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1989 Australian Capital Territory election
All 17 seats of the unicameral Legislative Assembly; 9 seats needed for a majority
	Opinion polls
Turnout	88.8%
	Resulting Chief Minister ; Rosemary Follett; Labor

The 1989 Australian Capital Territory election was held on 4 March 1989 to elect the 1st Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. This was the first direct election by voters in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for their power legislative body.

The Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, and the Liberal Party, led by Trevor Kaine, were the main challengers. Candidates were elected to fill seats using modified d'Hondt electoral system^[1] for a multi-member single (at-large) constituency.

The result was a hung parliament. However, Labor, with the largest representation in the 17-member unicameral Assembly, formed Government with the support of various non-aligned minor parties. Follett was elected the first Chief Minister at the first sitting of the first Assembly on 11 May 1989.^[2]

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 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^[3]

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 to make way for the site of the capital of Australia. As the Territory grew, particularly the city of Canberra from the 1960s, there were increasing calls for some form of self-government.^[4] 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 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.^[5] 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.^[6]^[7] In spite of the referendum outcome, in 1983, the federal Labor government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke set up a Self-Government Task Force to report on the government of the ACT.^[8] Further, it wanted to force the ACT into line with the states on funding levels^[7] and, in late 1988, the Australian Government 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 Canberra or Fraser. The election was conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission, operating under Commonwealth legislation.^[3] 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.^[9] The parties include the "Sun-Ripened Warm Tomato Party", "Party! Party! Party!" and "Surprise Party".^[10]

The centre-left Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, and the centre-right Liberal Party, 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",^[11] led by Bernard Collaery, as well as two parties campaigning on platforms of opposing self-government.^[9]

Results



Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Labor	32,370	22.82	5
	Liberal	21,088	14.87	4
	Independents	16,351	11.53	0
	No Self Government Party	16,274	11.47	3
	Residents Rally	13,647	9.62	4
	Abolish Self Government Coalition	10,641	7.50	1
	Fair Elections Coalition	7,765	5.47	0
	The A.C.T Community Party	5,777	4.07	0
	Canberra First	4,918	3.47	0
	Family Movement	3,885	2.74	0
	Democrats	2,350	1.66	0
	National	1,947	1.37	0
	Sun Ripened Warm Tomato	1,666	1.17	0
	Party! Party! Party!	979	0.69	0
	Christian Alternative	846	0.60	–
	Democratic Socialist Perspective	713	0.50	0
	Sleepers Wake	173	0.12	0
	Surprise Party	166	0.12	0
	Disabled & Redeployed Workers	163	0.11	0
	A Better Idea	80	0.06	0
	Home Rule OK	62	0.04	0
Total		141,861	100.00	17

Valid votes		141,861	94.31
Invalid/blank votes		8,560	5.69
Total votes		150,421	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		169,493	88.75

Aftermath

It took almost two months after election day to determine the results of the election.^[12] Four people won seats on ostensible platforms of abolishing self-government. The result was a hung parliament. 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 – 7.5 per cent.^[13] 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.^[14] Labor, with the largest representation in the 17-member unicameral Assembly, formed a minority Government. Follett was elected the first Chief Minister at the first sitting of the first Assembly on 11 May 1989,^[2] 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^[2] were:

Speaker: David Prowse (No Self Government Party)
Chief Minister: Rosemary Follett (Labor)
Leader of the Opposition: Trevor Kaine (Liberal)

Candidates

At the inaugural election, candidates were elected to fill seats using a modified D'Hondt method 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 (*).^[15]

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

Liberal

Independents

Harold Hird

Nationals

David Adams (sat as a Liberal MHA)

Family Team

Bev Cains

All candidates and parties seeking election

Labor candidates	Liberal candidates	NSG candidates	Residents Rally candidates	ASGC candidates

