| Parliament name |
Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
House of Representatives
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 September 2013 |
| Purpose of elections |
The Liberal/National Coalition led by Mr. Tony Abbott was victorious in the 2013 elections, winning 90 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 17 of the 40 seats renewed in the Senate. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Australian Labor Party (ALP) took 55 seats in the House and 12 in the Senate. He conceded defeat and resigned as Prime Minister and ALP leader. On 17 September, Mr. Abbott was sworn in as Prime Minister by Governor-General Quentin Bryce.
During the election campaign, the Liberal/National Coalition pledged to abolish the mining and carbon taxes introduced by the ALP government in 2012, arguing that the high tax rates on carbon dioxide made the country's industry uncompetitive. Mr. Rudd, who had ousted the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard as ALP leader in late June 2013, said he would maintain the mining tax but replace the carbon tax by an emissions trading scheme. Both leaders proposed tougher policies on asylum seekers, proposing to redirect all people arriving by boat to Papua New Guinea. |
Date of previous elections: 21 August 2010
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: N/A
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: September 2016
Number of seats at stake: 40 (partial renewal)
Number of candidates: 529 (386 men, 143 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 27.03%
Number of parties contesting the election: 52
Number of parties winning seats: 11
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: 4
Names of parties in government: Liberal, Liberal National Party, The Nationals and Country Liberals (NT)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 7 July 2014
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Stephen Parry (Liberal Party) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 September 2013 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
14'722'754
13'822'161 (93.88%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Australian Labor Party (ALP) |
12
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal/Nationals |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Greens |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal National Party |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Palmer United Party |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Family First Party |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Country Liberal Party (CLP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Nick Xenophon Group |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
24
16
40.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Note on the distribution of seats according to political parties:
The Liberal/National Coalition comprised the Liberal Party, the Liberal National Party, the Nationals and the Country Liberals. These parties fielded candidates separately in the Senate elections.
Note on the distribution of seats according to sex:
- The "Distribution of seats according to sex" above shows the breakdown for senators elected in September 2013: 16 out of 40 senators were women, or 40%.
- The territory senators were sworn in on 12 November 2013, the first day of the newly elected Parliament.
- The distribution of seats above reflects the results of the Western Australian re-election, held on 5 April 2014. The number of seats held by the Palmer United Party increased from two to three, thereby depriving the Australian Sports Party of its sole seat in the Senate. The number of women elected remained unchanged.
- The terms of the state senators, elected in September 2013, commenced on 1 July 2014. Out of 76 senators, 29 were women.
The distribution of seats in the Senate as at 1 July 2014 was as follows:
- Coalition (Liberal, Nationals, CLP): 33 seats
- Australian Labor Party (ALP): 25 seats
- Greens: 10 seats
- Palmer United Party: 3 seats
- Nick Xenophon: 1 seat
- Democratic Labour Party: 1 seat
- Liberal Democratic Party: 1 seat
- Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party: 1 seat
- Family First: 1 seat
Sources:
Parliament (18.10.2013, 08.07.2014)
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Senators
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Senators/Senate_composition
http://vtr.aec.gov.au |
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