1949 Australian federal election

← 1946 10 December 1949 1951 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 123[a] seats of theHouse of Representatives 61 seats were needed for a majority in the House 42 (of the 60) seats of theSenate
Opinion polls
Registered	4,895,227 3.28%
Turnout	4,697,800 (95.97%) (2.00pp)
First party Second party   Leader Robert Menzies Ben Chifley Party Liberal–Country Coalition Labor Leader since 21 February 1945 13 July 1945 Leader's seat Kooyong (Vic.) Macquarie (NSW) Last election 26 seats 43 seats Seats won 74 47 +NT Seat change 48 4 Popular vote 2,314,143 2,117,088 Percentage 50.26% 45.98% Swing 6.61 3.73 TPP 51.00% 49.00% TPP swing 5.10 5.10
Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.
Prime Minister before election Ben Chifley Labor Subsequent Prime Minister Robert Menzies Liberal–Country Coalition

The1949 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 10 December, 1949. All 121 seats in theHouse of Representatives and 42 of the 60 seats in theSenate were up for election. The incumbentLabor Party, led by Prime MinisterBen Chifley, was defeated by the oppositionLiberal–Country coalition underRobert Menzies in alandslide. Menzies became prime minister for a second time, his first period having ended in 1941. This election marked the end of the 8-year Curtin-Chifley Labor government that had been in power since 1941 and started the 23-yearLiberal–Country Coalition government. This was the first time the Liberal party won government at the federal level.

The number of MPs in both houses had been increased at the election, andsingle transferable vote under aproportional voting system had been introduced in the Senate. Though Labor lost government, Labor retained a Senate majority at the election. However, this ended at the1951 election. With the Senate changes in place, Labor has not held a Senate majority since.

Future Prime MinistersWilliam McMahon andJohn Gorton both entered parliament at this election.

The election hinged on the policies of the Federal Labor government, especially banknationalisation. Prime Minister Chifley intended to bring all of the banks under Government control, a socialist policy which the Coalition argued was not in the country's interest. The Coalition promised to end unpopularwartime rationing. The election took place against the background of the1949 Australian coal strike, the developingCold War and growing fears of communism.

Robert Menzies broke new ground in using the radio as his primary method of reaching voters.^[1]

As of this election,single transferable vote withproportional representation became the method for electing the Senate. This was to try to prevent the Senate from being dominated by one party, which had often occurred previously. For example, coming into this election the ALP held 33 of the 36 Senate seats, whilst theNationalist Party at the1919 election held 35 of the 36 Senate seats. In addition, theHouse of Representatives was enlarged from 74 to 121 seats and theSenate from 36 to 60 members. All 121 lower house seats, and 42 of the 60 upper house seats, were up for election.

House of Reps (IRV) — 1949–51—Turnout 95.97% (CV) — Informal 1.99%

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal–Country coalition		2,314,143	50.26	+6.61	74	+45
		Liberal	1,813,794	39.39	+6.44	55	+37
		Country	500,349	10.87	+0.17	19	+8
	Labor		2,117,088	45.98	–3.73	48[c]	+4
	Communist		40,941	0.89	–0.60	0	0
	Labor (Non-Communist)		32,870	0.71	–0.88	0	–1
	Independents		99,368	2.16	+0.34	1[d]	–1
	Total		4,604,410			123	+48
Two-party-preferred(estimated)
	Liberal–Country coalition		Win	51.00	+5.10	74	+45
	Labor			49.00	−5.10	47	+4

Senate (STV) — 1949–51—Turnout 95.97% (CV) — Informal 10.76%

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Seats held	Change
	Liberal–Country coalition		2,113,447	50.41	+7.08	23	26	+23
		Liberal–Country joint ticket	1,871,849	44.65	+6.53	16	N/A	N/A
		Liberal	241,598	5.76	+0.55	7	21	+19
		Country	N/A	N/A	N/A	0	5	+4
	Labor		1,881,956	44.89	–7.17	19	34	+1
	Communist		87,958	2.10	+2.10	0	0	0
	Protestant People's		37,441	0.89	–2.13	0	0	0
	Independents / ungrouped		71,723	1.71	+1.03	0	0	0
	Total		4,192,525			42	60	+24

• Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

In this election, the Chifley government was defeated, ending the, then, longest period of Labor federal government in Australian history up to that date (1941–49). Labor would not return to office until1972. Robert Menzies became Prime Minister for the second time. (Menzies headed the United Australia party the first time he held the office.)

The 1949 election was the first time the Liberal Party of Australia won government federally, and marked the beginning of a long reign in power, stretching from 1949 until 1972.

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1949
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1949–1951
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1950–1951

• "Commonwealth Parliament, House of Representatives election 1949".University of Western Australia Australian Politics and Elections Database. Retrieved13 October 2010.
• University of WAArchived 18 January 2015 at theWayback Machine election results in Australia since 1890
• Adam Carr's Election Archive - Senate 1949
• AEC 2PP vote
• Two-party-preferred vote since 1940

• Federal elections in Australia
• 1949 elections in Australia
• December 1949 in Australia

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