# 1999 Victorian state election

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Australian state election

1999 Victorian state election ← 1996 18 September 1999 (1999-09-18)[a] 2002 → 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 Steve Bracks Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Leader since 23 April 1991 22 March 1999 Leader's seat Burwood Williamstown Last election 58 seats 29 seats Seats won 43 42 Seat change 15 13 Popular vote 1,330,928 1,289,696 Percentage 47.02% 45.57% Swing 3.46 2.44 TPP 49.80% 50.20% TPP swing 3.66 3.66 Results in each electorate. Premier before election Jeff Kennett Liberal/National coalition Elected Premier Steve Bracks Labor

The **1999 Victorian state election** was held on Saturday 18 September 1999 to elect the 54th [Parliament of Victoria](/source/Parliament_of_Victoria). 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) were up for election. The [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia_(Victorian_Division))–[National](/source/National_Party_of_Australia_%E2%80%93_Victoria) [Coalition](/source/Coalition_(Victoria)) led by [Jeff Kennett](/source/Jeff_Kennett) and [Pat McNamara](/source/Pat_McNamara_(Australian_politician)), which had held majority government since the 1992 election, lost 15 seats and its majority due mainly to a swing against it in rural and regional Victoria.

The [Labor Party](/source/Australian_Labor_Party_(Victorian_Branch)), led by [Steve Bracks](/source/Steve_Bracks), although also not having majority of the seats, took government due to support from three rural independents. They decided to back the Labor Party, which gave a working majority in the chamber to a Labor minority government. Bracks was sworn in as [Premier of Victoria](/source/Premier_of_Victoria) on 20 October 1999.[1]

Future Premiers [Jacinta Allan](/source/Jacinta_Allan) and [Ted Baillieu](/source/Ted_Baillieu) entered parliament at this election.

## Results

See also: [Post-election pendulum for the 1999 Victorian state election](/source/Post-election_pendulum_for_the_1999_Victorian_state_election)

### Legislative Assembly

See also: [Results of the 1999 Victorian state election (Legislative Assembly)](/source/Results_of_the_1999_Victorian_state_election_(Legislative_Assembly))

Party Votes % +/– Seats +/– Labor 1,289,696 45.57 2.44 42 13 Liberal 1,194,998 42.22 1.77 36 13 National 135,930 4.80 1.69 7 2 Greens 32,570 1.15 New 0 Hope 10,894 0.38 New 0 One Nation 8,181 0.29 New 0 Democrats 7,972 0.28 New 0 Democratic Labour 6,183 0.22 New 0 Natural Law 6,044 0.21 1.65 0 Shooters 2,011 0.07 0.03 0 Reform 1,483 0.05 New 0 Christian Democrats 414 0.01 0.21 0 Independents 133,701 4.72 1.12 3 2 Total 2,830,077 100.00 – 88 – Valid votes 2,830,077 97.49 Invalid/blank votes 72,800 2.51 0.28 Total votes 2,902,877 100.00 – Registered voters/turnout 3,130,338 92.73 0.13 Source: [2][3] Two-party-preferred Labor 1,420,775 50.20 3.66 Liberal/National Coalition 1,409,567 49.80 3.66 Total 2,830,342 100.00 –

### Legislative Council

See also: [Results of the 1999 Victorian state election (Legislative Council)](/source/Results_of_the_1999_Victorian_state_election_(Legislative_Council))

Results for the Legislative Council.

The following voting statistics exclude the three mid-term by-elections held on the same day, at which two seats were retained by Labor and a third was gained by Labor from the Liberals.

Victorian state election, 18 September 1999[4] Legislative Council Enrolled voters 3,130,338 Votes cast 2,909,727 Turnout 92.95 –1.13 Informal votes 97,949 Informal 3.37 +0.79 Summary of votes by party Party Primary votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Labor 1,187,484 42.23 +1.74 8 14 Liberal 1,116,347 39.70 –4.17 11 24 National 204,587 7.28 +0.65 3 6 Democrats 190,940 6.79 +1.06 0 0 Greens 62,796 2.23 New 0 0 Reform 6,617 0.24 New 0 0 Christian Democrats 6,608 0.24 +0.04 0 0 Independent 36,399 1.29 +0.35 0 0 Total 2,811,778 22 44 Two-party-preferred Labor 1,408,843 50.12 +4.08 Liberal/National 1,402,338 49.88 –4.08

