An election was held on 21 November 1970 for 32 of the 60 seats in the Australian Senate. It is the most recent occasion on which a Senate election has been held without an accompanying election for the House of Representatives.
The election cycle for each house of the federal parliament had been out of synchronisation since prime minister Robert Menzies called the 1963 election for the House of Representatives a year ahead of schedule.
Key dates Date Event 16 October 1970 Writs were issued by the respective State Governors to proceed with an election.* 29 October 1970 Close of nominations, at 12pm. 21 November 1970 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. 17 December 1970 Declaration of the poll for South Australia. 7 January 1971 Return of the writs.
Results
The governing Coalition and the opposition Australian Labor Party won 13 and 14 seats respectively, giving them a total of 26 seats each. The Democratic Labor Party increased its Senate representation by one, and two new independents won seats.
+ Senate (STV) — 1970–74—Turnout 93.98% (CV) — Informal 9.41% Party Votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change Labor 2,376,215 42.22 –2.81 14 26 –1 Liberal–Country coalition (total) 2,149,023 38.18 –4.59 13 26 –2 Liberal–Country joint ticket 1,098,134 19.51 4 * * Liberal 991,473 17.61 +9.47 8 21 0 Country 59,416 1.06 +0.24 1 5 –2 Democratic Labor 625,142 11.11 +1.34 3 5 +1 Australia 163,343 2.90 +2.90 0 0 0 Better Education Committee 59,813 1.06 +1.06 0 0 0 Democratic 52,799 0.94 +0.94 0 0 0 Pensioner Power 28,983 0.51 +0.51 0 0 0 Defence of Government Schools 27,796 0.49 +0.49 0 0 0 National Socialist 24,017 0.43 +0.43 0 0 0 Conservative Immigration Movement 4,864 0.08 +0.08 0 0 0 Independent 116,838 2.07 +0.37 2 3 +2 Total 5,628,833 32 60 Notes In New South Wales and Queensland, the coalition parties ran a joint ticket. Of the four senators elected on a joint ticket, three were members of the Liberal Party and one was a member of the Country Party. In Western Australia, the coalition parties ran on separate tickets. In South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria, only the Liberal Party ran a ticket. Two independents were elected – Michael Townley of Tasmania and Syd Negus of Western Australia. This brought the total number of independents in the Senate to three, the other being Reg Turnbull of Tasmania.Parliamentary Handbook – Members of the Senate since 1901
See also Candidates of the Australian Senate election, 1970 Members of the Australian Senate, 1971–1974
References
External links University of WA election results in Australia since 1890 Adam Carr's Election Archive - Senate 1970