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All 94 seats in theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly 48 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Two-candidate-preferred margin by electorate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1953 New South Wales state election was held on 14 February 1953. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsorypreferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1952 redistribution.[1] The election was for all of the 94 seats in theLegislative Assembly.
In February 1953, the ALP had been in power for 12 years andJames McGirr, who had led the party to a near defeat in1950, had lost the premiership toJoe Cahill 10 months earlier. McGirr's period as the Labor leader had been marked by policy indecisiveness, budget overspending and internal conflict. Cahill, by contrast, had won popular support as a vigorous and impressive minister who had resolved problems with New South Wales' electricity supply. During his first 10 months as premier, he had reinvigorated the party. He appeared decisive and brought order to the government's chaotic public works program. In addition, he astutely attacked the increasingly unpopular federal Coalition government ofRobert Menzies.[2]
By contrast, theLiberal Party andCountry Party coalition led byVernon Treatt andMichael Bruxner was racked with internal divisions. Treatt himself, despite having been opposition leader for seven years, remained little known to the public. Whereas in 1950 his coalition had achieved a big swing against the ALP, in 1953 he was unable to convince voters that he possessed a coherent alternative policy to the government.[2]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 January 1953 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by theGovernor to proceed with an election. |
| 19 January 1953 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
| 14 February 1953 | Polling day. |
| 23 February 1953 | Second Cahill ministry sworn in |
| 14 March 1953 | Last day for the writs to be returned and the results formally declared. |
| 11 March 1953 | Opening of 37th Parliament. |
The result of the election was a landslide victory for Labor. Labor's vote was particularly strong in the Western and Southern suburbs of Sydney. It won the seats ofConcord,Coogee,Drummoyne,Kogarah,Parramatta,Ryde andSutherland from the Liberal Party and picked up the new suburban seats ofEast Hills andFairfield. Labor's vote was resurgent in rural New South Wales where it won the seats ofArmidale,Dubbo andMudgee from the Country party. Labor also picked up the seat ofNorth Sydney from Independent memberJames Geraghty who was the last of the 4 Independent members of parliament who had been expelled from the Labor party for disloyalty during an indirect election of theLegislative Council in 1949.John Seiffert, another rebel from 1949 and the member forMonaro, had been readmitted to the party in 1950 and retained the seat at this election, giving a further boost to Labor's numbers. Labor's losses includedAshfield which had been won from the Liberal Party at the1952 by-election andHartley which was retained byJim Chalmers who stood as an Independent Labor candidate after he resigned from the party over a pre-selection dispute. The Minister for Labour, Industry and Social Welfare,Frank Finnan was unseated when his electorate ofDarlinghurst was abolished,[1] he lost a preselection contest forConcord,[3] and he failed in an attempt to winAlbury.
New South Wales state election, 14 February 1953 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrolled voters | 1,953,953[a] | |||||
| Votes cast | 1,548,877 | Turnout | 93.86 | +1.11 | ||
| Informal votes | 39,416 | Informal | 2.48 | +0.71 | ||
| Summary of votes by party | ||||||
| Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| Labor | 852,276 | 55.03 | +8.28 | 57 | +11 | |
| Liberal | 432,739 | 27.94 | −9.57 | 22 | −7 | |
| Country | 179,680 | 11.60 | +2.63 | 14 | −3 | |
| Independent | 38,822 | 2.51 | +0.20 | 0 | − | |
| Communist | 21,421 | 1.38 | +0.54 | 0 | − | |
| Independent Labor | 16,533 | 1.07 | −0.58 | 1 | − 1 | |
| Lang Labor | 7,046 | 0.48 | −0.74 | 0 | − | |
| Total | 1,588,293 | 94 | ||||
Joe Cahill's triumph at this election ensured that he remained premier during the course of the parliament. Treatt faced increasing opposition within the Liberal Party and was replaced asLeader of the Opposition byMurray Robson in August 1954. Bruxner continued as the Leader of the Country Party, a position he had held since 1932. During the parliament there were 7by-elections with no change of party representation except forKahibah where an Independent Labor candidateTom Armstrong defeated the endorsed Labor candidate.
