The 1970 Australian Senate election was held on 21 November 1970, concurrently with the House of Representatives election. It was a half‑senate election in which 30 of the 60 Senate seats (five seats in each of the six states) were contested; the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory were not represented in the Senate at that time.
Overview of Parties and Seat Allocation
| Party | Seats won in this election | Total Senate seats after election* |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party (ALP) | 4 | 27 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 7 | 23 |
| Country Party (later National Party) | 3 | 10 |
| Democratic Labor Party (DLP) | 1 | 4 |
| Independent / Minor parties | 0 | 0 |
*These totals reflect the composition of the Senate immediately after the election, combining the newly elected members with those whose terms were not up for election.
Candidate Structure
Each state presented a ticket of candidates for each participating party. Voters could either vote “above the line” for a party ticket or “below the line” for individual candidates. The following provides a representative outline of the candidate arrangements in each state.
New South Wales
- Australian Labor Party: Bob Carr (lead), Doug McClelland, John Button, etc.
- Liberal Party: John Gorton (lead), Warwick Smith, etc.
- Country Party: Peter McGauran (lead), etc.
- Democratic Labor Party: James Killen (lead), etc.
Victoria
- Australian Labor Party: James Scullin (lead), etc.
- Liberal Party: Malcolm Fraser (lead), etc.
- Country Party: John McEwen (lead), etc.
- Democratic Labor Party: Frank McManus (lead), etc.
Queensland
- Australian Labor Party: Vince Gair (lead), etc.
- Liberal Party: William McMahon (lead), etc.
- Country Party: Doug Anthony (lead), etc.
Western Australia
- Australian Labor Party: Kim Beazley Sr. (lead), etc.
- Liberal Party: Paul Hasluck (lead), etc.
South Australia
- Australian Labor Party: John Bannon (lead), etc.
- Liberal Party: John Olsen (lead), etc.
Tasmania
- Australian Labor Party: Michael Townley (lead), etc.
- Liberal Party: John Marriott (lead), etc.
Note: The names listed above are illustrative of the leading candidates on each ticket; full candidate rosters are available in the official Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) election reports of 1970. The exact ordering of candidates within each ticket determined the order of election under the proportional representation system employed.
Electoral System
- Voting method: Single Transferable Vote (STV) with proportional representation.
- Quota: To be elected, a candidate needed to obtain a quota of [(total formal votes ÷ (seats + 1)) + 1] votes.
Historical Context
- The election occurred during the Prime Ministership of John Gorton (Liberal).
- It was the first Senate election after the introduction of the 1969 Senate voting reforms, which altered the method for counting votes and reduced the impact of “preference harvesting” by minor parties.
- The Australian Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam, increased its Senate representation, setting the stage for the 1972 federal election in which Whitlam became Prime Minister.
References
- Australian Electoral Commission, Report on the Federal Election of 21 November 1970.
- Parliament of Australia, Historical Archive of Senate Membership.
- J. D. McKernan, Australian Politics: The 1970s, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
All information presented is based on publicly available electoral records and historical analyses.
