December 1, 1984
The 1984 election was held 18 months ahead of time, partly in order to bring the elections for the House of Representatives and Senate back into line. They had been thrown out of kilter by the double dissolution of 1983.
It was widely expected that the Hawke-led Labor government would be easily re-elected, but the long campaign and a strong performance by Liberal leader, Andrew Peacock, saw the government’s majority reduced, although this was disguised by the increase in the size of the House from 125 to 148. The increase in the House of Representatives informal vote, due to confusion with the new above-the-line method in the Senate, could also have been a factor.
The election campaign saw the first ever head-to-head television debate between the leaders. It was generally accepted that Hawke had not performed well in this debate.
State of the Parties
This is the state of the parties following the 1984 federal election.
| House of Representatives Elections 1984 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALP | LIB | NPA | IND | Total | |
Election Statistics
- Federal Election Results 1901-2014 – a Parliamentary Library research paper with detailed statistics on elections since 1901.
Election Moments
- Nov 26, 1984: Transcript of the Hawke-Peacock election debate
- Dec 01, 1984: Hawke and Peacock Election Night Speeches
Election Analysis
- Apr 15, 1985: 1984 Election Analysis – Bob McMullan (ALP), George Butman (Democrats), Gerard Henderson (Lib)
- Apr 15, 1985: Swinging Voters and the 1984 Election – Dr. Jean Holmes, University of Melbourne
Archived Posts
- Hawke Announces Early Election For December 1, 1984 October 8, 1984
- Leaders’ Debate: 1984 Federal Election November 26, 1984
- Bob Hawke And Andrew Peacock 1984 Election Night Speeches December 1, 1984
- Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen Opens The 34th Parliament February 21, 1985
- 1984 Post-Election Analysis: McMullan, Henderson And Butman April 15, 1985
- Swinging Voters And The 1984 Federal Election April 15, 1985
- Enrolment Statistics State-By-State 1984-98 December 2, 1998
- The Opposition Leader As A Factor Influencing Voting Behaviour December 5, 2001
- Federal Election Results 1901-2014 July 17, 2014
- The Myth Of The Ten-Week Election Campaign In 1984 March 27, 2016
- Who’s Left – The Surviving Members Of Every House Of Representatives Since 1949 April 1, 2017
