1987 Australian Senate election

1987 Australian Senate elections

11 July 1987

All 76 seats in the Australian Senate
39 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Fred Chaney John Button
Party Liberal–National Coalition Labor
Leader since 11 March 1983 7 November 1980
Leader's seat Western Australia Victoria
Seats before 33 34
Seats after 34 32
Seat change 1 2
Popular vote 3,939,432 4,013,860
Percentage 42.04% 42.83%
Swing 2.50% 0.66%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Janine Haines Robert Wood
Party Democrats NDP
Leader since 18 August 1986
Leader's seat South Australia New South Wales
(won seat)
Seats before 7 1
Seats after 7 1
Seat change
Popular vote 794,107 102,480
Percentage 8.47% 1.09%
Swing 0.85% 6.14%

Senators elected in the 1987 federal election

Leader of the Senate before election

John Button
Labor

Elected Leader of the Senate

John Button
Labor

The following tables show state-by-state results in the Australian Senate at the 1987 federal election. This election was a Double dissolution, which means that all 12 senators from each state were up for election. Senators total 29 coalition (27 Liberal, one coalition National, one CLP), 32 Labor, one Jo Vallentine Peace Group, four non-coalition National, seven Democrats, one Nuclear Disarmament and one Independent. Territory Senators served until the next federal election. State Senator terms were nominally three or six years, backdated from 1 July 1987. The Senate used the order-elected method to allocate three- and six-year seats, despite provisions for the AEC to conduct a special recount.