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1903 Australian federal election

Election for the 2nd Parliament of Australia

Field	Value
election_name	1903 Australian federal election
country	Australia
flag_year	1903
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
previous_election	1901 Australian federal election
previous_year	1901
next_election	1906 Australian federal election
next_year	1906
outgoing_members	Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901–1903
elected_members	Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1903–1906
registered	1,893,586 93.62%
turnout	739,402 (39.05%)
(12.34 pp)
seats_for_election	All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
election_date
<!-- Protectionist Party -->	image1	Image:Alfred_Deakin_crop.jpg
image_size	190x190px
leader1	Alfred Deakin
leader_since1
party1	Protectionist Party
leaders_seat1	Ballaarat (Vic.)
swing1	1.71%
last_election1	32 seats
seats_needed1	6
seats1	26 seats
popular_vote1	210,738
percentage1	29.23%
seat_change1	6
<!-- Free Trade Party -->	image2	Image:George Reid crop.jpg
leader2	George Reid
leader_since2	11 May 1901
party2	Free Trade Party
leaders_seat2	East Sydney (NSW)
swing2	1.48%
last_election2	25 seats
seats_needed2	13
seats2	24 seats
popular_vote2	228,721
percentage2	31.73%
seat_change2	1
<!-- Australian Labour Party -->	image4	Image:ChrisWatsonBW_crop.jpg
leader4	Chris Watson
leader_since4	20 May 1901
party4	Labour
color4	DE3533
leaders_seat4	Bland (NSW)
swing4	11.53%
last_election4	16 seats
seats_needed4	22
seats4	22 seats
popular_vote4	214,713
percentage4	29.78%
seat_change4	6
<!-- Revenue Tariff Party -->	image5	Image:WMcWilliams.JPG
leader5	William McWilliams
leader_since5	1903
color5	FFDB58
party5	Revenue Tariff
leaders_seat5	Franklin (Tas.)
swing5	0.49%
last_election5	New party
seats_needed5	38
seats5	1 seat
popular_vote5	3,546
percentage5	0.49%
seat_change5	1
<!-- Independents -->	image7	IND
leader7	N/A
leader_since7	N/A
party7	Independents/Other
leaders_seat7	N/A
popular_vote7	63,218
percentage7	8.77%
swing7	12.24
last_election7	2 seats
seats7	2
seat_change7	2
colour7
map_image	1903 Australian federal election.svg
map_size	350px
map_caption	Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.
title	Prime Minister
posttitle	Subsequent Prime Minister
before_election	Alfred Deakin
before_party	Protectionist Party
after_election	Alfred Deakin
after_party	Protectionist Party

(12.34 pp) 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House 19 (of the 36) seats in the Senate

The 1903 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 16 December 1903. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Protectionist Party minority government led by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin retained the most House of Representatives seats of the three parties and retained government with the parliamentary support of the Labour Party led by Chris Watson. The Free Trade Party led by George Reid remained in opposition.

The election outcome saw a finely balanced House of Representatives, with the three parties each holding around a third of seats − the Protectionists on 26, the Free Traders on 24 and Labour on 22. This term of parliament saw no changes in any party leadership but did see very significant and prolonged debates, with three changes in government: the Protectionist minority government fell in April 1904 to be replaced by a minority Labour government, which lasted until August 1904, before falling in turn. Labour was replaced by a minority Free Trader government, which finally fell in July 1905 to be replaced by the Protectionists, who continued until the 1906 election and beyond. The Free Traders remained in opposition throughout this eventful period with the exception of Labour forming the opposition for the first time during the period of the Free Trader minority government. Additionally, the Watson government was the world's first Labour Party government at a national level.

Despite a break in prime ministerships in 1904-1905 and 1908–1909, this is the first of three consecutive elections in which Deakin was the sitting prime minister.

Issues

The wreck of outside Port Phillip Bay in late November prompted the government's handling of the White Australia policy to become a campaign issue. Shipwrecked Asian sailors were denied entry to Australia and forced to stay on a crowded tugboat for several days, leading The Argus, Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald to accuse the government of cruelty and harming Australia's international reputation. The Age and The Bulletin sided with the government. The issue was "constantly raised" at election meetings, particularly in Victoria and Tasmania.

Results

Revenue Tariff Party: 1 seat}}

House of Representatives

Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change	Formal votes	Informal votes
		Free Trade	228,721	31.73	−1.48	24	1
		Labour	214,713	29.78	+11.53	22	6
		Protectionist	166,176	23.05	−4.47	24	8
		National Liberal Union	44,562	6.18	+6.18	2	2
		Revenue Tariff	3,546	0.49	+0.49	1	1
		Independents/Other	63,218	8.77	−12.24	2
720,936	97.50
18,466	2.50
		75
1,893,586	39.05	−12.34

Senate

Party	Votes	%	±	Seats	Seats
won	Seats
after	Seat
change	Formal votes	Total	Registered voters / turnout
		Free Trade	986,030	34.33	−5.11	4	12	3
		Labour	784,859	27.33	+13.83	10	14	4
		Protectionist	503,586	17.53	−27.33	3	8	3
		National Liberal Union	136,727	4.76	+4.76	0	0
		Socialist Labor	69,769	2.43	+1.41	0	0
		Revenue Tariff	25,310	0.88	+0.88	1	1	1
		Independent	365,851	12.74	−8.60	1	1	1
2,872,132
1,893,586	46.86

Significance

The election saw the Labour party make significant gains outside New South Wales and Victoria.

