Chamber:
	House of Representatives
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	13 March 1993
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives and for 40 in the Senate on the normal expiry of the member’s term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The election date was set on 7 February 1993. In making the announcement, Prime Minister Paul Keating (Australian Labour Party – ALP) predicted that the poll would be fought primarily on economic issues. As usual, Mr. Keating – who had taken office in December 1991 after the eight-year stint of Mr. Bob Hawke – and his party were mainly challenged by the conservative Liberal Party – National Party coalition led by Mr. John Hewson, a Liberal. In the economic sphere, the latter centred its platform during the five-week campaign on a proposed goods and services tax (GST) – a 15% VAT to replace other taxes – as the cornerstone of a plan to reduce public spending and, among other things, alter health services; it also pointed to the country’s recession, marked especially by a high unemployment rate (11%) and foreign debt. Mr. Keating’s strategy involved criticising the GST and proposing tax cuts while at the same time widening the campaign to include non-economic questions, such as calling for a referendum on Australian republicanism in the coming decade. Following televised debates between the two leaders, exit polls predicted a close outcome, with some possibility of a change in power. There were altogether 942 candidates for the 147 Representatives’ seats and 266 for the 40 at stake in the Senate. Voting results confounded the experts, as the ALP swept to victory for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time, even increasing its absolute House majority although failing to raise its edge in the Senate. To a great extent, analysts attributed this triumph to Mr. Keating’s charisma as well as to the unpopularity of the GST. The new Cabinet was sworn in on 24 March.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (13 March 1993): Elections results
Number of registered electors	11,348,967
Voters	10,856,131 (95.65%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	324,079
Valid votes	10,576,777

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Australian Labour Party	147	4,751,389	44.92
Liberal Party of Australia	139	3,888,578	36.77
National Party	46	758,036	7.17
Independents and Others	477	746,507	7.06

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Australian Labour Party	80	+2
Liberal Party of Australia	49	-6
National Party	16	+2
Independents and Others	2	+1

Comments:
	Total reduced by one seat since previous elections.

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	135
Women:	12

Distribution of seats according to age:
Under 30 years	1
30-34 years	2
35-39 years	22
40-44 years	24
45-49 years	35
50-54 years	28
55-59 years	23
60-64 years	10
65-69 years	2
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Advisors, consultants, agents, research officers	30
Local government officials	36
Business managers, company directors, retailers, wholesalers	25
Legal profession	25
Primary producers	23
Teachers	20
Union officials	19
Members of State Parliaments	18
Lecturers, tutors, etc.	13
Public servants	11
Tradesmen, labourers	7
Training, personnel or education officers	4
Engineers	6
Media (excluding journalists)	3
Medicine	2
Association officials	4
University administration	3
Armed services	3
Diplomats	3
Accountants	1
Secretarial duties	1
Others	4

Comments:
	Some Members list more than one occupation, leading to occupation totals higher than actual membership in each House of Parliament.