The 2016 Australian federal election in the Senate was part of a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double dissolution election since the 1987 election and the first under a new voting system for the Senate that replaced group voting tickets with optional preferential voting.
The final outcome in the 76-seat Australian Senate took over four weeks to complete despite significant voting changes. Earlier in 2016, legislation changed the Senate voting system from a full-preference single transferable vote with group voting tickets to an optional-preferential single transferable vote. The final Senate result was announced on 4 August: Liberal/National Coalition 30 seats (−3), Labor 26 seats (+1), Greens 9 seats (−1), One Nation 4 seats (+4) and Nick Xenophon Team 3 seats (+2). Former broadcaster and founder of the Justice Party Derryn Hinch, won a seat, while Jacqui Lambie, Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm and Family First's Bob Day retained their seats. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition will require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three.
A number of initially elected senators were declared ineligible a result of the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, and replaced after recounts.
Terms of senators
The two major parties negotiated to allocate a six-year term to the first elected six of twelve senators in each state, while the last six received a three-year term. This was consistent with the Senate practice on all seven previous occasions. In 1983 the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform had unanimously recommended an alternative "recount" method to reflect proportional representation, and the Commonwealth Electoral Act provides for a recount on that basis. Re-count of Senate votes to determine order of election in other circumstances. This recount method had been supported by both Labor and the Coalition in two separate, identical, bipartisan senate resolutions, passed in 1998 and 2010. By not using the recount method, Labor and the Coalition each gained one senate seat from 2019 to 2022.Senate terms: Derryn Hinch and Greens' Lee Rhiannon given three years - The Guardian 12 August 2016ALP-LNP deal to force senators back to poll in three years: The Australian 13 August 2016Coalition and Labor team up to clear out crossbench senators in 2019: SMH 12 August 2016Cormann raises ‘first elected’ plan to halve Senate terms for crossbenchers: The Australian 12 December 2016
Australia The final Senate result was announced on 4 August. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government won 30 seats, a net loss of three − the Coalition lost four Senators, one each from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but gained a Senator in Victoria. The Labor opposition won 26 seats, a gain of one − a Senator in Western Australia. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition would require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three. +Senate (STV OPV) – Turnout 91.93% (CV) – Informal 3.94% Party Votes % Swing Seats won Change Liberal–National Coalition 4,868,246 35.18 –1.32 30 3 / joint ticket 2,769,426 20.01 −1.16 10 1,066,579 7.71 +0.77 14 2 960,467 6.94 −1.16 5 1 37,156 0.27 −0.05 1 National (WA) 34,618 0.25 −0.06 0 4,123,084 29.79 +0.16 26 1 1,197,657 8.65 −0.58 9 1 593,013 4.29 +3.76 4 4 Xenophon Team 456,369 3.30 +1.37 3 2 298,915 2.16 –1.59 1 266,607 1.93 +1.93 1 1 191,112 1.38 +0.26 1 94,510 0.68 –0.18 0 1 Lambie Network 69,074 0.50 +0.50 1 1 53,232 0.38 –0.12 0 1 Palmer United 26,210 0.19 –5.42 0 3 Total 13,838,900 76 Invalid/blank votes 567,806 3.94 +1.01 Registered voters/turnout 15,671,551 91.93 –1.52 Source: Federal Election 2016
New South Wales # Senator Party 1 Marise Payne Liberal 2 Sam Dastyari Labor 3 Arthur Sinodinos Liberal 4 Jenny McAllister Labor 5 Fiona Nash Nationals 6 Deborah O'Neill Labor 7 Concetta Fierravanti-Wells Liberal 8 Doug Cameron Labor 9 Lee Rhiannon Greens 10 John Williams Nationals 11 Brian Burston One Nation 12 David Leyonhjelm LDP
Victoria
# Senator Party 1 Mitch Fifield Liberal 2 Kim Carr Labor 3 Richard Di Natale Greens 4 Bridget McKenzie National 5 Stephen Conroy Labor 6 Scott Ryan Liberal 7 Jacinta Collins Labor 8 James Paterson Liberal 9 Gavin Marshall Labor 10 Derryn Hinch Justice 11 Janet Rice Greens 12 Jane Hume Liberal
Queensland # Senator Party 1 George Brandis LNP 2 Murray Watt Labor 3 Pauline Hanson One Nation 4 Matt Canavan LNP 5 Anthony Chisholm Labor 6 James McGrath LNP 7 Claire Moore Labor 8 Ian Macdonald LNP 9 Larissa Waters Greens 10 Barry O'Sullivan LNP 11 Chris Ketter Labor 12 Malcolm Roberts One Nation
Western Australia # Senator Party 1 Mathias Cormann Liberal 2 Sue Lines Labor 3 Scott Ludlam Greens 4 Michaelia Cash Liberal 5 Glenn Sterle Labor 6 Dean Smith Liberal 7 Pat Dodson Labor 8 Linda Reynolds Liberal 9 Chris Back Liberal 10 Louise Pratt Labor 11 Rod Culleton One Nation 12 Rachel Siewert Greens
South Australia # Senator Party 1 Simon Birmingham Liberal 2 Penny Wong Labor 3 Nick Xenophon NXT 4 Cory Bernardi Liberal 5 Don Farrell Labor 6 Stirling Griff NXT 7 Anne Ruston Liberal 8 Alex Gallacher Labor 9 David Fawcett Liberal 10 Skye Kakoschke-Moore NXT 11 Sarah Hanson-Young Greens 12 Bob Day FFP
Tasmania # Senator Party 1 Eric Abetz Liberal 2 Anne Urquhart Labor 3 Peter Whish-Wilson Greens 4 Jacqui Lambie Lambie 5 Stephen Parry Liberal 6 Helen Polley Labor 7 Jonathon Duniam Liberal 8 Carol Brown Labor 9 David Bushby Liberal 10 Lisa Singh Labor 11 Catryna Bilyk Labor 12 Nick McKim Greens
Territories Australian Capital Territory # Senator Party 1 Katy Gallagher Labor 2 Zed Seselja Liberal
Northern Territory # Senator Party 1 Malarndirri McCarthy Labor 2 Nigel Scullion CLP
Notes
References