## Maps

## Seats changing hands

Seat Pre-1999 Swing Post-1999 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Ballarat East Liberal Barry Traynor 0.1 -3.7 3.7 Geoff Howard Labor Ballarat West Liberal Paul Jenkins 1.4 -2.4 1.0 Karen Overington Labor Bendigo East Liberal Michael John 5.0 -8.1 3.1 Jacinta Allan Labor Carrum Liberal David Lean 0.8 -1.0 0.2 Jenny Lindell Labor Frankston East Independent Peter McLellan* 3.1 -7.7 4.6 Matt Viney Labor Geelong Liberal Ann Henderson 3.5 -3.5 0.03 Ian Trezise Labor Gippsland East National David Treasure 15.2 -22.9 7.7 Craig Ingram Independent Gisborne Liberal Tom Reynolds 7.8 -9.4 1.6 Jo Duncan Labor Narracan Liberal Florian Andrighetto 1.6 -4.1 2.5 Ian Maxfield Labor Oakleigh Liberal Denise McGill 0.8 -4.1 3.3 Ann Barker Labor Ripon Liberal Steve Elder 4.6 -7.2 2.6 Joe Helper Labor Seymour Liberal Marie Tehan 4.2 -4.9 0.7 Ben Hardman Labor Tullamarine Liberal Bernie Finn 3.0 -6.8 3.8 Liz Beattie Labor Warrnambool National John McGrath 13.8 -22.7 8.9 John Vogels Liberal

- Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.

- The Liberal-turned-Independent member for Frankston East, [Peter McLellan](/source/Peter_McLellan_(Australian_politician)) died on election day. A supplementary election was held in which Labor won.

- In addition, Labor won [Mitcham](/source/Electoral_district_of_Mitcham_(Victoria)) in a [by-election](/source/1997_Mitcham_state_by-election) and retained it in this election.

- In addition, Independent [Susan Davies](/source/Susan_Davies) won [Gippsland West](/source/Electoral_district_of_Gippsland_West) in a [by-election](/source/1997_Gippsland_West_state_by-election) and retained it in this election.

## Campaign

The Kennett government entered the campaign with a substantial lead in the polls and was widely expected to win, some commentators even tipped the government to increase their already large majority.[5]

The Liberals ran a campaign centred on Jeff Kennett and the unusual jeff.com.au website. The presidential nature of the campaign was emphasised when the [Herald Sun](/source/Herald_Sun) ran a damaging front-page story revealing that most Liberal candidates were gagged from speaking to the [media](/source/Mass_media).[6] The Coalition stuck to a message of focusing on its economic record, and promising modest increases in spending in schools, hospitals and police.[5]

In contrast Labor sought to tap into perceptions in rural Victoria that the Kennett government had neglected them. Both [John Brumby](/source/John_Brumby) who led Labor until early 1999 and Steve Bracks campaigned extensively in rural and regional Victoria, attacking Coalition policies of [privatisation](/source/Privatisation) highlighting poor service delivery. Labor also took the unusual step of launching their campaign in the regional centre of [Ballarat](/source/Ballarat) where it announced it would spend $170 million to improve rural infrastructure. In addition Labor campaigned on issues of government transparency and service administration.[7] By election day few people believed that there would be a change of government. When [The Australian](/source/The_Australian) published a poll which suggested the result would be a cliffhanger, Steve Bracks is said to have stated 'I hope it's right, but I think *The Australian* is on drugs.'[8] Kennett during the campaign was at the centre of controversy over a heated interview with ABC Radio presenter Jon Faine.[9]

## Election day

On the afternoon of the election, while polling was being conducted, it was learned that Liberal-turned-Independent member for the marginal seat of [Frankston East](/source/Electoral_district_of_Frankston_East), [Peter McLellan](/source/Peter_McLellan), had died of a heart attack. Polling was therefore aborted, with a supplementary election to be scheduled.

When the results started to come through, it appeared that there was only a modest swing to Labor in metropolitan [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), even in the politically volatile eastern suburbs. However, there was a substantial swing to Labor in provincial and rural Victoria, traditionally a Liberal stronghold. Political analyst and ABC commentator [Antony Green](/source/Antony_Green) later wrote that "in the more than 35 elections I've been involved in, the 1999 Victorian election was the only one where I thought there was something wrong with the computer."[10]

When the [Victorian Electoral Commission](/source/Victorian_Electoral_Commission) finished counting for the night, the result was still too close to call: Labor had made huge gains in the rural hinterland, but had failed to make much headway in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne where elections had historically been won or lost.

## Frankston East and rural independents

Main article: [1999 Frankston East state supplementary election](/source/1999_Frankston_East_state_supplementary_election)

Initial counting had the Coalition on 43 seats in the 88-seat chamber, Labor on 41 (including winning the seat of [Geelong](/source/Electoral_district_of_Geelong) by just 16 votes), and the independents on three. Frankston East remained vacant pending the results of the [16 October supplementary election](/source/1999_Frankston_East_state_supplementary_election). As McLellan died on the day of the general election, voters in Frankston East had already cast votes before learning of McLellan's death. As McLellan died while the campaign was underway, the Victorian constitution required a supplementary election in the seat.

Regardless of who won in Frankston East, neither the Coalition nor Labor could form a government without the support of the independents, leaving them in a position to effectively choose the next premier.

