# 1996 Victorian state election

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Australian state election

For the local government elections held on 16 March, see [1996 Victorian local elections](/source/1996_Victorian_local_elections).

1996 Victorian state election ← 1992 30 March 1996 (1996-03-30) 1999 → All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and 22 (of the 44) seats in the Victorian Legislative Council 45 seats needed for a majority First party Second party Leader Jeff Kennett John Brumby Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Leader since 23 April 1991 June 1993 Leader's seat Burwood Broadmeadows Last election 61 seats 27 seats Seats won 58 29 Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 1,397,352 1,189,475 Percentage 50.68% 43.13% Swing 1.27 4.72 TPP 53.47% 46.53% TPP swing 2.81 2.83 Results in each electorate Premier before election Jeff Kennett Liberal/National coalition Elected Premier Jeff Kennett Liberal/National coalition

The **1996 Victorian state election**, held on Saturday, 30 March 1996, was for the 53rd [Parliament of Victoria](/source/Parliament_of_Victoria). It was held in the [Australian state](/source/States_and_territories_of_Australia) of [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)) to elect all 88 members of the state's [Legislative Assembly](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Assembly) and 22 members of the 44-member [Legislative Council](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Council). The election took place four weeks after the [1996 federal election](/source/1996_Australian_federal_election) which swept the [Labor Party](/source/Australian_Labor_Party_(Victorian_Branch)) from power nationally.

The [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia_(Victorian_Division))–[National](/source/National_Party_of_Australia_%E2%80%93_Victoria) [Coalition](/source/Coalition_(Australia)) led by [Jeff Kennett](/source/Jeff_Kennett) and [Pat McNamara](/source/Pat_McNamara_(Australian_politician)) was returned for a second term. A swing against the government did not produce a significant seat transfer to the Labor Party, now led by [John Brumby](/source/John_Brumby) and still recovering from its landslide defeat at the [October 1992 state election](/source/1992_Victorian_state_election). While Labor obtained significant swings in safe Coalition seats, the marginal outer suburban electorates swung further towards the government.[1] The overall [two party preferred](/source/Two_party_preferred) swing was 2.8% to Labor.

The first signs of rural discontent with the Kennett government began to appear at this election. Independent candidate [Russell Savage](/source/Russell_Savage) won [Mildura](/source/Electoral_district_of_Mildura) from the Liberals, while other independents polled strongly in the Coalition-held electorates of [Benalla](/source/Electoral_district_of_Benalla), [Gippsland East](/source/Electoral_district_of_Gippsland_East), [Polwarth](/source/Electoral_district_of_Polwarth) and [Rodney](/source/Electoral_district_of_Rodney).[2]

## Results

See also: [Post-election pendulum for the 1996 Victorian state election](/source/Post-election_pendulum_for_the_1996_Victorian_state_election)

### Legislative Assembly

See also: [Results of the 1996 Victorian state election (Legislative Assembly)](/source/Results_of_the_1996_Victorian_state_election_(Legislative_Assembly))

Victorian state election, 30 March 1996[3][4] Legislative Assembly << 1992–1999 >> Enrolled voters 3,000,076 Votes cast 2,822,531 Turnout 94.08 –1.05 Informal votes 64,964 Informal 2.30 –1.51 Summary of votes by party Party Primary votes % Swing Seats Change Liberal 1,212,933 43.99 –0.17 49 – 3 Labor 1,189,475 43.13 +4.72 29 + 2 National 184,419 6.69 –1.14 9 ± 0 Natural Law 51,231 1.86 +0.54 0 ± 0 Call to Australia 6,222 0.23 +0.19 0 ± 0 Other 13,964 0.51 –0.22 0 ± 0 Independent 99,426 3.61 –3.90 1 + 1 Total 2,757,567 88 Two-party-preferred Liberal/National 1,472,365 53.47 –2.83 Labor 1,281,418 46.53 +2.83

### Legislative Council

See also: [Results of the 1996 Victorian state election (Legislative Council)](/source/Results_of_the_1996_Victorian_state_election_(Legislative_Council))

Results for the Legislative Council.

