Senate composition at 17 February 1976
Government (35) - (2 seat majority)
  Liberal (26)
  Country Party (8)
  Country Liberal (1)

Opposition (27)
  Labor (27)

Crossbench (2)
  Liberal Movement (1) [lower-alpha 1]
  Independent (Harradine) (1)
 
Changes in composition

  1. ↑ Steele Hall joined the Liberal party in 1976 on the break-up of the Liberal Movement. Hall resigned from the Senate in 1977 and Janine Haines, who had joined the Democrats on the break-up of the Liberal Movement, was appointed to fill the vacancy on 14 December.

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 1978.[1] The 13 December 1975 election was a double dissolution of both houses, with all 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate up for election. Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned as prime minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's Labor government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. The same day, Fraser advised the calling of the election, in accordance with Kerr's stipulated conditions. Thus the Liberal Party of Australia, led by Fraser, with Coalition partner the National Country Party, led by Doug Anthony, went to the election as a caretaker government. The election resulted in the Coalition securing government with a 30-seat swing away from Labor in the House of Representatives.

In accordance with section 13 of the Constitution, following a double dissolution of Parliament, the terms for state senators commence on 1 July preceding the election, i.e., on 1 July 1975. The first five senators elected in each State were allocated full six-year terms ending on 30 June 1981 while the other half were allocated three-year terms ending on 30 June 1978.[2]

There were two significant changes that affected the composition of the Senate.

  • The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were to be represented in the Senate for the first time.[3] The terms of senators representing the territories commenced on the date of the election and ended at the dissolution of the House of Representatives, in this case the December 1977 election.
  • A person appointed to a casual vacancy must be from the same political party as the original senator and is appointed until the end of the original term.

Austin Lewis had been appointed under the former system, however his term was extended to the end of the original term of 30 June 1981 as a result of the 1977 referendum.[4][5] The first vacancy occurring under the new process was caused by the resignation of Steele Hall, who had been a member of the Liberal Movement but had joined the Liberal party in 1976 on the break-up of the Liberal Movement. Janine Haines was appointed to replace Hall, having been third on the Liberal Movement ticket in 1975,[6] however she was no longer a member of the Liberal Movement, having joined the Democrats.[7]

