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Burke — Australian Federal Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Burke was won by Brendan O'connor (Labor) at the 2001 federal election, with a margin of 9,033 votes over Chris Dawe after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Burke from 1949 to 2001.

Australia uses instant-runoff (preferential) voting: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one has a majority of first-preference votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed to voters' next preference, repeating until one candidate has a majority. The "Winner" and "Margin" below reflect the final result after preferences (equivalent to the AEC's own two-candidate-preferred figure) — not simply whoever led on first preferences, which can occasionally be a different candidate.

Full Election History (After Preferences), 1949–2001

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1949 Edward Peters Labor 24,362 71.2% Alfred Wall (Liberal) 14,497 (42.4 pts)
1951 Edward Peters Labor 27,422 72.4% Alfred Wall (Liberal) 16,976 (44.8 pts)
1954 Edward Peters Labor 23,510 71.7% Alfred Wall (Liberal) 14,250 (43.5 pts)
1969 Leonard Johnson Labor 26,798 65.3% John Williams (Liberal) 12,568 (30.6 pts)
1972 Keith Johnson Labor 39,510 71.0% Howard Thain (Liberal) 23,367 (42.0 pts)
1974 Keith Johnson Labor 46,977 68.7% Claus Salger (Liberal) 25,566 (37.4 pts)
1975 Keith Johnson Labor 45,634 59.5% Claus Salger (Liberal) 14,531 (18.9 pts)
1977 Keith Johnson Labor 32,248 60.9% Mihaly Lengyel (Liberal) 11,568 (21.9 pts)
1980 Andrew Theophanous Labor 37,984 58.6% Alexander Ross (Liberal) 11,181 (17.3 pts)
1983 Andrew Theophanous Labor 46,171 65.5% Bernard Finn (Liberal) 21,877 (31.0 pts)
1984 Neil O'keefe Labor 29,836 52.9% Marisa D'agostino (Liberal) 3,290 (5.8 pts)
1987 Neil O'keefe Labor 36,098 54.4% Peter Dale (Liberal) 5,892 (8.9 pts)
1990 Neil O'keefe Labor 33,684 53.3% Ian Lindsay (Liberal) 4,179 (6.6 pts)
1993 Neil O'keefe Labor 43,345 60.0% Stephen Mitchell (Liberal) 14,404 (19.9 pts)
1996 Neil O'keefe Labor 40,069 57.0% Anthony Moore (Liberal) 9,878 (14.1 pts)
1998 Neil O'keefe Labor 42,074 57.6% Serge Petrovich (Liberal) 11,114 (15.2 pts)
2001 Brendan O'connor Labor 45,504 55.5% Chris Dawe (Liberal) 9,033 (11.0 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward PetersLabor24,36262.1%
Alfred WallLiberal9,86525.2%
Henry HodgesIndependent4,72012.0%
James WhitworthIndependent2710.7%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward PetersLabor27,42272.4%
Alfred WallLiberal10,44627.6%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward PetersLabor23,51068.7%
Alfred WallLiberal9,26027.0%
Vida LittleCommunist Party of Australia1,4674.3%

1969

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Leonard JohnsonLabor26,79856.8%
John WilliamsLiberal14,23030.2%
Terence ScullyDemocratic Labor Party5,00310.6%
Kathleen LahertyIndependent6331.3%
Richard SmithAP5061.1%

1972

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Keith JohnsonLabor39,51063.6%
Howard ThainLiberal16,14326.0%
Colin WalshDemocratic Labor Party6,50210.5%

1974

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Keith JohnsonLabor46,97761.2%
Claus SalgerLiberal21,41127.9%
Colin WalshDemocratic Labor Party4,3285.6%
Alexander GerocsAP4,0175.2%

1975

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Keith JohnsonLabor45,63454.2%
Claus SalgerLiberal31,10337.0%
Colin WalshDemocratic Labor Party4,4425.3%
Michael DuplaIndependent2,9493.5%

1977

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Keith JohnsonLabor32,24850.4%
Mihaly LengyelLiberal20,68032.3%
Eric SpencerAustralian Democrats7,12211.1%
Colin WalshDemocratic Labor Party3,9636.2%

1980

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Andrew TheophanousLabor37,98454.1%
Alexander RossLiberal26,80338.2%
Eric SpencerAustralian Democrats5,4137.7%

1983

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Andrew TheophanousLabor46,17160.9%
Bernard FinnLiberal24,29432.0%
George HunterAustralian Democrats4,6116.1%
Evelyn RobsonIndependent7881.0%

1984

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Neil O'keefeLabor27,44648.7%
Marisa D'agostinoLiberal23,27341.3%
George HunterAustralian Democrats2,9855.3%
Leslie VidlerNational1,8233.2%
Genevieve CormickDemocratic Labor Party8621.5%

1987

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Neil O'keefeLabor32,73849.3%
Peter DaleLiberal25,53438.5%
Susan MullingtonAustralian Democrats4,7937.2%
Barry McleodNational3,2784.9%

1990

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Neil O'keefeLabor27,10242.9%
Ian LindsayLiberal26,11441.3%
Patrick MccurryAustralian Democrats9,99615.8%

1993

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Neil O'keefeLabor40,06755.4%
Stephen MitchellLiberal27,04737.4%
Iain RalphAustralian Democrats3,1804.4%
Ian BurrowesCommunist Party1,4912.1%
Michael DickensIndependent5520.8%

1996

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Neil O'keefeLabor35,94950.9%
Anthony MooreLiberal27,12238.4%
Victor KayeAustralian Democrats6,7829.6%
Michael DickinsIndependent7051.0%

1998

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Neil O'keefeLabor36,51650.0%
Serge PetrovichLiberal26,31736.0%
Vaughan WilliamsAustralian Democrats4,3656.0%
Frank PrestonOne Nation3,3194.5%
Paul FyffeGreens1,3971.9%
Rod HardyIndependent9571.3%
Ngaire MasonIndependent1630.2%

2001

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Brendan O'connorLabor39,13847.7%
Chris DaweLiberal31,28238.2%
Marcus WardGreens6,0627.4%
Geoff LutzAustralian Democrats5,4936.7%

Margin Over Time

Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.

1949: Labor margin 42.4 pts 1951: Labor margin 44.8 pts 1954: Labor margin 43.5 pts 1969: Labor margin 30.6 pts 1972: Labor margin 42.0 pts 1974: Labor margin 37.4 pts 1975: Labor margin 18.9 pts 1977: Labor margin 21.9 pts 1980: Labor margin 17.3 pts 1983: Labor margin 31.0 pts 1984: Labor margin 5.8 pts 1987: Labor margin 8.9 pts 1990: Labor margin 6.6 pts 1993: Labor margin 19.9 pts 1996: Labor margin 14.1 pts 1998: Labor margin 15.2 pts 2001: Labor margin 11.0 pts 1949 1951 1954 1969 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001

Trend

Burke has been contested at 17 federal elections on record since 1949. Winning party over that span: Labor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Burke in the 2001 federal election?

Brendan O'connor (Labor) won Burke in 2001 after preferences, with 45,504 votes (55.5%) to Chris Dawe's 36,471.

Which parties have won Burke since 1949?

Since 1949, Burke has been won by: Labor.

What was the closest result in Burke?

The closest result on record for Burke was 1984, when Neil O'keefe (Labor) beat Marisa D'agostino by 3,290 votes (5.8 percentage points) after preferences.

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