House Of Representatives Members – 32nd Parliament 1980-1983

This is the full list of members of the House of Representatives elected on October 18, 1980.

The 32nd Parliament was the third term of the Fraser coalition government. After two landslide victories in 1975 and 1977, the coalition went backwards in 1980, a prelude to its defeat in 1983. From 86 seats in a 124-member House, the government was returned with 74 in a 125-seat House.

The ALP had a net gain of 13 seats, to hold 51. This was an important election for the party. A number of older MPs retired, Bob Hawke entered the House, and a group of future Hawke government ministers, such as Kim Beazley, were also elected.

There were six by-elections during the life of the 32nd Parliament. The ALP’s Michael Maher gained Lowe from the Liberal Party, following the retirement of Sir William McMahon. The other five by-elections (Boothby, Curtin, Flinders, McPherson and Wentworth) all saw the Liberal Party replace sitting members. Accordingly, the table below contains 131 names.

There are 70 (53%) of these 131 former members still living. There are 26 from the ALP, 32 Liberals and 12 Nationals.

The oldest living former member is the Liberal Party’s Tony Street, 97. The National Country Party’s oldest former member is Peter Nixon, 95. The oldest ALP member is Moss Cass, 96.

The youngest former member is the Liberal Party’s Peter Reith, who is 72.

The most recent deaths have been:
– November 17, 2019: Ben Humphreys, ALP (Griffith-Qld), 85
– August 30, 2019: Elaine Darling, ALP (Lilley-Qld), 83
– May 16, 2019: Bob Hawke, ALP (Wills-Vic), 89
– March 31, 2019: Peter Coleman, Liberal (Wentworth-NSW), 90
– December 09, 2018: Gordon Scholes, ALP (Corio-Vic), 87
– September 12, 2018: Barry Cunningham, ALP (McMillan-Vic), 78
– December 18, 2017: Barry Cohen, ALP (Robertson-NSW), 82
– November 28, 2017: Clarrie Millar, National Country (Wide Bay-Qld), 92
– November 16, 2017: Wal Fife, Liberal (Farrer-NSW), 88
– August 31, 2017: John Bourchier, Liberal (Bendigo-Vic), 87
– August 24, 2017: Doug Everingham, ALP (Capricornia-Qld), 94
– March 23, 2017: Ian Robinson, Country (Cowper/Page-NSW), 91

The table below lists members by their party affiliation, seat, term and age. Ages of living ex-MPs are updated automatically.

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