Victorian state election, 30 March 1996[5] Legislative Council Enrolled voters 3,000,076 Votes cast 2,826,467 Turnout 94.21 –1.01 Informal votes 72,800 Informal 2.58 –1.53 Summary of votes by party Party Primary votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Liberal 1,208,168 43.87 +0.38 14 28 Labor 1,114,843 40.49 +1.93 5 10 National 182,494 6.63 –2.11 3 6 Democrats 157,798 5.73 +5.42 0 0 Democratic Labour 43,553 1.58 –2.96 0 0 Natural Law 14,129 0.51 –0.11 0 0 Call to Australia 5,576 0.20 +0.12 0 0 Friendly Migrant Workers 1,339 0.05 +0.05 0 0 Independent 25,767 0.94 –2.15 0 0 Total 2,753,667 22 44 Two-party-preferred Liberal/National 1,482,617 53.96 –2.69 Labor 1,264,879 46.04 +2.69

## Seats changing hands

Seat Pre-1996 Swing Post-1996 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Bendigo West Liberal Max Turner 1.1 -2.8 1.7 Bob Cameron Labor Carrum Labor Mal Sandon 0.9 -1.7 0.8 David Lean Liberal Essendon Liberal Ian Davis 1.2 -4.6 3.6 Judy Maddigan Labor Ivanhoe Liberal Vin Heffernan 4.3 -5.9 1.6 Craig Langdon Labor Mildura Liberal Craig Bildstien 20.9 -22.3 1.4 Russell Savage Independent

## Key dates

Date Event 5 March 1996 The Legislative Council was prorogued and the Legislative Assembly was dissolved.[6] 5 March 1996 Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[6] 8 March 1996 The electoral rolls were closed. 15 March 1996 Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. 30 March 1996 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. 3 April 1996 The Kennett Ministry was re-constituted.[7] 19 April 1996 The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

## See also

- [Candidates of the 1996 Victorian state election](/source/Candidates_of_the_1996_Victorian_state_election)

- [Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 1992–1996](/source/Members_of_the_Victorian_Legislative_Assembly%2C_1992%E2%80%931996)

- [Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 1996–1999](/source/Members_of_the_Victorian_Legislative_Assembly%2C_1996%E2%80%931999)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Economou N. & Costar B.J. 'The Electoral Contest and Coalition Dominance 1992-1998' in Costar B.J & Economou N. (eds) *The Kennett Revolution*, UNSW Press, Sydney, 1999, p. 124

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["1996 Victorian Legislative Assembly elections"](http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/states/vic/historic/1996assembly.txt). *Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Hughes, Colin A.](/source/Colin_Hughes) (2002). *A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1985-1999*. Sydney: Federation Press. p. 318.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Antony Green](/source/Antony_Green) (December 1998). ["1996 Victorian State Election - Summary of Results"](http://www.abc.net.au/elections/archive/vic/VIC1996_ResultsBook.pdf#page=26) (PDF). *[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation)*. Retrieved 5 July 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Hughes (2002) p.319.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Gazette_1996:S17_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Gazette_1996:S17_6-1) ["Proclamation"](http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/view.cgi?year=1996&class=S&page_num=1&classNum=S17). *[Victoria Government Gazette](/source/Victoria_Government_Gazette)*. Victorian Government Printer. 5 March 1996. p. 1996:S17 (Special).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Gazette_1996:S33_7-0)** ["Ministers of the Crown"](http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/view.cgi?year=1996&class=S&page_num=1&classNum=S33). *[Victoria Government Gazette](/source/Victoria_Government_Gazette)*. Victorian Government Printer. 3 April 1996. p. 1996:S33 (Special).

v t e Elections and referendums in Victoria General elections 1856 1859 1861 1864 1866 1868 1871 1874 1877 1880 (Feb) 1880 (Jul) 1883 1886 1889 1892 1894 1897 1900 1902 1904 1907 1908 1911 1914 1917 1920 1921 1924 1927 1929 1932 1935 1937 1940 1943 1945 1947 1950 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1992 1996 1999 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Legislative Council- only elections 1851 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1889 1890 1892 1894 1895 1896 1898 1900 1901 1902 1904 1907 1910 1913 1916 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 Local elections 1919 1931 1933 1947 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028 Aboriginal 2019 2023 Referendums 1898 1899 See also: Legislative Assembly by-elections Legislative Council by-elections

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