As a result of Labour's gains, the numbers of the three parties in Parliament were very close to equal, leading to unstable governments: Alfred Deakin would describe it as a parliament of "three elevens" (three cricket teams). Although the Protectionists were able to retain their minority government with the qualified support of the Labour Party, the equal numbers would see a record three changes of government over the course of the Parliamentary term, with each of the three parties holding office at least once during the term of the Parliament.

The three parties that contested the 1901 election also contested the 1903 election, with only the Protectionists changing leaders: Alfred Deakin was chosen as a result of Edmund Barton's appointment as an inaugural judge of the newly constituted High Court of Australia. The Free Trade Party was again led by George Reid, with the only significant difference in policy between the parties on trade issues: the Protectionists sought to protect Australian industry and agriculture by placing tariffs on imports.

The Free Traders downgraded the view they had last election of having no tariffs to campaigning on minimal tariffs, while the other major party contesting the election was the Labour Party.

This election also saw a minor party, the Tasmanian Revenue Tariff Party, gain an MHR and one Senator. Prior to the 1901 election, the Free Trade Party had been known as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states. However, in 1903 a separate Revenue Tariff Party competed against the FTP in Tasmania. Nevertheless, both of the Revenue Tariff Party members elected joined the Free Trade Party, when the new parliament began sitting.

Like the 1901 election, voting was voluntary and candidates were elected by the first-past-the-post system. The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 gave women the vote and the right to stand for federal Parliament, leading to a significant increase in the number of votes cast in the 1903 federal election. Four women stood at the 1903 election – Selina Anderson (Dalley) in the House of Representatives and Vida Goldstein (Victoria), Nellie Martel (New South Wales), and Mary Moore-Bentley (New South Wales) in the Senate. All four stood as independents and all were unsuccessful.

Electorates

Candidates were contesting all 75 House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 Senate seats, a number unchanged from the 1901 election. The House of Representative seats were determined by the population of each state, giving 26 seats to New South Wales, 23 to Victoria, nine to Queensland, seven to South Australia and five to both Western Australia and Tasmania. In 1901, the South Australian and Tasmanian colonial parliaments had not legislated for single member electorates, so their House of Representative members were elected from a single statewide electorate. This had since changed and there were now single member electorates in both states. The newly created seats were Adelaide, Angas, Barker, Boothby, Grey, Hindmarsh and Wakefield (South Australia) and Bass, Darwin, Denison, Franklin and Wilmot (Tasmania).

Each state elected six Senators regardless of population. The Senate was elected by bloc voting rather than the current single transferable vote system. Half the Senators retired as their terms expired, and there was one casual vacancy.

Seats changing hands

Seat	Swing	Post-1903	Party	Member	Margin	Margin	Member	Party
Adelaide, SA	new division				100.0	Charles Kingston	Protectionist
Angas, SA	new division				100.0	Paddy Glynn	Free Trade
Barker, SA	new division				100.0	Langdon Bonython	Protectionist
Bass, Tas	new division				6.7	David Storrer	Protectionist
Boothby, SA	new division				100.0	Lee Batchelor	Labour
Brisbane, Qld		Protectionist	Thomas Macdonald-Paterson	7.6	9.7	2.1	Millice Culpin	Labour
Capricornia, Qld		Independent	Alexander Paterson	1.0	8.6	9.6	David Thomson	Labour
Corangamite, VIC		Protectionist	Chester Manifold	22.2	35.2	2.2	Gratton Wilson	Free Trade
Cowper, NSW		Protectionist	Francis Clarke	2.4	15.4	13.0	Henry Lee	Free Trade
Darwin, Tas	new division				0.7	King O'Malley	Labour
Denison, Tas	new division				0.2	Philip Fysh	Protectionist
Franklin, Tas	new division				4.6	William McWilliams	Revenue Tariff
Fremantle, WA		Free Trade	Elias Solomon	10.3	21.6	11.3	William Carpenter	Labour
Grey, SA	new division				100.0	Alexander Poynton	Labour
Gwydir, NSW		Protectionist	George Cruickshank	12,9	24.3	11.4	William Webster	Labour
Hindmarsh, SA	new division				16.7	James Hutchison	Labour
Hunter, NSW		Protectionist	Edmund Barton	100.0	59.3	13.3	Frank Liddell	Free Trade
Kalgoorlie, WA		Free Trade	John Kirwan	14.1	30.7	26.6	Charlie Frazer	Labour
New England, NSW		Protectionist	William Sawers	0.6	2.5	1.9	Edmund Lonsdale	Free Trade
Riverina, NSW		Protectionist	John Chanter	3.5	3.5	0.0	Robert Blackwood	Free Trade
Wakefield, SA	new division				100.0	Frederick Holder	Independent
Wilmot, Tas	new division				4.9	Edward Braddon	Free Trade

Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Post-election pendulum

Swan (WA)	John Forrest	PROT	unopposed

Wakefield (SA)	Frederick Holder	IND SPEAKER	unopposed

Notes

References

Carr, Adam. "1903 legislative election: House of Representatives, Queensland".
Foster, Leonie. (2014). "Shipwrecks and the White Australia policy". The Australian Association for Maritime History.
"House of Representatives election 1903". The University of Western Australia.
Carr, Adam. "1903 legislative election: House of Representatives, Queensland".
(25 October 2007). "AEC.gov.au". AEC.gov.au.

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