Rosemary Follett* Paul Whalan* Wayne Berry* Ellnor Grassby* Bill Wood* Di Ford Kevin Gill Anna Robieson Martin Attridge Peta Beelen Barry Reid	Gary Humphries* Trevor Kaine* Robyn Nolan* Bill Stefaniak* Greg Cornwell Lyle Dunne Peter Kobold Judith Dowson Peter Jansen Bob Winnel	Craig Duby* Carmel Maher* David Prowse* John Taylor Norman Henry Peter Alabaster John Cunningham Chris Elworthy Elma Lindh Nev Aurousseau John Cantlon Ken Durie Bob Smythe Lindsay Sales Philippa Meredith Jack Wright Yvonne Hammond	Bernard Collaery* Norm Jensen* Michael Moore* Hector Kinloch* Joan Kellett Chris Donohue Marion Le Kelvin Giles Catherine Rossiter	Dennis Stevenson* Flo Grant Gladys Dickson Chris Tazreiter Nerolie Bush Geoff Doepel Trish Orton Gail Aiken Mike Trevethan Reg Hayward Colin Beaton John Hesketh
Democrats candidates	Nationals candidates	Family Team candidates	FEC candidates	Canberra First candidates

Arminel Ryan Bill Mason Heather Jeffcoat	David Adams Michael Mullins Bruce MacKinnon	Bev Cains Dawn Casley-Smith Ron Gane Bill Fearon Dennis Meagher Drewe Just	Tony Fleming Alan Runciman Sarah Kirschbaum Gordon McAllister Gus Petersilka Julie McCarron-Benson	Allan Nelson Beryl Byrnes John McMahon Jeff Brown Michael Apps Barry Brogan Jennie Booth Arthur Hetherington Elisabeth Apps Mike McColl Matt Campbell Garry Behan
Haslem candidates	Party! Party! Party! candidates	SWP candidate	DRWP candidates	Home Rule OK candidate

John Haslem Caryl Haslem	Amanda Call Shane McMillan	Kristian Whittaker	Peter Burrows Derek Robinson	Tony Boye
A Better Idea candidate	Christian Alt. candidates	Sleepers Wake candidate	Community candidates	Tomato candidates

Mick Scurfield	Nathan Stirling Bernadette Ibell	John Bellamy	Ken Fry Domenic Mico Lorne Doyle	Emile Brunoro Rick Kenny
Spagnolo candidate	Surprise Party candidate	Ungrouped candidates

Tony Spagnolo	C J Burns	Frank Crnkovic (Ind) Bill Mackey (Ind) Bob Reid (Ind) Kevin Robert Wise (Ind) Gary James Pead (Ind) Bill Pye (Ind) John Rocke (Ind) Harold Hird (Ind) Lyall L Gillespie (Ind)

Opinion polling

Voting intention

Date	Firm	Interview mode	Sample size	Primary vote
Date	Firm	Interview mode	Sample size	ALP	LIB	NSG	RR	ASG	HAS	COM	CFP	DEM	SRWT	OTH
4 March 1989	1989 election	—	150,421	22.8%	14.9%	11.5%	9.6%	7.5%	4.8%	4.1%	3.5%	1.7%	1.2%	18.5%
26 February−2 March 1989	Canberra Times/Datacol^[16]^[a]	Telephone	576	31.0%	15.8%	8.0%	7.9%	6.7%	4.5%	3.5%	2.6%	2.2%	—	3.1%^[b]
17−21 February 1989	Canberra Times/Datacol^[17]	Telephone	484	21.1%	10.8%	4.1%	3.2%	2.1%	1.8%	2.3%	3.0%	1.1%	—	6.3%^[c]
19 February 1989	Billy Bong Research/SRWTP^[18]^[19]^[20]^[a]	Telephone	264	21.2%	15.3%	17.2%	7.7%	—	—	—	3.7%	—	3.7%	9.9%^[d]
19−22 December 1988	Canberra Times/Datacol^[21]	Telephone	379	35.9%	20.0%	—	1.1%	—	—	—	—	3.8%	—	8.9%^[e]

External links

Notes

^ ^a ^b Vote totals are shown after the "undecided" vote was distributed.
^ The Fair Elections Coalition had 2.8%, the National Party had 2.0%, the Family Team had 1.5%, Bill Mackey "leading the independent list" had 2.1%, and fellow independent Harold Hird had 1.0%.^[16]
^ All other parties had 6.3%, "undecided" had 35.0% and 9.1% said they would vote informally.^[17]
^ The Fair Elections Coalition had 1.8%, the National Party had 1.1%, "independents (grouped)" had 6.2%, the Rainbow Alliance had 0.8% and 21.4% said they would vote informally.^[18]
^ Other parties had 2.7%, independents had 6.2% and "undecided" had 30.3%.^[21]

