1985 South Australian state election

State elections were held in South Australia on 7 December 1985. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia John Bannon increased its majority, and defeated the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition John Olsen.

1985 South Australian state election

7 December 1985
All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly 24 seats were needed for a majority 11 (of the 22) seats in the South Australian Legislative Council
Leader John Bannon John Olsen Party Labor Liberal Leader since 18 September 1979 10 November 1982 Leader's seat Ross Smith Custance Seats before 23 seats 21 seats Seats won 27 seats 16 seats Seat change 4 5 Percentage 53.2% 46.8% Swing 2.2 2.2
Premier before election John Bannon Labor Elected Premier John Bannon Labor

Background

Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of South Australia were held in South Australia on 7 December 1985, which saw John Bannon and the Australian Labor Party win a second successive term, against the Liberal Party of Australia opposition led by John Olsen.

Labor won the election with an increased majority–at the time, the biggest majority it had held since the end of the Playmander, a record that would stand until 2006. The Liberal Party retained John Olsen as leader, partly because his main rival Dean Brown lost his seat to Independent Liberal Stan Evans. Evans rejoined the Liberal Party soon after the election.

In the South Australian Legislative Council, Labor won one seat from the Liberals, while the Democrats maintained their 2 seats. This shift gave the Australian Democrats sole balance of power. They would continue to hold it until the 1997 election.

Key dates

• Issue of writ: 10 November 1985
• Close of nominations: 22 November 1985
• Polling day: 7 December 1985
• Return of writ: On or before 2 January 1986

Results

House of Assembly

South Australian state election, 7 December 1985[1] House of Assembly << 1982–1989 >>
Enrolled voters		905,507
Votes cast		846,289		Turnout	93.46	+0.28
Informal votes		29,401		Informal	3.47	–2.31
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	393,652	48.19	+1.91	27	+ 4
	Liberal	344,337	42.15	–0.52	16	– 5
	Democrats	34,732	4.25	–2.87	0	0
	National	14,056	1.72	–0.60	1	0
	Independent Labor	18,641	2.28	*	2	0
	Independent	5,368	0.66	–0.94	0	0
	Independent Liberal	5,224	0.64	*	1	+ 1
	Other	878	0.11	*	0	0
Total		816,888			47
Two-party-preferred
	Labor	434,325	53.17	+2.23
	Liberal	382,563	46.83	–2.23

Legislative Council

South Australian state election, 7 December 1985[2] Legislative Council << 1982–1989 >>
Enrolled voters		905,507
Votes cast		846,250		Turnout	93.46	+0.67
Informal votes		31,312		Informal	3.70	–6.37
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Seats held
	Labor	391,076	47.99	+0.40	5	10
	Liberal	320,055	39.27	–2.15	5	10
	Democrats	44,988	5.52	–0.04	1	2
	Call to Australia	24,666	3.03	+3.03	0	0
	National	13,276	1.63	–0.37	0	0
	Nuclear Disarmament	12,098	1.48	+1.48	0	0
	Other	8,779	1.08	*	0	0
Total		814,938			11	22

Post-election Pendulum

LABOR SEATS (27)
Marginal
Adelaide	Michael Duigan	ALP	0.6%
Fisher	Philip Tyler	ALP	1.1%
Newland	Di Gayler	ALP	1.5%
Bright	Derek Robertson	ALP	1.6%
Hayward	June Appleby	ALP	2.8%
Unley	Kym Mayes	ALP	5.0%
Todd	John Klunder	ALP	5.9%
Fairly safe
Norwood	Greg Crafter	ALP	6.3%
Henley Beach	Don Ferguson	ALP	7.3%
Florey	Susan Lenehan	ALP	8.2%
Safe
Walsh	John Trainer	ALP	10.7%
Hartley	Terry Groom	ALP	12.5%
Albert Park	Kevin Hamilton	ALP	12.9%
Mitchell	Ron Payne	ALP	13.5%
Baudin	Don Hopgood	ALP	13.7%
Gilles	Jack Slater	ALP	14.2%
Peake	Keith Plunkett	ALP	15.7%
Mawson	Susan Lenehan	ALP	16.1%
Whyalla	Frank Blevins	ALP	17.0%
Briggs	Mike Rann	ALP	17.4%
Spence	Roy Abbott	ALP	18.4%
Ross Smith	John Bannon	ALP	18.7%
Playford	Terry McRae	ALP	19.4%
Stuart	Gavin Keneally	ALP	22.0%
Napier	Terry Hemmings	ALP	23.5%
Ramsay	Lynn Arnold	ALP	24.2%
Price	Murray De Laine	ALP	24.3%

LIBERAL SEATS (16)
Marginal
Hanson	Heini Becker	LIB	0.9%
Morphett	John Oswald	LIB	4.7%
Fairly safe
Mitcham	Stephen Baker	LIB	8.3%
Coles	Jennifer Adamson	LIB	8.4%
Heysen	David Wotton	LIB	8.8%
Light	Bruce Eastick	LIB	9.3%
Mount Gambier	Harold Allison	LIB	9.9%
Safe
Kavel	Stephen Baker	LIB	11.0%
Goyder	John Meier	LIB	12.4%
Alexandra	Ted Chapman	LIB	15.2%
Eyre	Graham Gunn	LIB	15.8%
Chaffey	Peter Arnold	LIB	16.3%
Custance	John Olsen	LIB	16.3%
Bragg	Graham Ingerson	LIB	17.5%
Victoria	Dale Baker	LIB	18.3%
Murray-Mallee	Peter Lewis	LIB	18.6%
CROSSBENCH SEATS (4)
Davenport	Stan Evans	IND	2.8% v LIB
Elizabeth	Martyn Evans	IND	4.0% v ALP
Semaphore	Norm Peterson	IND	7.3% v ALP
Flinders	Peter Blacker	NAT	8.3% v LIB

See also

• Candidates of the South Australian state election, 1985
• Results of the South Australian state election, 1985 (House of Assembly)
• Results of the 1985 South Australian state election (Legislative Council)
• Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1985-1989
• Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1985-1989

References

1. "Details of SA 1985 Election". Australian Politics and Elections Database.
2. "History of South Australian elections 1857–2006, volume 2 Legislative Council". ECSA. Retrieved 22 May 2016.

• History of South Australian elections 1857–2006, volume 1: ECSA
• Historical lower house results
• Historical upper house results
• State and federal election results in Australia since 1890

External links

• South Australian Elections 1989: Parliament of Australia Research Library paper, including maps effective from 1983