The Republic of Australia
August - December 1994
With the gaffe-prone Alexander Downer leading the Liberal-National Opposition, the Labor government was well ahead in opinion polls despite the country’s economy being in poor shape. Downer was mired in two toxic scandals, one being his association with the far right-wing League of Rights (a film surfaced of him addressing at meeting in 1987), and the other scandal stemmed from his gaffe when speaking at a Liberal Party dinner where Downer made an unfortunate joke about domestic violence. In contrast to Downer, Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating is seen as a strong, if not especially loved, leader.
Seizing on Downer’s incompetence and the Coalition’s lack of impact on the electorate, Keating called a snap election in mid-November. The election would be held on the 10th of December. There would be a short, sharp four week campaign.
Caught unprepared, the Coalition blundered into a sloppy campaign filled with mistakes and poor messaging. Their policies were undercooked and did not resonate in the Australian community. The Labor government on the other hand ran a model and professional campaign centred around the strong leadership of Keating, racial reconciliation, new education initiatives and a proposal for a Referendum on whether Australia should become a republic. There was a brief and small backlash against Keating for calling such a transparently opportunistic election, but the voters never seriously considered replacing the government with an opposition in disarray.
Entering the 1994 Federal election, the Labor Party held 80 seats in the House of Representatives, the Coalition held 65.
As the votes were counted, it became apparent very early that Australia had not just rejected Alexander Downer and the Coalition, there was a 4% swing against the Opposition. Labor would end the night with 88 seats, the Coalition held just 56. There were 4 Independents.
It was a stunning result for an 11 year old government to achieve. Many political commentators questioned the future of both the Liberal and National Parties. Alexander Downer took full responsibility for the Coalition’s worst ever electoral defeat and resigned as Liberal Party leader that night.
In his home town electorate of Bankstown, Paul Keating embraced his supporters and laid out an ambitious vision for the future of the nation.