1977 South Australian state election


State elections were held in South Australia on 17 September 1977. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan won a fourth term in government, defeating the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition David Tonkin.

Background

Parliamentary elections for the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia were held in South Australia in 1977. There was no election for Legislative Council; and as of 2020, this is the most recent South Australian election which has not been for both houses.
The Labor Party led by Don Dunstan, which had won the previous three elections in 1970, 1973 and 1975, defeated the Liberal Party of Australia opposition led by David Tonkin. It was the first time that a Labor government in South Australia had been re-elected for a fourth term, and would be the first nine-year-incumbent Labor government. This would be Dunstan's last election before resigning due to ill health in 1979.
This was the first election after the end of Playmander seat weighting where one vote one value was introduced. At the previous election some metropolitan seats still saw more than three times the number of voters than in some rural seats, despite most of the Playmander being abolished nearly a decade ago. The redistribution was the reason Dunstan called an early election.
The Australian Democrats ran for the first time under a joint New LM-Australian Democrats ticket, winning an average 12.3 percent of the primary vote in the 12 electorates they contested, with former LCL MP Robin Millhouse retaining his seat of Mitcham, which he would hold until 1982.

Key dates

stood as an Independent Liberal, but later joined the Liberal Party; giving the numbers: 27 Labor, 18 Liberal, 1 Country Party, 1 Australian Democrat.
A 1979 Norwood by-election was triggered as a result of Dunstan's resignation. Labor retained the seat on a considerably reduced majority.

Post-election pendulum

LABOR SEATS ---
Marginal---
MorphettTerry GroomALP0.3%
Fairly safe---
MawsonLeslie DruryALP6.5%
ToddMolly ByrneALP6.5%
BrightonHugh HudsonALP8.1%
Henley BeachGlen BroomhillALP9.3%
NewlandJohn KlunderALP9.8%
Safe---
UnleyGil LangleyALP10.1%
NorwoodDon DunstanALP10.2%
HartleyDes CorcoranALP10.4%
MitchellRon PayneALP11.4%
Ascot ParkGeoff VirgoALP12.5%
GillesJack SlaterALP12.8%
Albert ParkCharles HarrisonALP14.1%
PlayfordTerry McRaeALP15.1%
AdelaideJack WrightALP16.2%
BaudinDon HopgoodALP16.7%
FloreyCharles WellsALP17.0%
PeakeDon SimmonsALP17.4%
PriceGeorge WhittenALP19.4%
SalisburyReg GrothALP19.5%
NapierTerry HemmingsALP21.0%
Ross SmithJohn BannonALP22.2%
SemaphoreJack OlsonALP22.2%
ElizabethPeter DuncanALP22.4%
WhyallaMax BrownALP23.2%
StuartGavin KeneallyALP23.9%
SpenceRoy AbbottALP27.3%