%
Swing Increase2.21 Decrease0.73
TPP 48.82% 51.18%
TPP swing Increase1.51pp Decrease1.51pp

Two-candidate-preferred margin by electorate

Premier before election

John Fahey
Liberal/National coalition

Elected Premier

Bob Carr
Labor

It would not be until 2023, exactly twenty-eight years later, that Labor would again win a New South Wales state election from opposition.[1]

Background

edit

1991 election

edit

Despite recording 52.7 per cent of the two-party preferred vote in 1991, the Coalition won only 49 of the 99 seats. The Coalition’s best results were in safe Liberal Party seats on Sydney’s North Shore while Labor won the battle in key marginal seats. Four seats that would normally have been held by the Coalition were won by Independents. Both John Hatton in South Coast and Clover Moore in Bligh were re-elected. They were joined by former National Party member Tony Windsor in Tamworth and local councillor Dr Peter Macdonald in Manly. Windsor quickly came to an accommodation with the Government, but the three non-aligned Independents used their position to negotiate a comprehensive memorandum of understanding. Signed in October 1991, it was a document that concentrated more on issues of accountability and process rather than specific policies. Most importantly, the agreement introduced fixed four-year parliamentary terms, a provision entrenched in the Constitution with 76 per cent support at a referendum called in conjunction with the 1995 election.

Second Coalition term

edit

Having signed the agreement with the independents, the government found its position further eroded in October 1991 when Metherell resigned from the Liberal Party without warning in a live television interview. In December, the Court of Disputed Returns overturned the Government’s victory in The Entrance. Labor won the subsequent by-election in January 1992.

What was to follow brought an end to the political careers of Premier Greiner and Environment Minister Tim Moore. A public service job was found for the by now disenchanted Metherell. The Government was virtually certain to win his seat of Davidson at a by-election (which it subsequently did). However, Greiner and Moore found themselves before an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation into the matter, with the inquiry making a finding of corrupt conduct against both. The independents who had been keeping the Coalition in office for the last year told Greiner that unless he resigned, they would withdraw their support from the Coalition and support a Labor no-confidence motion. Facing almost certain defeat in the House, Greiner resigned, and Industrial Relations Minister John Fahey became the new Premier. The ICAC decision was later overturned in the courts, but by then Greiner and Moore had already resigned from Parliament.

A solicitor and former footballer, Fahey’s folksy style was very different from the aloof and precise Greiner, and a significant challenge to bookish Labor leader Bob Carr. Fahey established a strong public image, helped by his highly publicised victory leap when Sydney won the right to host the 2000 Olympics, and later when he crash-tackled an intruder who lunged at Prince Charles during a royal visit. As the economy improved, the Coalition slowly began to establish a lead in opinion polls.

Fahey’s major problem was an accident prone Ministry and backbench. Several members in marginal seats attracted unwanted inquiries. Blue Mountains MP Barry Morris was disendorsed when he was revealed as the source of bomb threats against a local newspaper. Police Minister Terry Griffiths was forced to resign over sexual harassment allegations. Labor backed Independent John Hatton’s long called for royal commission into the police, seeing it as another opportunity to embarrass the Government.

The Government’s difficulty in handling these issues was due to the increased accountability created by its minority position in the Legislative Assembly. The agreement with the non-aligned Independents did not prevent the Government from bringing forward and passing controversial legislation. However, the Government was required to fully debate legislation, to hold unwanted inquiries and to table documents on request. All this prevented the Government from controlling the agenda of day to day politics.

Not that Labor went into the 1995 election certain of victory, Labor was tainted by the growing unpopularity of the Keating Government in Canberra. The opening of the third runway at Sydney Airport in late 1994 created confusion for the Labor Party as the issue threatened the Party’s hold on several inner-city seats.

To place a distance with his federal colleagues Carr branded his team as "State Labor" throughout the campaign.

Two referendums were held in conjunction with the election, both of which were approved by the voters. The first concerned the independence of judges. The second, and far more important historically, was the approval of fixed four-year terms to prevent early elections, passed with 76% voting 'yes'.[2][3]

Key dates

edit
Date Event
3 March 1995 The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[4]
6 March 1995 Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon.
25 March 1995 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
4 April 1995 The Fahey-Armstrong Ministry resigned and the Carr Ministry was sworn in.
28 April 1995 The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
2 May 1995 Parliament resumed for business.

