The 1979 Australian Capital Territory election was held on 2 June 1979 to elect all 18 members of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

, the main elected representative body of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

(ACT). This was the first election for the House after it had been renamed from Legislative Assembly. The election saw a swing of 15% towards the Labor Party, while the conservative Family Team won its first seat. The

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...

also contested for the first time, winning two seats.

Background

As preparations were still being made for the granting of self-government to the ACT, the House served a largely advisory role, with most powers over the ACT still lying in the hands of the relevant federal minister through the life of the Assembly. Nine members were elected by

single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

from each of the ACT's two federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

divisions, making 18 in total.

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

members who vacated mid-term were replaced by recounting their original votes to their next preferences to choose a runner-up. Members endorsed by a political party were replaced by a nominee of that party.

Results

Vote totals

Distribution of seats

References

{{Australian Capital Territory elections Elections in the Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory election Australian Capital Territory election