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1988 Victorian state election

Australian state election

Field	Value
election_name	1988 Victorian state election
country	Victoria
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
previous_election	1985 Victorian state election
previous_year	1985
next_election	1992 Victorian state election
next_year	1992
seats_for_election	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
election_date
image1
leader1	John Cain Jr.
leader_since1	9 September 1981
party1	Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)
leaders_seat1	Bundoora
popular_vote1	1,131,750
percentage1	46.55%
swing1	3.46
last_election1	47
seats1	46
seat_change1	1
image2
leader2	Jeff Kennett
leader_since2	26 October 1982
party2	Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division)
leaders_seat2	Burwood
popular_vote2	986,311
percentage2	40.51%
swing2	1.30
last_election2	31
seats2	33
seat_change2	2
image3
leader3	Peter Ross-Edwards
leader_since3	17 June 1970
party3	National Party of Australia – Victoria
leaders_seat3	Shepparton
popular_vote3	188,776
percentage3	7.76%
swing3	0.47
last_election3	10
seats3	9
seat_change3	1
1blank	TPP
2blank	TPP swing
1data1	49.49%
2data1	1.21
1data2	50.51%
2data2	1.21
map_image	1988 Victorian state election.svg
map_size	400px
map_caption	Results in each electorate
title	Premier
before_election	John Cain Jr.
before_party	Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)
after_election	John Cain Jr.
after_party	Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)

and 22 (of the 44) seats in the Victorian Legislative Council 45 seats needed for a majority

The 1988 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 1 October 1988, was for the 51st Parliament of Victoria. It was held in the Australian state of Victoria to elect all 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council.

The incumbent Labor Party government led by Premier John Cain Jr. won a third term in office, despite a swing against it, and only lost the seat of Warrandyte in Melbourne's north-east. This was credited by commentators to a strong campaign targeting Liberal leader and future Premier Jeff Kennett whose aggressive leadership style was still seen as a liability, as well as continuing instability in the federal Coalition. Labor's narrow wins in middle class marginal seats saw it retain its majority despite the Liberals winning a bare majority of the two party preferred vote.

Results

Legislative Assembly

| turnout % = 92.35 | informal % = 3.89 |votes % = 46.55 |votes % = 40.56 |votes % = 7.76 |votes % = 1.05 |votes % = 1.05 |votes % = 0.25 |votes % = 2.78 |2pp % 1 = 49.49 |2pp % 2 = 50.51 |}

Legislative Council

| turnout % = 92.33 | informal % = 4.33 |votes % = 48.13 |votes % = 43.50 |votes % = 7.48 |votes % = 0.22 |votes % = 0.67 |}

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1988	Swing	Post-1988	Party	Member	Margin	Margin	Member	Party
Mildura			National	Milton Whiting	23.0	-24.0	1.0	Craig Bildstien	Liberal
Warrandyte			Labor	Lou Hill	0.2	-1.7	1.5	Phil Honeywood	Liberal

Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.

Key dates

Date	Event
29 August 1988	year=1988	page=S77 (Special)	title=Proroguing the Legislative Council and dissolving the Legislative Assembly: Proclamation	date=29 August 1988	url=http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/view.cgi?year=1988&class=S&page_num=1&classNum=S77}}
29 August 1988	Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.
2 September 1988	year=1988	page=S79 (Special)	date=2 September 1988	title=Constitution Act Amendment (Electoral Procedures) Act 1988 (No.31): Proclamation of Commencement	url=http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/view.cgi?year=1988&class=S&page_num=1&classNum=S79}}
5 September 1988	The electoral rolls were closed.
9 September 1988	Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon.
1 October 1988	Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
13 October 1988	The Cain Ministry was reconstituted, with two new ministers sworn in.
21 October 1988	The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
25 October 1988	Parliament resumed for business.

Post-election pendulum

Aftermath

On 23 May 1989, Jeff Kennett was voted out of the Liberal leadership in favour of Alan Brown; Brown led the party until 23 April 1991 when he was also forced out after a successful comeback by Kennett. During Brown's period as Opposition Leader, the Liberals negotiated the first coalition agreement with the Nationals in over forty years, in part due to a belief by some (in spite of what political scientist Brian Costar called a "lack of psephological evidence to support this assertion") that had the parties been in coalition at the election, they would have won.

References

Costar, Brian. (1992). "Trials in Power: Cain, Kirner and Victoria 1982–92".
Shamshullah, Ardel. (June 1989). "Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1988: Victoria". Australian Journal of Politics and History.
(29 August 1988). "Proroguing the Legislative Council and dissolving the Legislative Assembly: Proclamation".
(2 September 1988). "''Constitution Act Amendment (Electoral Procedures) Act 1988'' (No.31): Proclamation of Commencement".
(13 October 1988). "Ministers of the Crown".
(13 October 1988). "Fixing the time for holding the first session of the Fifty-first Parliament of Victoria".
B. J. Costar, 'Coalition Government: An Unequal Partnership' in B. J. Costar & N. Economou (eds) ''The Kennett Revolution: Victorian Politics in the 1990s'', UNSW Press, Sydney, 1998, p. 89

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