Results

edit

Legislative Assembly

edit
 
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Labor1,408,61641.26  2.2150  4
Liberal1,121,19032.84  1.6529  2
National378,87811.10  0.5817 
Independents160,1694.69  3.613  1
Democrats97,1662.85  2.510 
Greens87,8622.57  1.310 
Call to Australia49,3171.44  0.250 
Others110,5643.24  2.350 
Total3,413,762100.0099
Valid votes3,413,76294.85
Invalid/blank votes185,3795.15  4.17
Total votes3,599,141100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,837,10293.80  0.18
Source: NSW Parliament
Two-party-preferred
Labor1,594,78348.82  1.51
Liberal/National Coalition1,671,86651.18  1.51
Total3,266,649100.00


Popular vote
Labor
41.26%
Liberal
32.84%
National
11.10%
Independents
4.69%
Democrats
2.85%
Greens
2.57%
Call to Australia
1.44%
Others
3.24%
Two-party-preferred vote
Coalition
51.18%
Labor
48.82%
Parliamentary seats
Labor
50
Liberal
29
National
17
Independents
3

Labor easily won Blue Mountains (Liberal chances were ruined when the former Liberal member, Barry Morris, ran as an Independent), and narrowly won Badgery's Creek by 107 votes and Gladesville by 260 votes, giving Labor a one-seat majority. The Liberal Party gained South Coast on the retirement of Independent John Hatton, but was unable to dislodge either Peter Macdonald in Manly or Clover Moore in Bligh. Tony Windsor was re-elected without opposition from the National Party in Tamworth.

Despite winning only 48.8% of the two-party-preferred vote for the Legislative Assembly, Labor won a majority of seats. There was speculation that the introduction of one-vote one-value boundaries had disadvantaged the Coalition by locking up too many votes in its safe seats. The discrepancy since 1981 between the state-wide vote and the swing required in marginal seats certainly supported that view. An alternative argument was that the Labor Party had proved itself superior at choosing local candidates and running strong local campaigns. Whatever the cause, the Coalition’s dogged marginal seat campaign in 1995 had come perilously close to denying Labor victory. The irony was that had the Coalition run such a campaign in 1991, the Greiner Government would probably have been re-elected with a narrow majority, and the political turmoil of the previous four years would have been avoided.

The Liberal Party seemed set to challenge the results in seats narrowly won by the ALP in the Court of Disputed Returns, but that idea was dropped on the instructions of the new Liberal leader Peter Collins.

Legislative Council

edit

Single transferable voting used to elect the 21 members up for election this year. This was an unusually large number of members to be elected through STV.[5]

 
PartyVotes%+/–Seats
Seats WonNot UpTotal SeatsSeat Change
Liberal/National Coalition1,300,74338.63  6.8581018  2
Labor1,191,17735.38  2.048917  1
Greens126,5913.76  0.43101  1
Democrats108,3123.22  3.49112 
Call to Australia101,5563.02  0.57112 
Shooters95,9432.85New101New
Independents Coalition57,5731.71New000New
Against Further Immigration55,8641.66New000New
No Aircraft Noise45,1051.34New000New
ABFFOC43,2251.28New101New
Daylight Saving Extension43,1641.28New000New
Smokers Rights32,4700.96New000New
The Seniors27,9140.83New000New
Others137,5304.08000 
Total3,367,167100.00212142
Valid votes3,367,16793.87
Invalid/blank votes219,9606.13  0.31
Total votes3,587,127100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,837,10293.49  0.22
Source: ABC

Seats changing hands

edit
Seat Pre-1995 Swing Post-1995
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Badgerys Creek   Liberal Anne Cohen 2.5 -2.6 0.1 Diane Beamer Labor  
Blue Mountains   Independent* Barry Morris 2.7 -5.2 2.5 Bob Debus Labor  
Gladesville   Liberal Ivan Petch 2.9 -3.3 0.4 John Watkins Labor  
South Coast   Independent John Hatton 18.3 -22.9 4.6 Eric Ellis Liberal  
  • Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
  • The member for Blue Mountains, Barry Morris was elected as a Liberal at the 1991 election, but resigned from the party. He recontested this seat as an Independent. The pre-election margin is the Liberal vs. Labor vote.
  • In addition, the Labor Party held the district of The Entrance, which it had won from the Liberals at the 1992 by-election.

