1974 Queensland state election

1974 Queensland state election

← 1972 7 December 1974 (1974-12-07) 1977 →

All 82 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
42 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Turnout89.42 (Decrease 2.99 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Joh Bjelke-Petersen Perc Tucker
Party Country–Liberal Coalition Labor
Leader since 8 August 1968 1 July 1974 (1974-07-01)
Leader's seat Barambah Townsville West
(lost seat)
Last election 47 seats, 42.23% 33 seats, 46.75%
Seats won 69 11
Seat change Increase 22 Decrease 22
Popular vote 615,770 376,187
Percentage 58.97% 36.03%
Swing Increase 16.75 Decrease 10.72

Premier before election

Joh Bjelke-Petersen
National/Liberal coalition

Elected Premier

Joh Bjelke-Petersen
National/Liberal coalition

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 7 December 1974[1] to elect the 82 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.[1]

The National-Liberal Coalition won a third consecutive victory under Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and the seventh consecutive victory for the National Party in Queensland, which had renamed itself from the Country Party since the previous election. The Labor Party lost two-thirds of its seats, including that of leader Perc Tucker, its worst showing in an election until 2012 and thus a landslide victory for the Coalition.

Labor was reduced to only 11 seats, leading observers to call Labor's caucus a "cricket team." William Bowe of Crikey wrote that for years, the election stood as "the gold standard for Australian election massacres".[2]

  1. ^ a b "Parliament of Queensland, Legislative Assembly election results for 7 December 1974". Australian Politics and Elections Archive 1856-2018. University of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. ^ Bowe, William (26 March 2012). "The hole where Queensland Labor used to be". Crikey. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2020.