Senate composition at 9 July 1974
Government (29)
  Labor (29) - (2 seat minority)[lower-alpha 1]

Opposition (29) [lower-alpha 2]
Coalition
  Liberal (23)
  Country Party (6)

Crossbench (2)
  Liberal Movement (1)
  Independent (1) [lower-alpha 3]

  Changes in composition

  1. ↑ Labor decreased to 27 and a 4 seat minority as a result of Labor senators Lionel Murphy and Bertie Milliner being replaced by Independents.
  2. ↑ Coalition increased to 30 as a result of Michael Townley joining the Liberal party in February 1975.
  3. ↑ Independent Michael Townley joined the Liberal party in February 1975. Independents Cleaver Bunton and Albert Field were appointed to casual vacancies.

 

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1974 to 1975.[1] The 18 May 1974 election was a double dissolution of both Houses, with all 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate up for election. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam defeated the opposition Liberal Party led by Billy Snedden and their Coalition partner the Country Party led by Doug Anthony.[lower-alpha 1]

In accordance with section 13 of the Constitution, following a double dissolution of Parliament, the terms for senators commence on 1 July preceding the election – i.e., on 1 July 1973. The first five senators elected in each state were allocated the full six-year terms ending on 30 June 1979 while the other half were allocated three-year terms ending on 30 June 1976.[2] However, in fact, the Senate was dissolved on 11 November 1975 for another double dissolution election on 13 December 1975.

The process for filling casual vacancies was complex. While senators were elected for a six-year term, people appointed to a casual vacancy only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[3] It was an established convention that the state parliament choose (or the governor appoint) a replacement from the same political party as their predecessor, however this convention was not always followed. There were two appointments to casual vacancies in this term however neither followed the convention with Labor Senator Lionel Murphy being replaced by Independent Cleaver Bunton and Labor Senator Bertie Milliner being replaced by Albert Field who was expelled as a member of the Labor party for accepting the appointment instead of Labor nomination Mal Colston.

At the May 1974 election, Labor won 29 seats, the Coalition won 29 seats and the balance of power was shared by Liberal Movement Senator Steele Hall and Independent Michael Townley. The President of the Senate votes and if the votes are equal, the motion is defeated.[4] Thus the Labor government needed the support of both cross-bench senators to pass any legislation. The Coalition was increased to 30 seats when Townley joined the Liberal party in February 1975 and thus could effectively block any government legislation or motions, but could not pass any motion on their own. Labor was reduced to 27 seats by the replacement of 2 Labor senators with independents. Field was sworn in on 9 September 1975, however he was given leave from 1 October,[5] not to attend the Senate pending a High Court challenge to his eligibility.[6] As a result, the Coalition had a majority in the Senate and as well as blocking supply, could also pass a motion to defer Supply until an election was called.[7] Thus the casual appointments process contributed to the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.[6]

The controversial appointments of Senators Bunton and Field prompted the 1977 referendum to amend the Constitution to require a replacement senator to be a member of the same political party.[8][9]

