The 1989 Australian Capital Territory election was held on 4 March 1989 to elect the 1st

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly, is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building, Canberra, Leg ...

. This was the first direct election by voters in 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) for their power legislative body. The Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, led by Trevor Kaine, were the main challengers. Candidates were elected to fill seats using

modified d'Hondt electoral system Modified may refer to: * ''Modified'' (album), the second full-length album by Save Ferris *Modified racing, or "Modifieds", an American automobile racing genre See also * Modification (disambiguation) Modification may refer to: * Modification ...

for a multi-member single (at-large) constituency. The result was a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...

. However, Labor, with the largest representation in the 17-member

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

Assembly, formed Government with the support of various non-aligned minor parties. Follett was elected the first

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

at the first sitting of the first Assembly on 11 May 1989.

Key dates

* Party Register opened for Parliamentary Parties: 7 December 1988 * Party Register opened for non-Parliamentary Parties: 6 January 1989 * Party Register closed: 26 January 1989 * Pre-election period commenced/nominations opened: 27 January 1989 *

Rolls Rolls may refer to: People * Charles Rolls (engraver) (1799–1885), engraver * Charles Rolls (1877–1910), Welsh motoring and aviation pioneer, co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited * John Etherington Welch Rolls (1807–1870), British jurist and art ...

closed: 3 February 1989 * Nominations closed: 10 February 1989 * Polling day: 4 March 1989 * Poll declared: 8 May 1989 * Legislative Assembly formed: 11 May 1989

Overview

Background to self-government in the ACT

The Australian Capital Territory was established in 1911, initially called the Federal Capital Territory. The Territory was carved out of the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to make way for the site of the capital of Australia. As the Territory grew, particularly the city of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

from the 1960s, there were increasing calls for some form of self-government. There were a number of appointed and elected advisory bodies between 1920 and 1986. The main elected representative body of the ACT was the

Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly The Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly was the main elected representative body of the Australian Capital Territory between 1975 and 1986, during which time preparation began for the granting of self-government to the Territory. The ...

that sat from 1975 to 1986. This House served primarily as an advisory body, with most legislative powers managed by the Federal Minister for the Territories, under section 122 of the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

. In an advisory referendum held in 1978, voters in the ACT rejected a proposal for self-government, with 63% voting in favour of the proposition that the 'present arrangements for governing the Australian capital should continue for the time being'. Thirty percent of voters favoured self-government with a locally elected body with state-like powers, and 6% voted for a locally elected body with powers and functions similar to those of local government. In spite of the referendum outcome, in 1983, the federal

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke set up a Self-Government Task Force to report on the government of the ACT. Further, it wanted to force the ACT into line with the states on funding levels and, in late 1988, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

passed the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act, allowing for the self-government of the ACT.

Political parties and election process

The Australian Capital Territory comprised one electorate for the election. However, electors were only able to cast ordinary votes within their own federal electoral seats of either

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

. The election was conducted by the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

, operating under Commonwealth legislation. The election was notable for having a ballot paper almost one-metre wide that listed 117 candidates for election representing 22 political parties. A number of parties ran in opposition to self-government and there was a number of people taking full advantage of some of the more ludicrous or ridiculous aspects of the ballot paper. The parties include the " Sun-Ripened Warm Tomato Party", "Party! Party! Party!" and "Surprise Party". The centre-left Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, and the centre-right

, led by Trevor Kaine, were the main challengers. Three minor parties also played a prominent role in the campaign including Residents Rally, a self described "community-based urban green party", led by Bernard Collaery, as well as two parties campaigning on platforms of opposing self-government.

Results

Aftermath

It took almost two months after election day to determine the results of the election. Four people won seats on ostensible platforms of abolishing self-government. The result was a

. First preference results of the major contenders at conclusion of the final count were: Labor Party – 22.8 per cent, Liberal – 14.9 per cent, No Self Government Party – 11.5 per cent, Residents Rally – 9.6 per cent, and

Abolish Self-Government Coalition The Abolish Self Government Coalition was a minor Australian Capital Territory Political parties in Australia, political party that experienced limited success in the early years of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It oppo ...

– 7.5 per cent. Other candidates and parties that polled well, but failed to achieve a quota included Fair Elections Coalition (5.5%), John Haslem (4.8%), The A.C.T. Community Party (4.1%), and Bill Mackay (4.0%). Following distribution of preferences, the membership of the first Assembly was one member from the Abolish Self-Government Coalition; five members from the Australian Labor Party; four members from the Liberal Party; three members from the No Self Government Party and four members from the Residents Rally. Labor, with the largest representation in the 17-member

Assembly, formed a minority Government. Follett was elected the first

at the first sitting of the first Assembly on 11 May 1989, sitting in rented premises at 1 Constitution Avenue, Canberra City. The final sitting of the first Assembly was on 17 December 1991.

Officeholders

The office holders of the first Assembly were: * Speaker: David Prowse (No Self Government Party) *

: Rosemary Follett (Labor) *

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

: Trevor Kaine (Liberal)

Candidates

At the inaugural election, candidates were elected to fill seats using a modified

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...

for a multi-member single constituency covering the entire Territory. Seventeen vacancies were available to fill the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly. Tickets that elected at least one MLA are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are indicated by an asterisk (*).

Abolished ACT House of Assembly candidates

With the ACT House of Assembly abolished in 1986, the following elected representatives from the previous House nominated as candidates for election to the inaugural ACT Legislative Assembly:

Labor

Barry Reid Barry John Reid (22 May 1935 – 2003) was an Australian politician. Reid was a Labor member of the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly for Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands A ...

Paul Whalan Paul Russell Whalan (born 10 July 1941) is an Australian political lobbyist and former politician who was a member of the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. He served as the leader of the ACT Labor Party in the mid-1980s ...

Liberal

* Greg Cornwell * Trevor Kaine *

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Independents

* Harold Hird

Nationals

* David Adams (sat as a Liberal MHA)

Family Team

* Bev Cains

All candidates and parties seeking election

Opinion polling

Voting intention

External links

ACT Electoral Commission – 1989 election

ACT Legislative Assembly – List of Members (1989–2008)

ACT Election compendium (2004)

Notes

References

{{Australian Capital Territory elections Elections in the Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory election Australian Capital Territory election Election1989