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1996 Federal Election Count – 27 Years Ago

Mar 02, 2023

Twenty-seven years ago tonight, the fifth change of government since World War II took place. This page contains full video of the 1996 federal election night count.

The election saw the Labor government of Paul Keating defeated by the Liberal-Nationals coalition led by John Howard.

The election brought to an end 13 years of Labor government that began under prime minister Bob Hawke in 1983. The Hawke-Keating governments won 5 elections, in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990 and 1993. It remains the longest-serving Labor government since Federation.

The Howard government went on to win four elections, in 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2004, before losing office to the ALP and Kevin Rudd in 2007.

It was an unprecedented quarter-century of stability, beaten only by the 23 years of coalition rule under Menzies, Holt, Gorton and McMahon from 1949 until 1972.

The current Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, celebrates his 60th birthday today. It is also the 27th anniversary of his election to the NSW electorate of Grayndler on March 2, 1996 at age 33.

The three videos on this page contain 6 hours and 39 minutes of the ABC’s entire election night coverage. The telecast began at 6pm.

Filed Under: 1996 Federal Election, A.L.P., Howard, Keating, Liberal Party, Video Tagged With:

John Fahey, Former NSW Premier and Howard Finance Minister, Dies, 75

Sep 12, 2020

John Fahey, the former Liberal Premier of NSW, and Finance Minister in the Howard government, has died, aged 75.

FaheyFahey was first elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly in 1984 as the member for Camden. He transferred to Southern Highlands in 1988 and was a minister in the Greiner government following the 1988 election.

He became Premier on June 24, 1992, following the forced resignation of Nick Greiner, in the aftermath of an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Coruption.

As premier, Fahey is best remembered for the role he played in securing the 2000 Sydney Olympics for NSW.

Fahey’s Liberal-Nationals coalition was defeated in the 1995 election and Bob Carr became Labor premier. Fahey transferred to the federal division of Macarthur at the 1996 federal election and became Minister for Finance in the Howard government, a position he held until he retired at the 2001 election.

His career after politics is notable for his role as president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He also served as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Audio, Howard, Liberal Party, N.S.W., Political History, Video Tagged With:

Who’s Left – The Surviving Members Of Every House Of Representatives Since 1949

Apr 01, 2017

*** CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST UPDATED VERSION OF THIS PAGE ***

Detailed information on the surviving members of the House of Representatives since 1949 is now available on this site. They include the members’ seats, parties, terms, dates of birth, ages and deaths.

All members of parliament who served in the first 18 parliaments from 1901 until the end of 1949 are now deceased.

There are two surviving members of the 19th Parliament that was elected on December 10, 1949. Both “forty-niners” are in their late 90s. One, Henry Pearce, will turn 100 in September this year.

Just four members of the House during the 1950s are still living.

For the entire Menzies era (1949-1972), there are 29 surviving members. All but four of them served together in the 27th Parliament between 1969 and 1972.

The table below provides a summary of how many members have served in the 19th to 45th parliaments. It shows how many are still living and what parties they belong to. There are links to more detailed information on each parliament since 1972.

Note: The data is structured around the parliaments since 1949. The numbers cannot be aggregated. Most surviving members served in more than one parliament.

Disclaimer: I am confident that the data shown here is correct. However, I rely on media reports and announcements in parliament for information on deaths of former members. I sincerely hope I haven’t killed or resurrected anyone. I am happy to receive corrections from readers.

House of Representatives – Members Still Living Since 1949
(Listed by Parliament No. and Years)
No. Years Size Members
Still
Living		 % Oldest Surviving
Member		 ALP Lib CP/
Nat		 Oth
19th
1949-1951
121
2
1.65
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
–
–
20th
1951-1954
131
2
1.52
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
–
–
21st
1954-1955
122
1
0.81
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
1
–
–
22nd
1955-1958
127
3
2.36
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
1
–
23rd
1958-1961
128
3
2.34
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
1
–
24th
1961-1963
125
5
4.00
 Jim Forbes (93)
2
1
2
–
25th
1963-1966
129
9
6.97
 Wylie Gibbs (94)
2
4
3
–
26th
1966-1969
130
17
13.07
 Mervyn Lee (96)
5
9
3
–
27th
1969-1972
128
24
18.75
 Doug Everingham (93)
11
9
4
–
28th
1972-1974
126
33
26.19
 Doug Everingham (93)
17
10
6
–
29th
1974-1975
128
44
34.37
 Doug Everingham (93)
18
17
9
–
30th
1975-1977
128
57
44.53
 Clarrie Millar (91)
10
36
11
–
31st
1977-1980
126
66
52.38
 Doug Everingham (93)
18
38
11
–
32nd
1980-1983
131
81
61.83
 Doug Everingham (93)
33
35
13
–
33rd
1983-1984
131
90
68.70
 Doug Everingham (93)
57
21
12
–
34th
1984-1987
149
111
74.49
 Clarrie Millar (91)
64
31
16
–
35th
1987-1990
153
122
79.73
 Clarrie Millar (91)
74
33
15
–
36th
1990-1993
150
131
87.33
 Steele Hall (88)
72
44
13
–
37th
1993-1996
155
137
88.38
 Steele Hall (88)
75
44
16
–
38th
1996-1998
150
139
92.66
 Ian Sinclair (87)
49
69
18
–
39th
1998-2001
152
145
95.39
 Garry Nehl (83)
68
61
16
–
40th
2001-2004
151
146
96.68
 Frank Mossfield (81)
65
65
13
3
41st
2004-2007
151
147
97.35
 Wilson Tuckey (81)
61
72
12
2
42nd
2007-2010
155
153
98.70
 Wilson Tuckey (81)
83
56
11
3
43rd
2010-2013
150
148
98.66
 Bronywyn Bishop (74)
72
59
12
5
44th
2013-2016
153
152
99.34
 Bronwyn Bishop (74)
56
76
15
5
45th
2016-
150
150
100
 Warren Snowdon (67)
69
60
16
5

 

Filed Under: 1949 Federal Election, 1951 Federal Election, 1963 Federal Election, 1966 Federal Election, 1972 Federal Election, 1974 Federal Election, 1975 Federal Election, 1977 Federal Election, 1980 Federal Election, 1983 Federal Election, 1984 Federal Election, 1987 Federal Election, 1990 Federal Election, 1993 Federal Election, 1996 Federal Election, 1998 Federal Election, 2001 Federal Election, 2004 Federal Election, 2007 Federal Election, 2010 Federal Election, 2013 Federal Election, 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Abbott, Backbenchers, By-Elections, D.L.P., Fraser, Gillard, Greens, Hawke, House of Reps, Howard, Keating, Liberal National Party, Liberal Party, Members, NXT, One Nation, Palmer United Party, Rudd, The Nationals, Turnbull, Whitlam Tagged With:

John Howard, Historian Of Menzies, Addresses National Press Club

Sep 07, 2016

Ahead of the broadcast of his television documentary on Sir Robert Menzies, former prime minister John Howard has addressed the National Press Club.

Howard

It was Howard’s 40th appearance at the Canberra press club. The documentary on Menzies will be shown on ABC television at the end of this month.

Howard spoke about the Menzies period but also commented on contemporary politics.

He said Senator Sam Dastyari had become a liability for the ALP. He also warned the major parties against embracing identity politics and cautioned against too much legislative interference in political donations. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Audio, Howard, Liberal Party, Political History, Video Tagged With: , , ,
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