Senator Party State Term ending Years in office
Sir Ken Anderson LiberalNew South Wales19761953–1975
Peter Baume LiberalNew South Wales19761974–1991
Eric Bessell LiberalTasmania19761974–1975
Reg Bishop LaborSouth Australia19791961–1981
Neville Bonner LiberalQueensland19791971–1983
Bill Brown LaborVictoria19791969–1970, 1971–1978
Cleaver Bunton [lower-alpha 2] IndependentNew South Wales1975 [lower-alpha 3]1974–1975
John Button LaborVictoria19791974–1993
Don Cameron LaborSouth Australia19761969–1978
John Carrick LiberalNew South Wales19791970–1987
Jim Cavanagh LaborSouth Australia19791961–1981
Fred Chaney LiberalWestern Australia19761974–1990
Ruth Coleman LaborWestern Australia19761974–1987
Sir Magnus Cormack LiberalVictoria19791951–1953, 1962–1978
Bob Cotton LiberalNew South Wales19791965–1978
Gordon Davidson LiberalSouth Australia19761961, 1962, 1965–1981
Don Devitt LaborTasmania19791965–1978
Tom Drake-Brockman Country [lower-alpha 4]Western Australia19791958, 1959–1978
Arnold Drury LaborSouth Australia19761959–1975
Peter Durack LiberalWestern Australia19761970–1993
Merv Everett LaborTasmania19761974–1975
Albert Field [lower-alpha 5] IndependentQueensland1975 [lower-alpha 3]1975
George Georges LaborQueensland19791967–1987
Arthur Gietzelt LaborNew South Wales19761970–1989
Ivor Greenwood LiberalVictoria19791968–1976
Don Grimes LaborTasmania19761974–1987
Margaret Guilfoyle LiberalVictoria19761970–1987
Steele Hall Liberal MovementSouth Australia19791974–1977
Don Jessop LiberalSouth Australia19761970–1991
Jim Keeffe LaborQueensland19761964–1983
Sir Condor Laucke LiberalSouth Australia19791967–1981
Ellis Lawrie LiberalQueensland19761965–1975
John Marriott LiberalTasmania19761953–1975
Kathy Martin LiberalQueensland19761974–1984
Ron Maunsell CountryQueensland19791967–1981
Ron McAuliffe LaborQueensland19761970–1981
Doug McClelland LaborNew South Wales19791961–1987
Jim McClelland LaborNew South Wales19761970–1978
Gordon McIntosh LaborWestern Australia19761974–1987
Geoff McLaren LaborSouth Australia19761970–1983
Jean Melzer LaborVictoria19761974–1981
Bertie Milliner [lower-alpha 5] LaborQueensland19791968–1975
Alan Missen LiberalVictoria19761974–1986
Tony Mulvihill LaborNew South Wales19791964–1983
Lionel Murphy [lower-alpha 2] LaborNew South Wales19791962–1975
Justin O'Byrne [lower-alpha 6] LaborTasmania19791947–1981
George Poyser LaborVictoria19761966–1975
Cyril Primmer LaborVictoria19791971–1985
Peter Rae LiberalTasmania19791967–1986
Douglas Scott CountryNew South Wales19761970, 1974–1985
Glen Sheil CountryQueensland19761974–1981
Peter Sim LiberalWestern Australia19791964–1981
Michael Townley Independent/Liberal [lower-alpha 7]Tasmania19761970–1987
Peter Walsh LaborWestern Australia19761974–1993
James Webster CountryVictoria19761964–1981
John Wheeldon LaborWestern Australia19791964–1981
Don Willesee LaborWestern Australia19791950–1975
Reg Withers LiberalWestern Australia19791966, 1967–1987
Ian Wood LiberalQueensland19791950–1978
Ken Wriedt LaborTasmania19791964–1980
Reg Wright LiberalTasmania19791950–1978
Harold Young LiberalSouth Australia19791968–1981

Notes

  1. ↑ In 1975 the Australian Country Party changed its name to the National Country Party.
  2. 1 2 Labor Senator Lionel Murphy resigned on 9 February 1975 to be appointed to the High Court of Australia; Independent Cleaver Bunton was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 27 February until the double dissolution election on 13 December 1975.
  3. 1 2 Appointed to a casual vacancy and only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[3]
  4. ↑ Tom Drake-Brockman stood as member of the National Alliance (Australia), a merger between the WA Country Party and WA Democratic Labor Party. Drake-Brockman was the only alliance candidate to win a seat at the May 1974 election and he subsequently sat as a member of the Country Party
  5. 1 2 Labor Senator Bertie Milliner died on 30 June 1975; independent Albert Field was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 3 September until the double dissolution election on 13 December 1975.
  6. ↑ Father of the Senate
  7. ↑ Michael Townley joined the Liberal Party in February 1975.

References

  1. ↑ "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1975". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Lionel Murphy (17 July 1974). "Rotation of Senators". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate.
  3. 1 2 Evans, H. "Filling Casual Vacancies before 1977" (PDF). The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, Volume 3. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Constitution (Cth) s 23 Voting in the Senate.
  5. ↑ A Senator can only be absent for 2 months with the permission of the Senate: Constitution (Cth) s 20 Vacancy by absence.
  6. 1 2 Wanna, John. "Field, Albert Patrick (Pat) (1910-1990)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "Appropriation Bill No 1" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. 16 October 1975. pp. 1220–1241.
  8. ↑ Gerard Newman (14 May 2002). "Senate Casual Vacancies". Research Note no.35 2001-2001. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Act 1977 (Cth).

 

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