The 1951 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 28 April 1951. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution called after the Senate rejected the Commonwealth Bank Bill.[1] The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies defeated the opposition Labor Party led by Ben Chifley with a modestly reduced majority,[2] and secured a majority in the Senate.[3] This was the last time the Labor party ever held a Senate majority. Chifley died just over a month after the election. This was the sixth and last federal election prior to the death of George VI a year later.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 123[b] seats of the House of Representatives 61 seats were needed for a majority in the House All 60 seats of the Senate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opinion polls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Registered | 4,962,675 1.38% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 4,654,406 (96.00%)[a] (0.03 pp) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Although the Coalition had won a comfortable majority in the House in 1949, Labor still had a four-seat majority in the Senate. Chifley thus made it his business to obstruct Menzies's agenda at every opportunity. Realizing this, Menzies sought to call a double dissolution at the first opportunity in hopes of gaining control of both houses. He thought he had his chance in 1950, when he introduced a bill to ban the Australian Communist Party. However, after a redraft, Chifley let the bill pass.
A few months later, the Senate rejected the Commonwealth Bank Bill 1950, in which the Coalition government aimed to establish a "Commonwealth Bank Board", which Labor believed would be filled with private banking interests.[4] This finally gave Menzies an excuse to call a double dissolution. While the Coalition lost five House seats to Labor, it still had a solid mandate. More importantly, it picked up six Senate seats, giving it control over both chambers.
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal–Country coalition | 2,298,512 | 50.34 | +0.08 | 69 | –5 | ||
Liberal | 1,854,799 | 40.62 | +1.23 | 52 | –3 | ||
Country | 443,713 | 9.72 | –1.15 | 17 | –2 | ||
Labor | 2,174,840 | 47.63 | +1.65 | 54[c] | +6 | ||
Communist | 44,782 | 0.98 | +0.09 | 0 | 0 | ||
Independents | 47,765 | 1.05 | –1.11 | 0 | –1 | ||
Total | 4,565,899 | 123 | |||||
Two-party-preferred (estimated) | |||||||
Liberal–Country coalition | Win | 50.70 | −0.30 | 69 | −5 | ||
Labor | 49.30 | +0.30 | 52 | +5 |
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal–Country coalition | 2,198,687 | 49.70 | –0.71 | 32 | 32 | +6 | ||
Liberal–Country joint ticket | 1,925,631 | 43.52 | –1.12 | 22 | N/A | N/A | ||
Liberal | 273,056 | 6.17 | +0.41 | 10 | 26 | +5 | ||
Country | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 6 | +1 | ||
Labor | 2,029,751 | 45.88 | +0.99 | 28 | 28 | −6 | ||
Communist | 93,561 | 2.11 | +0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Lang Labor | 60,549 | 1.37 | +1.37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Protestant People's | 13,090 | 0.30 | –0.59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Henry George Justice | 6,015 | 0.14 | +0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Independents | 22,584 | 0.51 | –1.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 4,424,237 | 60 | 60 |
Seat | Pre-1951 | Swing | Post-1951 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
Australian Capital Territory, ACT | Independent | Lewis Nott | 3.8 | 6.7 | 2.9 | Jim Fraser | Labor | ||
Ballaarat, Vic | Liberal | Alan Pittard | 0.4 | 1.6 | 1.2 | Bob Joshua | Labor | ||
Hume, NSW | Country | Charles Anderson | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | Arthur Fuller | Labor | ||
Kingston, SA | Liberal | Jim Handby | 1.6 | 3.4 | 1.8 | Pat Galvin | Labor | ||
Leichhardt, Qld | Country | Tom Gilmore | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | Harry Bruce | Labor | ||
Wannon, Vic | Liberal | Dan Mackinnon | 0.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | Don McLeod | Labor |
Date published | Pollster | Liberal–Country | Labor | Other | Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
28 April 1951 | 1951 election | 50.34% | 47.63% | 2.03% | 2.71% |
April 1951[5] | Gallup | 49% | 43% | 1% | 6% |
March 1951[5] | Gallup | 49% | 44% | 1% | 5% |
December 1950[6][5] | Gallup | 52% | 47% | 1% | 5% |
November 1950[7] | Gallup | 50% | 49% | 1% | 1% |
August 1950[7] | Gallup | 57% | 42% | 1% | 15% |
5 May 1950[8] | Gallup | 54% | 46% | 1% | 9% |
April 1950[9] | Gallup | 54% | 46% | — | 8% |
24 March 1950[8] | Gallup | 54% | 46% | — | 8% |
February 1950[9][8] | Gallup | 56% | 44% | — | 12% |
10 December 1949 | 1949 election | 50.26% | 45.98% | 3.76% | 4.28% |