The 1925 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 14 November 1925. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 22 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist–Country coalition, led by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, defeated the opposition Labor Party led by Matthew Charlton in a landslide. This was the first time any party had won a fourth consecutive federal election.

Compulsory voting for federal elections was introduced in 1924 and first used in the 1925 elections, where 91.4% of the electorate cast a vote, compared to 59.4% at the 1922 elections.

Background

Anti-Labor electoral pact In 1924, Bruce and Page formulated an electoral pact between the Nationalist Party and Country Party, whereby each party agreed not to oppose incumbent candidates from the other party and to co-operate to choose the strongest candidate in seats held by the ALP. Both parties agreed to accept the pact, although only after both Bruce and Page made clear they would resign as party leaders if the pact was rejected. The pact proved particularly controversial within the Country Party, with cabinet minister Percy Stewart resigning in protest and some members of the organisational wing seeing it as an attack on the party's independence.

Introduction of compulsory voting The 1925 federal election was the first at which compulsory voting applied, following the passage of a private senator's bill introduced by Herbert Payne in 1924. Both the government and opposition supported Payne's bill, which had been introduced in response to a substantial decrease in voter turnout at the 1922 election.

Campaign issues

The government made industrial relations and law and order central issues in the election campaign, largely in response to industrial unrest in the maritime industry. In June 1925, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration had deregistered the Seamen's Union of Australia, in response to what it viewed as illegal industrial action that had disrupted Australia's trade-reliant economy. The union subsequently called a seven-week strike. In response, the government rapidly passed the Immigration Act 1925 and Navigation Act 1925, allowing it to deport foreign-born union leaders and to use foreign seamen as strikebreakers.

Bruce and the Nationalists also made Red Scare tactics a key part of their campaign for the first time, attributing the strikes to "militant union leaders intent on spreading revolutionary, Bolshevik or communist ideas" rather than merely workers intent on improving their employment campaigns. He presented the government as a bulwark against communism and appealed in campaign speeches to the "men and women of moderate sane views", promising a "moderate, sensible, middle way" in response to what he saw as the ALP's political extremism.

Both Bruce and opposition leader Matthew Charlton reaffirmed their support for the White Australia policy during the election campaign. Bruce stated that "we intend to keep this country white and not allow its people to be faced with the problems that at present are practically insoluble in many parts of the world". Charlton called for "the development of our race in body, in mind and social status" and pledged "a continuance of the present embargo against the introduction of black grown sugar in Australia" to protect the status of Australia as "the only country in the world where cane sugar is produced by white labour".

Results

For the first time since the inaugural federal election in 1901, no female candidates stood for either house of parliament. House of Representatives

+ House of Reps (IRV) – 1925–28 – Turnout 91.39% (CV) – Informal 2.36% Party First preference Votes % Swing Seats Change   Nationalist–Country coalition 1,551,760 53.20 +5.41 51 +11  Nationalist 1,238,397 42.46 +7.23 37 +11  Country 313,363 10.74 –1.82 13 –1   Labor 1,313,627 45.04 +2.74 24 –6   Independents 51,251 1.76 –2.80 2 +1  Total 2,916,638     76 Two-party-preferred   Nationalist–Country coalitionWin 53.80 +2.60 51 +11   Labor 46.20 −2.60 23 –6

Notes Independents: Percy Stewart (Wimmera, Vic.), William Watson (Fremantle, WA). Labor lost Kennedy, Qld., when the sitting member Charles McDonald died on the day before the election, leading to his opponent Grosvenor Francis being declared elected unopposed.

Senate

+ Senate (P BV) – 1925–28 – Turnout 91.31% (CV) – Informal 6.96% Party First preference votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change   Nationalist–Country coalition 1,537,282 54.81 N/A 22 28 N/A   Nationalist 1,272,127 45.35 +9.12 18 24 0   Country 265,155 9.45 –3.53 4 4 +4   Labor 1,262,912 45.02 –0.67 0 8 –4   Independents 4,808 0.17 –1.87 0 0 0   Total 2,805,002     22 36

Seats changing hands

Seat Pre-1925 Swing Post-1925 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Angas, SA  Labor Moses Gabb 8.0 8.3 0.3 Walter Parsons Nationalist  Barton, NSW  Labor Frederick McDonald 7.6 8.6 1.0 Thomas Ley Nationalist  Darwin, Tas  Country Joshua Whitsitt 0.4 10.9 10.5* George Bell Nationalist  Denison, Tas  Labor David O'Keefe 0.4 2.6 2.2 John Gellibrand Nationalist  Gwydir, NSW  Labor Lou Cunningham 0.1 3.2 3.1 Aubrey Abbott Country  Kennedy, Qld  Labor Charles McDonald N/A 100.0 100.0 Grosvenor Francis Nationalist  Wannon, Vic  Labor John McNeill 0.8 4.8 4.0 Arthur Rodgers Nationalist  Wimmera, Vic  Country Percy Stewart 21.2 77.8 27.8 Percy Stewart Independent  Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election. *Figure is Nationalist versus Labor.

