1934 Australian federal election

The 1934 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons formed a minority government, with 33 out of 74 seats in the House.

1934 Australian federal election

← 1931 15 September 1934 1937 →

All 75[b] seats of the Australian House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
18 (of the 36) seats of the Australian Senate
Registered3,902,677 Increase6.92%
Turnout3,677,723 (95.17%)[a]
(Increase0.13 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Joseph Lyons James Scullin
Party United Australia Labor
Leader since 7 May 1931 26 April 1928
Leader's seat Wilmot (Tas.) Yarra (Vic.)
Last election 39 seats 14 seats
Seats won 33 18
Seat change Decrease6 Increase4
Percentage 32.97% 26.81%
Swing Decrease3.13% Decrease0.28%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Earle Page Jack Lang
Party Country Lang Labor
Leader since 5 April 1921 31 July 1923
Leader's seat Cowper (NSW) Did not run
Last election 16 seats 4 seats
Seats won 14 9
Seat change Decrease2 Increase5
Percentage 12.61% 14.37%
Swing Increase0.36% Increase3.80%

  Fifth party
 
IND
Leader N/A
Party Independents
Leader since N/A
Leader's seat N/A
Last election 2 seats
Seats won 1 seats
Seat change Decrease 1
Popular vote 107,335
Percentage 3.02%
Swing Decrease −5.17

Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.

Prime Minister before election

Joseph Lyons
United Australia

Subsequent Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons
United Australia

The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) led by James Scullin saw its share of the primary vote fall to an even lower number than in the 1931 election, due to the Lang Labor split. However, it was able to pick up an extra four seats on preferences and therefore improve on its position.

Almost two months after the election, the UAP entered into a coalition with the Country Party, led by Earle Page.

Future Prime Ministers Robert Menzies and John McEwen both entered parliament at this election.

Results

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House of Representatives

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House of Reps[1] (IRV) — 1934–37—Turnout 95.17% (CV) — Informal 3.44%
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  United Australia Party 1,287,963 36.25 −5.53 32 −6
  Australian Labor Party 953,101 26.82 −0.20 18 +2
  Australian Labor Party (NSW) 510,480 14.37 +3.83 9 +5
  Country Party 480,279 13.52 +1.31 15 −1
  Social Credit Party 166,589 4.69 +4.69 0 0
  Communist Party of Australia 47,499 1.34 +1.08 0 0
  Independents 107,335 3.02 −5.17 1[c] −1
  Total 3,553,246     75 −1

The member for Northern Territory, Adair Blain (independent), had voting rights only for issues affecting the Territory, and so is not included in this table.

Popular vote
United Australia
36.25%
Labor
26.82%
Labor (NSW)
14.37%
Country
13.52%
Social Credit
4.69%
Independent
3.02%
Communist
1.34%
Parliament seats
United Australia
42.67%
Labor
24.00%
Country
20.00%
Labor (NSW)
12.00%
Independent
1.33%

Senate

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Senate (P BV) — 1934–37—Turnout 95.03% (CV) — Informal 11.35%
 
Party Votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change
  Australian Labor Party 923,151 28.08 −1.18 0 3 −7
  United Australia Party 679,422 20.66 −4.59 10 26 +5
  UAP/Country (Joint Ticket) 599,723 18.24 −11.92 6
  Country Party 470,283 14.30 * 2 7 +2
  Australian Labor Party (NSW) 435,045 13.23 +1.12 0 0 0
  Social Credit Party 91,596 2.79 * 0 0 0
  Communist Party of Australia 73,506 2.24 +1.30 0 0 0
  Independents 15,105 0.46 −1.81 0 0 0
  Total 3,287,831     18 36

Seats changing hands

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Seat Pre-1934 Swing Post-1934
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Barker, SA   United Australia Malcolm Cameron N/A 6.4 18.7 Archie Cameron Country  
Bass, Tas   United Australia Allan Guy 14.5 14.8 0.3 Claude Barnard Labor  
Batman, Vic   United Australia Samuel Dennis 14.5 14.8 0.3 Frank Brennan Labor  
Corangamite, Vic   Country William Gibson N/A 7.2 15.7 Geoffrey Street United Australia  
Darling, NSW   Labor Arthur Blakeley N/A 63.5 13.5 Joe Clark Labor (NSW)  
Denison, Tas   United Australia Arthur Hutchin 5.0 5.3 0.3 Gerald Mahoney Labor  
Franklin, Tas   United Australia Archibald Blacklow 13.0 15.4 2.4 Charles Frost Labor  
Fremantle, WA   United Australia William Watson 5.5 6.6 1.1 John Curtin Labor  
Maribyrnong, Vic   United Australia James Fenton 0.4 7.1 6.7 Arthur Drakeford Labor  
Northern Territory, NT   Labor H. G. Nelson N/A 7.5 1.8 Adair Blain Independent  
Werriwa, NSW   Country Walter McNicoll 1.7 3.2 2.5 Bert Lazzarini Labor (NSW)  
  • Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Turnout in contested seats
  2. ^ The Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.
  3. ^ Including Northern Territory

References

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  1. ^ Barber, Stephen (31 March 2017). "Federal election results 1901–2016" (PDF). Parliamentary Library. p. 29.
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