Senator Party State Term ending Years in office
Brian Archer LiberalTasmania19781975–1994
Peter Baume LiberalNew South Wales19781974–1991
Reg Bishop LaborSouth Australia19811961–1981
Neville Bonner LiberalQueensland19811971–1983
Bill Brown LaborVictoria19781969–1970, 1971–1978
John Button LaborVictoria19781974–1993
Don Cameron LaborSouth Australia19781969–1978
John Carrick LiberalNew South Wales19811970–1987
Jim Cavanagh LaborSouth Australia19811961–1981
Fred Chaney LiberalWestern Australia19781974–1990
Ruth Coleman LaborWestern Australia19781974–1987
Stan Collard National CountryQueensland19781975–1987
Mal Colston LaborQueensland19781975–1999
Sir Magnus Cormack LiberalVictoria19781951–1953, 1962–1978
Bob Cotton LiberalNew South Wales19811965–1978
Gordon Davidson  LiberalSouth Australia19811961, 1962, 1965–1981
Don Devitt LaborTasmania19781965–1978
Tom Drake-Brockman National CountryWestern Australia19781958, 1959–1978
Peter Durack LiberalWestern Australia19811970–1993
George Georges LaborQueensland19781967–1987
Arthur Gietzelt LaborNew South Wales19781970–1989
Ivor Greenwood [lower-alpha 1] LiberalVictoria19811968–1976
Don Grimes LaborTasmania19781974–1987
Margaret Guilfoyle LiberalVictoria19811970–1987
Janine Haines [lower-alpha 2] DemocratsSouth Australia19781977–1978, 1980–1990
Steele Hall [lower-alpha 2] Liberal Movement/LiberalSouth Australia19781974–1977
Brian Harradine IndependentTasmania19811975–2005
Don Jessop LiberalSouth Australia19811970–1991
Jim Keeffe LaborQueensland19811964–1983
Bernie Kilgariff Country LiberalNorthern Territory1977, 1980 [lower-alpha 3]1975–1987
John Knight LiberalAustralian Capital Territory1977, 1980 [lower-alpha 3]1975–1981
Misha Lajovic LiberalNew South Wales19781975–1985
Sir Condor Laucke LiberalSouth Australia19811967–1981
Austin Lewis [lower-alpha 1] LiberalVictoria1977, 19811976–1993
Kathy Martin LiberalQueensland19781974–1984
Ron Maunsell National CountryQueensland19811967–1981
Ron McAuliffe LaborQueensland19811970–1981
Doug McClelland LaborNew South Wales19811961–1987
Jim McClelland LaborNew South Wales19811970–1978
Gordon McIntosh LaborWestern Australia19811974–1987
Geoff McLaren LaborSouth Australia19781970–1983
Jean Melzer LaborVictoria19811974–1981
Tony Messner LiberalSouth Australia19781975–1990
Alan Missen LiberalVictoria19781974–1986
Tony Mulvihill LaborNew South Wales19781964–1983
Justin O'Byrne [lower-alpha 4] LaborTasmania19811947–1981
Cyril Primmer LaborVictoria19811971–1985
Peter Rae LiberalTasmania19811967–1986
Ted Robertson LaborNorthern Territory1977, 1980 [lower-alpha 3]1975–1987
Susan Ryan LaborAustralian Capital Territory1977, 1980 [lower-alpha 3]1975–1988
Douglas Scott National CountryNew South Wales19811970, 1974–1985
Glen Sheil National CountryQueensland19811974–1981
Kerry Sibraa LaborNew South Wales19781975–1978, 1978–1994
Peter Sim LiberalWestern Australia19811964–1981
Tom Tehan National CountryVictoria19781975–1978
Andrew Thomas LiberalWestern Australia19781975–1983
Michael Townley LiberalTasmania19811970–1987
Peter Walsh LaborWestern Australia19781974–1993
Shirley Walters LiberalTasmania19781975–1993
James Webster National CountryVictoria19811964–1981
John Wheeldon LaborWestern Australia19811964–1981
Rt Reg Withers LiberalWestern Australia19811966, 1967–1987
Ian Wood LiberalQueensland19781950–1978
Ken Wriedt LaborTasmania19811964–1980
Reg Wright LiberalTasmania19781950–1978
Harold Young LiberalSouth Australia19781968–1981

Notes

  1. 1 2 Liberal Ivor Greenwood died on 13 October 1976; Liberal Austin Lewis was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 17 December. Lewis's term would have ended in December 1977, being the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate,[8] however his term was extended to the end of Greenwood's original term on 30 June 1981 as a result of the 1977 referendum.[4][5]
  2. 1 2 Senator Steele Hall had been elected as a member of the Liberal Movement, however the party broke up and he joined the Liberal party in June 1976. Hall resigned from the Senate on 16 November 1977 to contest the House of Representatives seat of Hawker. Democrats Janine Haines was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 14 December.
  3. 1 2 3 4 The term of a territory senator ends at the dissolution of the House of Representatives which was December 1977.
  4. ↑ Father of the Senate

References

  1. ↑ "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1975". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Reg Withers (18 February 1976). "Rotation of Senators". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate.
  3. ↑ Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973 (Cth).
  4. 1 2 Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Act 1977 (Cth).
  5. 1 2 Gerard Newman (14 May 2002). "Senate Casual Vacancies". Research Note no.35 2001-2001. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  6. ↑ "1975 Senate election: South Australia". Psephos: Adam Carr's Election Archive.
  7. ↑ "Haines, Janine (1945–2004)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Parliament of Australia.
  8. ↑ Evans, H. "Filling Casual Vacancies before 1977" (PDF). The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, Volume 3. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
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