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 an exceptionally long 10-week campaign and a strong campaign 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 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.
Documents
- Nov 26: Transcript of the Hawke-Peacock election debate
- 1984 Election analysis – Bob McMullan (ALP), George Butman (Democrats), Gerard Henderson (Lib)
- Swinging Voters and the 1984 Election – Dr. Jean Holmes
State of the Parties
| House of Representatives Elections 1984 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALP | LIB | NPA | IND | Total | |
Archived Posts
- Dec 02, 1998: Enrolment Statistics State-By-State 1984-98
- Oct 08, 1984: Hawke Announces Early Election For December 1, 1984
