Chamber:
	House of Representatives
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	2 March 1996
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 26 January 1996, Prime Minister Paul Keating (Australian Labour Party - ALP) called the general elections for 2 March; the House of Representatives was dissolved three days later. At the close of nominations on 9 February, 1163 candidates (908 for the House, 255 for the Senate) were put forward. Campaign oratory focused on economic management and trade union relations as well as foreign policy. The outgoing Government pointed to its economic record, reforms in this field, and its push to establish ties with the dynamic economies of Asia. The main opposition Liberal/National coalition countered by underlining the country's large and growing foreign debt, youth unemployment and the need for a change and fresh policies after 13 years of Labour Government. In two televised debates with opposition leader John Howard, Mr. Keating failed to land the "killer blow", observers felt. The pre-election polls that favoured the conservative coalition were proved right on voting day, as the Liberal/National alliance swept to a landslide victory and the biggest House majority in years. Labour - which counted eight outgoing Ministers among its unsuccessful candidates - was thus denied an unprecedented sixth successive term and Mr. Keating resigned as party leader. Of the 40 Senate seats at stake, half went to the Liberal/National coalition. In his victory speech, Mr. Howard (Liberal Party) committed himself to uniting the Australian people and strengthening bilateral relations in foreign policy. His new Cabinet was sworn in on 11 March.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (2 March 1996): Elections results
Number of registered electors	11,655,190
Voters	11,244,027 (96.47%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	360,165
Valid votes	10,883,862

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Liberal Party	132	4,210,699	38.7
Australian Labour Party	148	4,217,765	38.8
National Party	31	893,170	8.2
Country Liberal Party	1	38,302	0.4
Australian Democrats	144	735,848	6.8
Greens	106	314,594	2.9
Others	346	473,484	4.4

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Liberal Party	75
Australian Labour Party	49
National Party	18
Country Liberal Party	1
Australian Democrats	0
Greens	0
Others	5

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	125
Women:	23