The 1906 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 12 December 1906. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Protectionist Party minority government led by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin retained government, despite winning the fewest House of Representatives votes and seats of the three parties. Parliamentary support was provided by the Labour Party led by Chris Watson, while the Anti-Socialist Party (renamed from the Free Trade Party), led by George Reid, remained in opposition.

Watson resigned as Labour leader in October 1907 and was replaced by Andrew Fisher. The Protectionist minority government fell in November 1908 to Labour, and a few days later Reid resigned as Anti-Socialist leader, being replaced by Joseph Cook. The Labour minority government fell in June 1909 to the newly formed Commonwealth Liberal Party led by Deakin; this Party was formed on a shared anti-Labour platform as a merger organised between Deakin, the leader of the Protectionists, and Cook, the leader of the Anti-Socialists, to counter Labour's growing popularity. The merger did not sit well with several of the more progressive Protectionists, who defected to Labour or sat as independents.

The merger would allow the Deakin Commonwealth Liberals to construct a mid-term parliamentary majority, however less than a year later, at the 1910 election, Labour won both majority government and a Senate majority, representing a number of firsts: it was Australia's first elected federal majority government, Australia's first elected Senate majority, the world's first Labour Party majority government at a national level, and after the 1904 Watson minority government, the world's second Labour Party government at a national level.

Results House of Representatives

+House of Reps 1906–10 (FPTP) – Turnout 51.48% (Non-CV) – Informal 3.73% Party Votes % Swing Seats ChangeLabour 348,712 36.64 +6.86 26 +4Anti-Socialist 345,781 36.33 +4.60 26 +2Protectionist 155,991 16.39 16 –10Western Australian 22,154 2.33 +2.33 2 +2Independents/Other 79,051 8.31 −0.46 5 +3Total 951,689 75Protectionist/LabourWin 42 −6Anti-Socialist 26 +2

Senate +Senate 1906–10 (FPTP BV) – Turnout 50.21% (Non-CV) – Informal N/A Party Votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change Anti-Socialist 469,917 47.4 +15.6 12 17 +4 Labour 384,171 38.7 +5.7 5 15 +1 Protectionist 92,931 9.4 −6.7 1 3 −5Independents/Other 44,871 4.5 0 1 0 Total 991,850 18 36

Significance

It was the third federal election in Australia following the adoption of the federal government. The election was largely important as it would demonstrate which of the parties (if any) could hold together a stable government after the unstable second term of the previous one, which saw four different governments in power. It would also see if all parties could survive the implementation of protectionist policies which differentiated the two. This was also the first election where all seats for the House of Representatives were voted for via a First-past-the-post system (at previous elections some states voted as one electorate, using a bloc vote), and the first time that Tasmania was divided into separate electorates. The election result was the continuation of a Protectionist government led by Deakin and supported by Labour, which remained in power largely due to the unwillingness of the Anti-Socialist Party to support a vote of no confidence against it.

George Reid adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs non-Labour lines – before the election, he renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded a two-party system as very much the norm.Fusion: The Party System We Had To Have? - by Charles Richardson CIS 25 January 2009

Since the Protectionist primary platform of government tariffs had been dealt with by previous governments, the party had become somewhat redundant. Those who remained were largely supporting the Party's leader, Alfred Deakin, rather than its policies. Of the three, the Labour Party, led by Chris Watson, now had the most realistic chance of becoming the dominant party after their gains in the 1903 election and after their leading status in the four minor states they were looking to make the same type of gains in Victoria and New South Wales.

The first federal referendum in Australia's history was held in conjunction with the election. The proposed alteration to the Constitution, to change the start date of Senators' terms from 1 January to 1 July, passed in all states and was carried.

Seats changing hands Seat Pre-1906 Swing Post-1906 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Balaclava, Vic Protectionist George Turner 100.0 41.8 4.0 Agar Wynne Ind. Protectionist Barker, SA Protectionist Langdon Bonython 100.0 58.1 8.1 John Livingston Anti-Socialist Batman, Vic new division 1.7 Jabez Coon Protectionist Bendigo, Vic Protectionist John Quick 1.1 51.7 1.7 John Quick Ind. Protectionist Brisbane, Qld Labour Millice Culpin 2.1 13.4 11.3 Justin Foxton Anti-Socialist Capricornia, Qld Labour David Thomson 9.6 15.2 5.6 Edward Archer Anti-Socialist Cowper, NSW Anti-Socialist Henry Lee 13.0 13.9 0.9 John Thomson Protectionist Denison, Tas Protectionist Philip Fysh 0.2 15.1 10.5 Philip Fysh Anti-Socialist Fawkner, Vic new division 13.9 George Fairbairn Ind. Protectionist Franklin, Tas Revenue Tariff William McWilliams 4.6 100.0 100.0 William McWilliams Anti-Socialist Fremantle, WA Labour William Carpenter 11.3 12.2 0.9 William Hedges Western Australian Indi, Vic Protectionist Isaac Isaacs 100.0 44.4 2.7 Joseph Brown Anti-Socialist Macquarie, NSW Anti-Socialist Sydney Smith 4.0 51.3 1.3 Ernest Carr Labour Maribyrnong, Vic new division 6.9 Samuel Mauger Protectionist Melbourne Ports, Vic Protectionist Samuel Mauger 6.8 9.4 2.6 James Mathews Labour Moreton, Qld Ind / Labour James Wilkinson 5.8 18.3 12.5 Hugh Sinclair Anti-Socialist New England, NSW Anti-Socialist Edmund Lonsdale 1.9 51.8 1.8 Frank Foster Labour Oxley, Qld Protectionist Richard Edwards 2.3 14.3 16.6 Richard Edwards Anti-Socialist South Sydney, NSW Anti-Socialist George Edwards 6.0 12.4 6.4 Chris Watson Labour Wannon, Vic Anti-Socialist Arthur Robinson 2.9 5.7 2.8 John McDougall Labour Werriwa, NSW Anti-Socialist Alfred Conroy 18.7 20.5 1.8 David Hall Labour Wimmera, Vic Protectionist Pharez Phillips 0.1 14.6 14.2 Sydney Sampson Ind. Protectionist Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Post-election pendulum

