Elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly were held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 13 February 1971. The Liberal-Country Party coalition government led by Sir Robert Askin won a third term in office. The Labor Party opposition was led by Pat Hills.
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All 96 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 49 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Two-candidate-preferred margin by electorate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Legislative Assembly had been enlarged by two members to 96 for the 1971 election. The seats of Sturt and Casino were established. Until 2019, this was the last time the Coalition won a third-term in New South Wales.
Date | Event |
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13 January 1971 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[1] |
22 January 1971 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
13 February 1971 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
11 March 1971 | The fourth Askin-Cutler ministry was constituted. |
16 March 1971 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
16 March 1971 | Parliament resumed for business. |
New South Wales state election, 13 February 1971[1][2] | ||||||
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Enrolled voters | 2,457,021[a] | |||||
Votes cast | 2,291,484 | Turnout | 93.26 | -0.93 | ||
Informal votes | 53,628 | Informal | 2.34 | -0.29 | ||
Summary of votes by party | ||||||
Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
Labor | 1,007,538 | 45.02 | +1.93 | 45 | + 6 | |
Liberal | 799,801 | 35.74 | –2.73 | 32 | – 4 | |
Country | 193,509 | 8.65 | –1.98 | 17 | ± 0 | |
Democratic Labor | 71,050 | 3.17 | +0.89 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Australia | 23,689 | 1.06 | +1.06 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Defence of Government Schools | 10,850 | 0.48 | +0.48 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Communist | 2,098 | 0.09 | –0.18 | 0 | ± 0 | |
Independent | 129,321 | 5.78 | +0.53 | 2 | ± 0 | |
Total | 2,237,856 | 96 |
Seat | Pre-1971 | Swing | Post-1971 | ||||||
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Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
Burrendong | Country | Roger Wotton | 5.9 | -7.7 | 1.8 | Leo Nott | Labor | ||
Campbelltown | Liberal | Max Dunbier | 2.4 | -2.5 | 0.1 | Cliff Mallam | Labor | ||
Casino | Country | New seat | 14.6 | -17.1 | 2.5 | Don Day | Labor | ||
Gosford | Liberal | Ted Humphries | 1.4 | -4.0 | 2.6 | Keith O'Connell | Labor | ||
Nepean | Liberal | Ron Dunbier | 5.2 | -6.8 | 1.6 | Ron Mulock | Labor | ||
Wollongong | Liberal | Jack Hough | 0.5 | -0.6 | 0.1 | Eric Ramsay | Labor |