New South Wales state election, 1971

New South Wales state election, 1971

1968 ← 13 February 1971 (1971-02-13) → 1973

All 96 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.   First party Second party   Leader Bob Askin Pat Hills Party Liberal/Country coalition Labor Leader since 17 July 1959 2 December 1968 Leader's seat Collaroy Phillip Last election 53 seats 39 seats Seats won 49 seats 45 seats Seat change 4 6 Percentage 44.39% 45.02% Swing 0.90 1.93

Premier before election Bob Askin Liberal/Country coalition Elected Premier Bob Askin Liberal/Country coalition

Elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly were held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 13 February 1971. The Liberal-Country Party coalition government led by Sir Robert Askin won a third term in office. The Labor Party opposition was led by Pat Hills.

The Legislative Assembly had been enlarged by two members to 96 for the 1971 election. The seats of Sturt and Casino were established.

Key dates

Date	Event
13 January 1971	The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[1]
22 January 1971	Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon.
13 February 1971	Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
11 March 1971	The fourth Askin-Cutler Ministry was constituted.
16 March 1971	The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
16 March 1971	Parliament resumed for business.

Results

New South Wales state election, 13 February 1971[2][3] Legislative Assembly << 1968 — 1973 >>
Enrolled Voters		2,457,021[1]
Votes Cast		2,291,484		Turnout	93.26	-0.93
Informal Votes		53,628		Informal	2.34	-0.29
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	1,007,538	45.02	+1.93	45	+ 6
	Liberal	799,801	35.74	–2.73	32	– 4
	Country	193,509	8.65	–1.98	17	± 0
	Democratic Labor	71,050	3.17	+0.89	0	± 0
	Australia Party	23,689	1.06	+1.06	0	± 0
	Def. of Govt Schools	10,850	0.48	+0.48	0	± 0
	Communist	2,098	0.09	–0.18	0	± 0
	Independent	129,321	5.78	+0.53	2	± 0
Total		2,237,856			96

¹ There were 2,496,868 enrolled voters but 39,847 were enrolled in electorates (one Labor and one Country) which were uncontested at the election.

See also

• Candidates of the New South Wales state election, 1971

Notes

1. ^ Parliament of New South Wales. "1971 Election". http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/resources/nswelectionsanalysis/1971/Home.htm. Retrieved 6 February 2010. 
2. ^ Australian Government and Politics Database. "Parliament of New South Wales, Assembly election, 13 February 1971". http://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=756. Retrieved 6 February 2010. 
3. ^ Hughes, Colin A. (1977). A handbook of Australian government and politics, 1965-1974. ANU Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-7081-1340-0. 

References

• Parliament of New South Wales: NSW Elections Analysis - 1971