Results of the 2016 Australian federal election (Senate)
The 2016 Australian federal election in the Senate was part of a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double dissolution election since the 1987 election and the first under a new voting system for the Senate that replaced group voting tickets with optional preferential voting.
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All 76 seats in the Australian Senate 39 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2016 Australian federal election |
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| National results |
| State and territory results |
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The final outcome in the 76-seat Australian Senate took over four weeks to complete despite significant voting changes. Earlier in 2016, legislation changed the Senate voting system from a full-preference single transferable vote with group voting tickets to an optional-preferential single transferable vote.[1] The final Senate result was announced on 4 August: Liberal/National Coalition 30 seats (−3), Labor 26 seats (+1), Greens 9 seats (−1), One Nation 4 seats (+4) and Nick Xenophon Team 3 seats (+2). Former broadcaster and founder of the Justice Party Derryn Hinch, won a seat, while Jacqui Lambie, Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm and Family First's Bob Day retained their seats. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition will require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three.[2][3][4]
A number of initially-elected senators were declared ineligible a result of the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, and replaced after recounts.
Terms of senators
The two major parties negotiated to allocate a six-year term to the first elected six of twelve senators in each state, while the last six received a three-year term. This was consistent with the Senate practice on all seven previous occasions.[5] In 1983 the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform had unanimously recommended an alternative "recount" method to reflect proportional representation,[6] and the Commonwealth Electoral Act provides for a recount on that basis.[7] This alternative method had been supported by both Labor and the Coalition in two separate, identical, bipartisan senate resolutions, passed in 1998 and 2010.[8][5][9] By not adhering to their previous resolutions, Labor and the Coalition each gained one senate seat from 2019.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
Australia
The final Senate result was announced on 4 August. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government won 30 seats, a net loss of three − the Coalition lost four Senators, one each from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but gained a Senator in Victoria. The Labor opposition won 26 seats, a gain of one − a Senator in Western Australia. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition will require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three.[2][3][4]

| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Change | ||
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| Liberal–National Coalition | 4,868,968 | 35.18 | –1.52 | 30 | –3 | ||
| Liberal/National joint ticket | 2,769,426 | 20.01 | −1.32 | 10 | ±0 | ||
| Liberal | 1,067,286 | 7.71 | +0.77 | 14 | −2 | ||
| Liberal National | 960,467 | 6.94 | −1.16 | 5 | −1 | ||
| Country Liberal | 37,156 | 0.27 | −0.05 | 1 | ±0 | ||
| National (WA) | 34,633 | 0.25 | −0.06 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Labor | 4,123,153 | 29.79 | +0.16 | 26 | +1 | ||
| Greens | 1,197,690 | 8.65 | −0.58 | 9 | −1 | ||
| One Nation | 592,539 | 4.28 | +3.75 | 4 | +4 | ||
| Xenophon Team | 456,556 | 3.30 | +1.37 | 3 | +2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 298,930 | 2.16 | –1.59 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Justice | 266,660 | 1.93 | +1.93 | 1 | +1 | ||
| Shooters, Fishers and Farmers | 192,965 | 1.39 | +0.44 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Family First | 189,852 | 1.37 | +0.25 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Christian Democrats | 162,370 | 1.17 | +0.63 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Animal Justice | 159,407 | 1.15 | +0.46 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Liberty Alliance | 103,035 | 0.74 | +0.74 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Democratic Labour | 94,525 | 0.68 | –0.18 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Sex | 94,262 | 0.68 | –0.64 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Health Australia | 85,256 | 0.62 | +0.86 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sex/HEMP joint ticket | 76,816 | 0.55 | +0.55 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Lambie Network | 69,074 | 0.50 | +0.50 | 1 | +1 | ||
| Christians | 66,538 | 0.48 | +0.09 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Drug Law Reform | 61,327 | 0.44 | +0.38 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Motoring Enthusiast | 53,242 | 0.38 | –0.12 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Katter's Australian | 53,123 | 0.38 | –0.50 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Lazarus Team | 45,149 | 0.33 | +0.33 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Marriage Equality | 45,006 | 0.33 | +0.33 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Arts | 37,708 | 0.27 | +0.27 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Rise Up Australia | 36,472 | 0.26 | –0.10 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Pirate | 35,184 | 0.25 | –0.11 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Renewable Energy | 29,998 | 0.22 | +0.22 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Science/Cyclists joint ticket | 29,934 | 0.22 | +0.22 | 0 | 0 | ||
| HEMP | 29,510 | 0.21 | –0.50 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sustainable Australia | 26,341 | 0.19 | +0.08 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Palmer United | 26,230 | 0.19 | –5.42 | 0 | –3 | ||
| Cyclists | 24,283 | 0.18 | +0.18 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Voluntary Euthanasia | 23,255 | 0.17 | –0.06 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Seniors United | 22,213 | 0.16 | +0.16 | 0 | 0 | ||
| VOTEFLUX.ORG | 20,461 | 0.15 | +0.15 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mature Australia | 18,931 | 0.14 | +0.14 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Online Direct Democracy | 11,857 | 0.09 | +0.06 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Secular | 11,077 | 0.08 | –0.01 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Defence Veterans | 10,391 | 0.08 | +0.08 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Socialist Alliance | 9,969 | 0.07 | +0.04 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Citizens Electoral Council | 9,851 | 0.07 | +0.06 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Country | 9,316 | 0.07 | +0.07 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Socialist Equality | 7,865 | 0.06 | +0.02 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Progressives | 6,255 | 0.05 | +0.05 | 0 | 0 | ||
| CountryMinded | 5,989 | 0.04 | +0.04 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Manufacturing and Farming | 5,268 | 0.04 | +0.04 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Australia First | 3,027 | 0.02 | +0.02 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Recreational Fishers | 2,376 | 0.02 | +0.02 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Non-Custodial Parents | 2,102 | 0.02 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Science | 1,306 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Unendorsed/Ungrouped | 25,288 | 0.18 | +0.00 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13,838,900 | 76 | |||||
New South Wales
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Victoria
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Queensland
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Western Australia
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South Australia
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Tasmania
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Territories
Australian Capital Territory
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Northern Territory
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Notes
- Brandis was the Leader of the Government in the Senate, whereas the leader of the Coalition in the Australian House of Representatives was Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
- Wong is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, whereas the leader of the Labor Party in the Australian House of Representatives is Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
- 3 LNP Senators sit in the Liberal party room and 2 in the National party room
- Sits in National party room
- Nash was declared to be ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns because she was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom.[16] A special recount resulted in Jim Molan being declared to have been elected.
