March 24, 1990
The 1990 election was the Labor Government’s and Bob Hawke’s fourth successive electoral victory.
No previous Labor government or Labor leader had enjoyed such political success. Hawke’s record of election victories is unsurpassed by any other federal Labor leader.
But the election was a close-run thing, decided on the preferences of minor parties such as the Australian Democrats and the Greens. Ultimately, the ALP narrowly failed to secure a majority of the two-party-preferred vote.
The election was Andrew Peacock’s second as Liberal leader. He had returned to the leadership of his party following a coup against John Howard in May 1989. National Party leader, Ian Sinclair, had been deposed at the same time and replaced by Charles Blunt. Blunt lost his seat of Richmond at the election.
Australian Democrats leader, Janine Haines, also failed in her attempt to capture the Labor-held electorate of Kingston in South Australia. She had resigned from the Senate to contest the seat.
State of the Parties
This is the state of the parties in the House of Representatives following the 1990 Federal Election.
| House of Representatives Elections 1990 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALP | LIB | NPA | IND | Total | |
Election Statistics
- 1990 Two-Party-Preferred Results – National Summary
- Federal Election Results 1901-2014 – a Parliamentary Library research paper with detailed statistics on elections since 1901.
Election Moments
- Mar 21, 1990: Bob Hawke Pre-Election National Press Club Address
Election Analysis
Archived Posts
- On The Campaign Trail With Bob Hawke March 8, 1990
- Bob Hawke’s 1990 Federal Election Policy Speech March 8, 1990
- Hawke-Keating and Peacock-Hewson Interviewed by Richard Carleton on 60 Minutes March 18, 1990
- ‘Give A Damn’ – Janine Haines Australian Democrats Advertisement March 20, 1990
- Bob Hawke: Pre-Election National Press Club Address March 21, 1990
- Ballot Paper: Higgins 1990 March 24, 1990
- ABC Radio 1990 Election Night Broadcast March 24, 1990
- Bob Hogg: 1990 Federal Election Analysis April 11, 1990
- 1990 Federal Election: Two-Party-Preferred Statistics May 1, 1990
- Governor-General Bill Hayden Opens The 36th Parliament May 8, 1990
- Federal Election Pendulum – 1991 September 12, 1991
- Enrolment Statistics State-By-State 1984-98 December 2, 1998
- The Opposition Leader As A Factor Influencing Voting Behaviour December 5, 2001
- Liberal Party Climate Change Policy: 1990 vs 2007 November 20, 2007
- Federal Election Results 1901-2014 July 17, 2014
- Who’s Left – The Surviving Members Of Every House Of Representatives Since 1949 April 1, 2017