On 16 October, the supplementary election resulted in a 7.71% swing to Labor, with its candidate [Matt Viney](/source/Matt_Viney) winning 54.60% of the [two-party preferred](/source/Two-party_preferred) vote, putting Labor on 42 seats. The votes that were cast in Frankston East on the day of the election and McLellan's death had been destroyed without being counted. It is therefore unknown whether Frankston East voters had voted differently in the supplementary election than the way they voted at the general election.

The next morning, Labor and the Independents signed an agreement which became public the following day. Although this allowed Labor to form government by one seat, Kennett's supporters urged the Coalition to force a last-ditch confidence vote on the floor of the Assembly. They believed that Savage, Davies and Ingram would be forced to publicly support Kennett. In truth, Savage and Davies felt that Kennett had been dismissive during the previous term, and would not have even considered supporting any government led by Kennett. However, with the Liberals divided on Kennett's future role, Kennett resigned as premier and retired from politics.

## Aftermath

Kennett's resignation became official on 20 October. Soon afterward, Bracks advised the [Governor](/source/Governor_of_Victoria), [Sir James Gobbo](/source/James_Gobbo), that he could [form a government](/source/Bracks_Ministry), which was duly sworn in later that day. With Kennett retiring from politics, Dr [Denis Napthine](/source/Denis_Napthine), a rural MP who was believed to bring a more consensus-style approach to leadership, succeeded him as Liberal leader.[1][5][11] Nationals leader [Pat McNamara](/source/Pat_McNamara_(Australian_politician)) retired from politics as well. His successor, [Peter Ryan](/source/Peter_Ryan_(politician)), tore up the Coalition agreement; the Liberals and Nationals would not resume their Coalition until 2008.

Labor won Kennett's old seat of [Burwood](/source/Electoral_district_of_Burwood) in a [by-election](/source/1999_Burwood_state_by-election) that December after he decided to retire from parliament. The following year they also won McNamara's hitherto safe seat of [Benalla](/source/Electoral_district_of_Benalla) in [another by-election](/source/2000_Benalla_state_by-election), which brought them to 44 of the Assembly's 88 seats.

## See also

- [Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 1999–2002](/source/Members_of_the_Victorian_Legislative_Assembly%2C_1999%E2%80%932002)

- [Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, 1999–2002](/source/Members_of_the_Victorian_Legislative_Council%2C_1999%E2%80%932002)

- [Candidates of the 1999 Victorian state election](/source/Candidates_of_the_1999_Victorian_state_election)

- [1999 AFL first preliminary final](/source/1999_AFL_first_preliminary_final)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** The [supplementary election for Frankston East](/source/1999_Frankston_East_state_supplementary_election) was held on 16 October 1999.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ajph1999_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ajph1999_2-1) Economou, Nick (June 2000). "Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1999". *Australian Journal of Politics and History*. **46** (2): 226–237. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0004-9522](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0004-9522).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Hughes, Colin A.](/source/Colin_Hughes) (2002). *A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1985-1999*. Sydney: Federation Press. p. 320.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Antony Green (June 2001). ["1999 Victorian State Election - Summary of Results"](https://www.abc.net.au/elections/archive/vic/VIC1999_ResultsBook.pdf#page=26) (PDF). *[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation)*. Retrieved 5 July 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Hughes (2002) p.321.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ajps1999_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ajps1999_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ajps1999_6-2) Woodward, Dennis; Costar, Brian (2000). "The Victorian Election of 18 September 1999". *Australian Journal of Political Science*. **35** (1): 125–133. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/10361140050002881](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10361140050002881). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [153439196](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:153439196).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Bennett S. & Newman G., 'Victorian Election 1999', Australian Parliamentary Library Research Paper [\[1\]](http://www.aph.gov.au/LIBRARY/Pubs/rp/1999-2000/2000rp19.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070613101634/http://www.aph.gov.au/LIBRARY/Pubs/rp/1999-2000/2000rp19.htm) 2007-06-13 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Bennett S. & Newman G., 'Victorian Election 1999', Australian Parliamentary Library Research Paper

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Megalogenis, George (2006). *The Longest Decade*. Melbourne: Scribe. p. 54.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["'I'll just sit here and drink my tea': Jeff Kennett's tense interview on ABC"](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-11/jeff-kennetts-tense-interview-on-abc/11417696). *www.abc.net.au*. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Comment by [Antony Green](/source/Antony_Green) at pollbludger ([\[2\]](http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/?p=356#comments) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140509001053/http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/?p=356#comments) 9 May 2014 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), 8 May 2006, accessed 2 February 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Ministers of the Crown"](https://www.gazette.vic.gov.au/gazette/Gazettes1999/GG1999S155.pdf) (PDF). *[Victoria Government Gazette](/source/Victoria_Government_Gazette)*. Victorian Government Printer. 20 October 1999. p. 1999:S155 (Special).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [1999 Victorian state election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Victorian_state_election) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Victorian_state_election?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.