Post-election pendulum

edit
Labor seats (50)
Marginal
Badgerys Creek Diane Beamer ALP 0.1%
Gladesville John Watkins ALP 0.4%
Bathurst Mick Clough ALP 1.0%
Kogarah Brian Langton ALP 1.5%
Drummoyne John Murray ALP 2.2%
Blue Mountains Bob Debus ALP 2.5%
Penrith Faye Lo Po' ALP 2.8%
The Entrance Grant McBride ALP 4.1%
Broken Hill Bill Beckroge ALP 4.7%
Fairly safe
Coogee Ernie Page ALP 6.1%
Peats Marie Andrews ALP 8.4%
Wyong Paul Crittenden ALP 8.7%
Port Stephens Bob Martin ALP 9.0%
Parramatta Gabrielle Harrison ALP 9.2%
Hurstville Morris Iemma ALP 9.6%
Safe
Swansea Jill Hall ALP 10.5%
Marrickville Andrew Refshauge ALP 10.5% v NAN
Blacktown Pam Allan ALP 10.6%
Riverstone John Aquilina ALP 10.6%
East Hills Pat Rogan ALP 10.7%
Rockdale George Thompson ALP 11.2%
Bulli Ian McManus ALP 11.3%
Canterbury Kevin Moss ALP 11.7%
Campbelltown Michael Knight ALP 11.8%
Kiama Bob Harrison ALP 12.2%
Wallsend John Mills ALP 12.5%
Moorebank Craig Knowles ALP 12.8%
Cessnock Stan Neilly ALP 13.1%
Port Jackson Sandra Nori ALP 13.6% v NAN
Smithfield Carl Scully ALP 13.7%
Maroubra Bob Carr ALP 13.8%
Keira Col Markham ALP 13.9%
Charlestown Richard Face ALP 14.2%
Granville Kim Yeadon ALP 14.5%
Lake Macquarie Jeff Hunter ALP 14.8%
Ashfield Paul Whelan ALP 15.2%
Londonderry Paul Gibson ALP 15.3%
Newcastle Bryce Gaudry ALP 16.1%
Bankstown Doug Shedden ALP 16.2%
Mount Druitt Richard Amery ALP 16.7%
Fairfield Joe Tripodi ALP 17.1%
Auburn Peter Nagle ALP 17.4%
Lakemba Tony Stewart ALP 18.7%
Heffron Deirdre Grusovin ALP 18.8%
St Marys Jim Anderson ALP 18.9%
Liverpool Paul Lynch ALP 19.1%
Wollongong Gerry Sullivan ALP 20.1%
Illawarra Terry Rumble ALP 20.5%
Cabramatta Reba Meagher ALP 21.2%
Waratah John Price ALP 24.1%
Liberal/National seats (46)
Marginal
Murwillumbah Don Beck NAT 2.1%
Camden Liz Kernohan LIB 2.6%
Maitland Peter Blackmore LIB 4.1%
South Coast Eric Ellis LIB 4.6%
Gosford Chris Hartcher LIB 5.5%
Fairly safe
Strathfield Paul Zammit LIB 6.0%
Sutherland Chris Downy LIB 6.4%
Miranda Ron Phillips LIB 6.7%
Ermington Michael Photios LIB 7.8%
Georges River Marie Ficarra LIB 8.0%
Clarence Ian Causley NAT 8.3%
Coffs Harbour Andrew Fraser NAT 8.7%
Cronulla Malcolm Kerr LIB 9.8%
Burrinjuck Alby Schultz LIB 9.9%
Safe
Murrumbidgee Adrian Cruickshank NAT 10.2%
Southern Highlands John Fahey LIB 10.4%
Wagga Wagga Joe Schipp LIB 10.7%
Port Macquarie Wendy Machin NAT 11.7%
Wakehurst Brad Hazzard LIB 12.9%
Northern Tablelands Ray Chappell NAT 13.7%
Lismore Bill Rixon NAT 13.7%
Bega Russell Smith LIB 13.7%
Eastwood Andrew Tink LIB 14.2%
Oxley Bruce Jeffery NAT 14.8%
Vaucluse Peter Debnam LIB 15.4%
Monaro Peter Cochran NAT 16.2%
Albury Ian Glachan LIB 16.3%
Orange Gary West NAT 16.4%
Ballina Don Page NAT 17.4%
Baulkham Hills Wayne Merton LIB 17.5%
Dubbo Gerry Peacocke NAT 18.0%
Myall Lakes John Turner NAT 18.4%
Hawkesbury Kevin Rozzoli LIB 18.5%
Northcott Barry O'Farrell LIB 18.6%
Upper Hunter George Souris NAT 19.0%
Ku-ring-gai Stephen O'Doherty LIB 19.0%
North Shore Jillian Skinner LIB 19.2%
Willoughby Peter Collins LIB 20.0%
Barwon Ian Slack-Smith NAT 20.1%
Lane Cove Kerry Chikarovski LIB 20.2%
Pittwater Jim Longley LIB 20.8%
Lachlan Ian Armstrong NAT 22.4%
Davidson Andrew Humpherson LIB 22.8%
The Hills Michael Richardson LIB 25.3%
Murray Jim Small NAT 27.6%
Gordon Jeremy Kinross LIB 30.3%
Crossbench seats (3)
Manly Peter Macdonald IND 0.4% v LIB
Bligh Clover Moore IND 5.5% v LIB
Tamworth Tony Windsor IND 34.8% v ALP

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Rabe, Tom (25 March 2023). "'NSW has voted for change': NSW Labor returns from the wilderness". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Referendum 25 March 1995". NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Result of referendums (60)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 20 June 1991. p. 2672. Retrieved 11 October 2021 – via Trove.
  4. ^ Green, Antony. "1995 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. ^ Farrell and McAllister, Australian Electoral Systems