Post-election pendulum

Government seatsNationalist/Country coalitionMarginalAngas (SA)Walter ParsonsNAT0.3Herbert (Qld)Lewis NottNAT0.3Barton (NSW)Thomas LeyNAT1.0Macquarie (NSW)Arthur ManningNAT1.3Denison (Tas)John GellibrandNAT2.2Maranoa (Qld)James HunterCP2.6Gwydir (NSW)Aubrey AbbottCP3.1Bendigo (Vic)Geoffry HurryNAT3.5Wannon (Vic)Arthur RodgersNAT4.0Riverina (NSW)William KillenCP4.3Brisbane (Qld)Donald CameronNAT5.5Corangamite (Vic)William GibsonCP5.5Franklin (Tas)Alfred SeabrookNAT5.6Oxley (Qld)James BayleyNAT5.7Lang (NSW)Elliot JohnsonNAT5.9Fairly safeCorio (Vic)John ListerNAT6.7Indi (Vic)Robert CookCP6.7Wilmot (Tas)Llewellyn AtkinsonCP7.0Boothby (SA)Jack Duncan-HughesNAT7.6Bass (Tas)Syd JacksonNAT8.3New England (NSW)Victor ThompsonCP8.5Fawkner (Vic)George MaxwellNAT9.4Calare (NSW)Neville HowseNAT9.8SafeDarwin (Tas)George BellNAT10.5Forrest (WA)John ProwseCP10.9Henty (Vic)Henry GullettNAT10.9Barker (SA)Malcolm CameronNAT11.6Robertson (NSW)Sydney GardnerNAT12.6Flinders (Vic)Stanley BruceNAT12.7Parkes (NSW)Charles MarrNAT12.8Perth (WA)Edward MannNAT12.8Darling Downs (Qld)Littleton GroomNAT13.1Gippsland (Vic)Thomas PatersonCP13.1Moreton (Qld)Josiah FrancisNAT13.2Wentworth (NSW)Walter MarksNAT14.4Wide Bay (Qld)Edward CorserNAT14.5Eden-Monaro (NSW)Austin ChapmanNAT14.6Lilley (Qld)George MackayNAT14.7Martin (NSW)Herbert PrattenNAT14.8Wakefield (SA)Richard FosterNAT14.8Echuca (Vic)William HillCP15.3Parramatta (NSW)Eric BowdenNAT15.7Swan (WA)Henry GregoryCP16.2Kooyong (Vic)John LathamNAT17.7Richmond (NSW)Roland GreenCP17.7Balaclava (Vic)William WattNAT19.7Very safeCowper (NSW)Earle PageCP20.0North Sydney (NSW)Billy HughesNAT21.5Warringah (NSW)Granville RyrieNAT30.1Kennedy (Qld)Grosvenor FrancisNATUnopposed Non-government seatsAustralian Labor PartyMarginalAdelaide (SA)George Edwin YatesALP0.9South Sydney (NSW)Edward RileyALP1.1Ballaarat (Vic)Charles McGrathALP1.3Capricornia (Qld)Frank FordeALP1.9Hume (NSW)Parker MoloneyALP2.0Grey (SA)Andrew LaceyALP2.6Werriwa (NSW)Bert LazzariniALP3.7East Sydney (NSW)John WestALP3.8Reid (NSW)Percy ColemanALP4.7Fairly safeKalgoorlie (WA)Albert GreenALP7.6Batman (Vic)Frank BrennanALP9.0Maribyrnong (Vic)James FentonALP9.5SafeNorthern Territory (NT)Harold NelsonALP12.4Bourke (Vic)Frank AnsteyALP12.5Newcastle (NSW)David WatkinsALP12.5Dalley (NSW)William MahonyALP14.1Hindmarsh (SA)Norman MakinALP15.2Darling (NSW)Arthur BlakeleyALP15.5Melbourne (Vic)William MaloneyALP17.0Melbourne Ports (Vic)James MathewsALP17.7Cook (NSW)Edward Charles RileyALP17.8Very safeHunter (NSW)Matthew CharltonALP21.3West Sydney (NSW)William LambertALP24.0Yarra (Vic)James ScullinALP24.8IndependentsFremantle (WA)William WatsonIND8.1 v ALPWimmera (Vic)Percy StewartIND27.8 v IND

See also Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1925 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1925–1928 Members of the Australian Senate, 1926–1929

Notes

References

External links University of WA election results in Australia since 1890 Two-party-preferred vote since 1919 Compulsory Voting in Australia