House of Representatives Members – 45th Parliament 2016-2019

This is the full list of members of the House of Representatives elected on July 2, 2016, and at subsequent by-elections.

The double dissolution election saw the first-term Coalition government suffer a swing against it, reducing its majority from 30 to just one.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott took office after the 2013 election. Just three days before his second anniversary in the job, he was deposed by Malcolm Turnbull. It was the third consecutive parliament to see a prime minister overthrown by their own party.

Turnbull reformed the Senate voting system to eliminate group voting tickets and institute optional preferential voting. Amidst slipping opinion poll ratings and doubts about his policy direction, Turnbull opted for a double dissolution election. Given the constraints of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, the election campaign was one of the longest in recent times.

In a 150-seat House, the ALP won 69 seats (+14). The Coalition parties won 76 seats (-14). The Nick Xenophon Team won one seat, as did the Greens and Bob Katter. The independents Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan were each re-elected.

The ALP secured 34.73% (+1.35%) of the primary vote, only marginally up on its 2013 performance. The Liberal Party, Liberal National Party, and Country Liberal Party won 37.43% (-3.83%), whilst the National Party secured 4.61% (+0.32%).

The Coalition won 50.36% (-3.13%) of the two-party-preferred vote, to the ALP’s 49.64%.

Another Prime Minister Falls

On August 21, 2018, Prime Minister Turnbull spilled his leadership of the Liberal Party. In the ensuing ballot, Turnbull defeated Peter Dutton, 48 votes to 35.

Over the next three days, a dozen ministers resigned their positions. The Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, challenged Turnbull and demanded another partyroom meeting. Turnbull acceded, after demanding a 43-signature petition from the party. The meeting was held on August 24.

In a three-way ballot, Dutton reportedly polled 38 votes, with Treasurer Scott Morrison securing 36, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop 11. With Bishop eliminated, Morrison defeated Dutton, 45-40. Morrison was sworn in as prime minister that evening. Turnbull resigned from parliament a week later.

Four first term prime ministers have been toppled by their parties, one in each of the last four parliaments: Rudd (2010), Gillard (2013), Abbott (2015) and Turnbull (2018).

By-Elections In The 45th Parliament

There were 9 by-elections during the life of the 45th Parliament. This equals the number of by-elections held during the 37th Parliament (1993-1996) and is only surpassed by the 10 by-elections during the 20th Parliament (1951-1954). With seven by-elections, 2018 now holds the record for the largest number of by-elections in a single year, surpassing the six held in each of 1960 and 1994. The five by-elections held on July 28, 2018, is the largest number ever held on a single day.

1. Dec 02, 2017 – New England (NSW). On October 27, 2017, the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, declared that the leader of the National Party, Barnaby Joyce, was ineligible to nominate at the time of the 2016 election and voided his election. Joyce’s dual citizenship with New Zealand rendered him ineligible under Section 44 of the Constitution. Joyce was returned again at the by-election.
2. Dec 16, 2017 – Bennelong (NSW). The sitting Liberal member, John Alexander, resigned, due to his UK dual citizenship, on November 11, 2017. He was comfortably re-elected at the by-election.
3. Mar 17, 2018 – Batman (Vic). The sitting ALP member, David Feeney, resigned, due to dual citizenship issues, on February 1, 2018. He had earlier referred himself to the High Court. Feeney claimed he had renounced his UK citizenship in 2007 but was unable to produce any documentary evidence. He did not re-contest and Ged Kearney retained the seat for the ALP. Kearney is the 115th woman elected to the House of Representatives and the 61st this century.
4. Jul 28, 2018 – Perth (WA). The sitting ALP member, Tim Hammond, resigned, for personal reasons. The new ALP candidate, Patrick Gorman, won the by-election.
5. Jul 28, 2018 – Braddon (Tas). The sitting ALP member, Justine Keay, resigned, due to dual citizenship issues, following the High Court’s disqualification of Senator Katy Gallagher on May 9, 2018. She re-contested the seat and won the by-election.
6. Jul 28, 2018 – Fremantle (WA). The sitting ALP member, Joshua Wilson, resigned, due to dual citizenship issues, following the High Court’s disqualification of Senator Katy Gallagher. He re-contested the seat and won the by-election.
7. Jul 28, 2018 – Longman (Qld). The sitting ALP member, Susan Lamb, resigned, due to dual citizenship issues, following the High Court’s disqualification of Senator Katy Gallagher. She re-contested the seat and won the by-election.
8. Jul 28, 2018 – Mayo (SA). The sitting Centre Alliance (formerly Nick Xenophon Team) member, Rebekha Sharkie, resigned, due to dual citizenship issues, following the High Court’s disqualification of Senator Katy Gallagher. Sharkie re-contested the seat and won the by-election.
9. Oct 20, 2018 – Wentworth (NSW). Following his removal as prime minister by the Liberal Party partyroom on August 24, 2018, Malcolm Turnbull resigned his seat on August 31, 2018. Dr Kerryn Phelps, running as an independent, secured a record by-election swing to take the seat. Her victory reduced the Morrison government to minority status in the House of Representatives.

Dissolution

The 45th Parliament was prorogued at 8.29am on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The House of Representatives was dissolved at 8.30am. Elections for the House of Representatives and half of the Senate took place on Saturday, May 18, 2019.

The table below follows the pattern of lists of MPs from previous parliaments that record the deaths, ages and terms. On the best available information to date, all 153 members of the 45th Parliament are alive and well.

The oldest member of the 45th Parliament is Katter’s Australian Party member Bob Katter, who is 79.

The Liberal Party’s oldest member is Warren Entsch, 74. The National Party’s oldest member is Ken O’Dowd, 74. The ALP’s oldest member is Warren Snowdon, 74. He served since 1987, with one absence between 1996 and 1998.

The youngest former member still living from this parliament is the Liberal Party’s Chris Crewther, 41.

The table below lists members by their party affiliation, seat, term and age. It includes new members who arrived via by-elections. Ages of all living members and former members are updated automatically.

• Links to other Parliamentary Lists

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