Government seatsProtectionist/Labour CoalitionMarginalGippsland (Vic)George WisePROT00.3 vs ASCalare (NSW)Thomas BrownLAB00.7 vs ASCowper (NSW)John ThomsonPROT00.9 vs ASMacquarie (NSW)Ernest CarrLAB01.3 vs ASBatman (Vic)Jabez CoonPROT01.7 vs LABNew England (NSW)Frank FosterLAB01.8 vs ASWerriwa (NSW)David HallLAB01.8 vs ASMelbourne Ports (Vic)James MathewsLAB02.6 vs PROTLaanecoorie (Vic)Carty SalmonPROT02.7 vs LABPerth (WA)James FowlerLAB02.7 vs WAPWannon (Vic)John McDougallLAB02.8 vs ASHerbert (Qld)Fred BamfordLAB02.9 vs ASCook (NSW)James CattsLAB03.0 vs ASGwydir (NSW)William WebsterLAB03.3 vs ASRiverina (NSW)John ChanterPROT04.1 vs ASWide Bay (Qld)Andrew FisherLAB04.5 vs ASMernda (Vic)Robert HarperPROT04.7 vs LABCorio (Vic)Richard CrouchPROT05.0 vs ASWest Sydney (NSW)Billy HughesLAB05.5 vs ASFairly safeSouth Sydney (NSW)Chris WatsonLAB06.4 vs ASBourke (Vic)James Hume CookPROT06.7 vs LABMaribyrnong (Vic)Samuel MaugerPROT06.9 vs LABKennedy (Qld)Charles McDonaldLAB07.8 vs ASDarling (NSW)William SpenceLAB07.9 vs ASDarwin (Tas)King O'MalleyLAB09.5 vs ASYarra (Vic)Frank TudorLAB09.6 vs INDSafeMelbourne (Vic)William MaloneyLAB10.4 vs ASHume (NSW)William LynePROT11.7 vs ASBass (Tas)David StorrerPROT12.3 vs ASDarling Downs (Qld)Littleton GroomPROT15.1 vs LABBallaarat (Vic)Alfred DeakinPROT16.2 vs LABNewcastle (NSW)David WatkinsLAB17.2 vs PASEden-Monaro (NSW)Austin ChapmanPROT17.8 vs ASMaranoa (Qld)Jim PageLAB18.8 vs ASVery safeCoolgardie (WA)Hugh MahonLAB23.1 vs WAPBarrier (NSW)Josiah ThomasLAB24.5 vs ASRichmond (NSW)Thomas EwingPROT26.4 vs ASKalgoorlie (WA)Charlie FrazerLAB29.0 vs WAPAdelaide (SA)Charles KingstonPROTunopposedBoothby (SA)Lee BatchelorLABunopposedGrey (SA)Alexander PoyntonLABunopposedHindmarsh (SA)James HutchisonLABunopposed Non-government seatsAnti-Socialist PartyMarginalEchuca (Vic)Albert Palmer AS00.0 vs PROTHunter (NSW)Frank LiddellAS00.8 vs LABFlinders (Vic)William IrvineAS01.5 vs PROTDalley (NSW)William WilksAS02.7 vs LABIndi (Vic)Joseph BrownAS02.7 vs LABWilmot (Tas)Llewellyn AtkinsonAS04.2 vs LABEast Sydney (NSW)George ReidAS04.9 vs LABCapricornia (Qld)Edward ArcherAS05.6 vs LABGrampians (Vic)Hans IrvineAS05.8 vs LABFairly safeCorangamite (Vic)Gratton WilsonAS06.6 vs PROTRobertson (NSW)Henry WillisAS07.0 vs LABBarker (SA)John LivingstonAS08.1 vs LABSafeDenison (Tas)Philip FyshAS10.5 vs LABBrisbane (Qld)Justin FoxtonAS11.3 vs LABKooyong (Vic)William KnoxAS12.0 vs PROTMoreton (Qld)Hugh SinclairAS12.5 vs LABNepean (NSW)Eric BowdenAS13.3 vs LABAngas (SA)Paddy GlynnAS13.6 vs LABIllawarra (NSW)George FullerAS13.8 vs LABOxley (Qld)Richard EdwardsAS13.8 vs LABWakefield (SA)Frederick HolderAS13.8 vs LABVery safeLang (NSW)Elliot JohnsonAS20.4 vs LABWentworth (NSW)Willie KellyAS23.2 vs LABParkes (NSW)Bruce SmithAS28.2 vs INDFranklin (Tas)William McWilliamsASunopposedNorth Sydney (NSW)Dugald ThomsonASunopposedParramatta (NSW)Joseph CookASunopposedOthersFremantle (WA)William HedgesWAP00.9 vs LABBendigo (Vic)John QuickIND PROT01.7 vs LABBalaclava (Vic)Agar WynneIND PROT04.0 vs INDFawkner (Vic)George FairbairnIND PROT13.9 vs LABWimmera (Vic)Sydney SampsonIND PROT14.2 vs LABSwan (WA)John ForrestWAP16.2 vs LAB

See also Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1906 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1906–1910 Members of the Australian Senate, 1907–1910

Notes

References