- Roberts was declared to be ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns because he was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom.[16] A special recount determined that Fraser Anning was elected instead.
- Waters resigned on 18 July 2017 because she was a dual citizen of Canada. The Court of Disputed Returns declared she was ineligible to be elected.[16] A special recount declared Andrew Bartlett had been elected instead.
- Ludlam resigned on 14 July 2017 because he was a dual citizen of New Zealand. The Court of Disputed Returns declared he was ineligible to be elected.[16] A special recount will determine who is declared to have been elected.
- Culleton was found ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns.[17] A special recount led to Georgiou being declared to have been elected on 10 March 2017.[18]
- Kakoschke-Moore resigned on 22 November 2017 after learning she was a British citizen by descent. The Court of Disputed Returns declared she had been ineligible to be elected on 13 February 2018.[19] A special recount will determined Tim Storer was elected instead.
- Day was found ineligible by the Court of Disputed Returns.[20] A special recount led to Gichuhi being declared to have been elected on 19 April 2017.[21]
- In 2016, Lisa Singh was demoted to sixth position on the Labor Party's Tasmanian Senate ticket behind Senator Catryna Bilyk and union secretary John Short.[22] A quota in Tasmania was 26,090 votes with Singh receiving 20,741 below-the-line votes: enough to overturn the party’s ticket order. She was the 10th senator elected for Tasmania, ahead of Catryna Bilyk (elected 11th), with John Short missing out.[23]
- Parry resigned on 1 November 2017 because he was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom.[24] A special recount will determine who is declared to have been elected.
References
- Nicole Hasham (3 July 2016). "Election 2016 results: Senate count throws up a wild mix as One Nation, Fred Nile, Liberal Democrats vie for seats". news.com.au. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- "AEC". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- "Federal Election 2016: Senate Results". Australia Votes. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- "Senate photo finishes". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
- "Division of the Senate following simultaneous general elections". Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (14th ed.). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform (13 September 1983). "First report - electoral reform" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. pp. 66–7.
- Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 282 Re-count of Senate votes to determine order of election in other circumstances.
- Green, A (25 April 2016). "How long and short terms are allocated after a double dissolution". ABC.net.au.
- "Double dissolution election: implications for the Senate". Parliament of Australia. 29 January 2016.
- "Election 2016: Pauline Hanson secures six-year Senate term, Derryn Hinch has three years until re-election". ABC News. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- Senate terms: Derryn Hinch and Greens' Lee Rhiannon given three years - The Guardian 12 August 2016
- ALP-LNP deal to force senators back to poll in three years: The Australian 13 August 2016
- Coalition and Labor team up to clear out crossbench senators in 2019: SMH 12 August 2016
- Coalition flags first elected Senate plan: Sky News 12 August 2016
- Cormann raises ‘first elected’ plan to halve Senate terms for crossbenchers: The Australian 12 December 2016
- Re Culleton (No 2) [2017] HCA 4. "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court. 3 February 2017.
- "Senator Peter Georgiou". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- Byrne, Elizabeth; Doran, Matthew (13 February 2018). "High Court rules former NXT senator cannot replace herself, Tim Storer likely to win recount". ABC News. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- Re Day [No 2] [2017] HCA 14, "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court of Australia.
- "Senator Lucy Gichuhi". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- "Labor unveils Senate candidates with Lisa Singh relegated to unwinnable spot". ABC News. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- "Lisa Singh's success rewrites history as Greens Nick McKim snares final Tasmanian Senate seat". The Mercury. 27 July 2016.
- Remeikis, Amy (1 November 2017). "Liberal Stephen Parry to resign over dual British citizenship". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2017.



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