References

^ Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission, Modified d'Hondt Electoral System
^ ^a ^b ^c "Legislative Assembly for the ACT – Week 1" (PDF). ACT Hansard. ACT Legislative Assembly. 11 May 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Election timetable". ACT Legislative Assembly election – 1989. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
^ "A brief history of self-government in the ACT". Education – fact sheets. ACT Legislative Assembly. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ "Self-Government – Setting the Scene". Education – fact sheets. ACT Legislative Assembly. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ "Australian Capital Territory – Parliaments". Civics and Citizenship Education. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Canberra 1983–1993 – 8th decade". The history of Canberra. Hull, Crispin. 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ "Australian Capital Territory". Documenting a Democracy. National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 16 July 2005. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ ^a ^b "20 Years of Self Government". Stateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
^ "Election compendium" (PDF). ACT Electoral Commission. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ Collaery, Bernard (1991). "Community policing – an ACT perspective". Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ Cumming, Fia (4 May 1989). "Elected! The ACT gets its first Assembly, at last". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
^ "First Preference Results". 1989 Election. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
^ "List of elected candidates". 1989 Election. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
^ "List of candidates". 1989 Election. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
^ ^a ^b Fraser, Andrew (3 March 1989). "Minority still top tip". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Fraser, Andrew (23 February 1989). "20pc: How ALP can win". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Whitfield, Kathryn (19 February 1989). "Poll: major parties unwanted". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ "How the poll was done". The Canberra Times. 19 February 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
^ Middleton, Karen (20 February 1989). "Kaine and Follett reject poll finding". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Fraser, Andrew (26 December 1988). "ALP in lead for ACT poll". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[undecided-17] Vote totals are shown after the "undecided" vote was distributed.

[18] The Fair Elections Coalition had 2.8%, the National Party had 2.0%, the Family Team had 1.5%, Bill Mackey "leading the independent list" had 2.1%, and fellow independent Harold Hird had 1.0%.^[16]

[20] All other parties had 6.3%, "undecided" had 35.0% and 9.1% said they would vote informally.^[17]

[24] The Fair Elections Coalition had 1.8%, the National Party had 1.1%, "independents (grouped)" had 6.2%, the Rainbow Alliance had 0.8% and 21.4% said they would vote informally.^[18]

[26] Other parties had 2.7%, independents had 6.2% and "undecided" had 30.3%.^[21]

[1] Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission, Modified d'Hondt Electoral System

[Hansard1989-05-11-2] "Legislative Assembly for the ACT – Week 1" (PDF). ACT Hansard. ACT Legislative Assembly. 11 May 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2010.

[ACTEC1989-3] "Election timetable". ACT Legislative Assembly election – 1989. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 3 August 2012.

[ACTLAFactSheet1-4] "A brief history of self-government in the ACT". Education – fact sheets. ACT Legislative Assembly. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[ACTLAFactSheet2-5] "Self-Government – Setting the Scene". Education – fact sheets. ACT Legislative Assembly. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[parl@work-6] "Australian Capital Territory – Parliaments". Civics and Citizenship Education. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[CrispinHull#8-7] "Canberra 1983–1993 – 8th decade". The history of Canberra. Hull, Crispin. 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[8] "Australian Capital Territory". Documenting a Democracy. National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 16 July 2005. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[ABCStateline-9] "20 Years of Self Government". Stateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2010.

[ACTEC2004-10] "Election compendium" (PDF). ACT Electoral Commission. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[AIC-11] Collaery, Bernard (1991). "Community policing – an ACT perspective". Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

[12] Cumming, Fia (4 May 1989). "Elected! The ACT gets its first Assembly, at last". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 17 November 2024.

[13] "First Preference Results". 1989 Election. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

[14] "List of elected candidates". 1989 Election. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

[15] "List of candidates". 1989 Election. ACT Electoral Commission. 1989. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

[toptip-16] Fraser, Andrew (3 March 1989). "Minority still top tip". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[20pc-19] Fraser, Andrew (23 February 1989). "20pc: How ALP can win". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[unwanted-21] Whitfield, Kathryn (19 February 1989). "Poll: major parties unwanted". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[22] "How the poll was done". The Canberra Times. 19 February 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 28 October 2024.

[23] Middleton, Karen (20 February 1989). "Kaine and Follett reject poll finding". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[alpinlead-25] Fraser, Andrew (26 December 1988). "ALP in lead for ACT poll". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

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1989 Australian Capital Territory election