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Phillip — Australian Federal Election Results

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

Phillip was won by Jeannette Mchugh (Labor) at the 1990 federal election, with a margin of 8,324 votes over Charles Copeman after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Phillip from 1949 to 1990.

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), 1949–1990

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1949 Joseph Fitzgerald Labor 19,455 54.4% William Latimer (Liberal) 3,153 (8.8 pts)
1951 Joseph Fitzgerald Labor 19,401 53.4% Leslie Fingleton (Liberal) 2,488 (6.9 pts)
1954 Joseph Fitzgerald Labor 19,826 58.9% Henry Clarke (Liberal) 5,977 (17.7 pts)
1955 William Aston Liberal 21,142 51.1% Joseph Fitzgerald (Labor) 917 (2.2 pts)
1958 William Aston Liberal 20,735 51.9% Joseph Fitzgerald (Labor) 1,498 (3.7 pts)
1961 Sydney Einfeld Labor 19,094 53.3% William Aston (Liberal) 2,353 (6.6 pts)
1963 William Aston Liberal 20,048 52.8% Sydney Einfeld (Labor) 2,119 (5.6 pts)
1966 William Aston Liberal 20,277 60.2% Brian O'kane (Labor) 6,888 (20.5 pts)
1969 William Aston Liberal 26,540 50.4% Joseph Riordan (Labor) 440 (0.8 pts)
1972 Joseph Riordan Labor 28,065 55.1% William Aston (Liberal) 5,216 (10.2 pts)
1974 Joseph Riordan Labor 31,337 54.5% John Cunningham (Liberal) 5,139 (8.9 pts)
1975 Jack Birney Liberal 31,869 51.9% Joseph Riordan (Labor) 2,344 (3.8 pts)
1977 Jack Birney Liberal 34,127 52.0% Joseph Riordan (Labor) 2,616 (4.0 pts)
1980 Jack Birney Liberal 30,744 50.6% Jeannette Mchugh (Labor) 788 (1.3 pts)
1983 Jeannette Mchugh Labor 30,168 51.7% Jack Birney (Liberal) 1,973 (3.4 pts)
1984 Jeannette Mchugh Labor 34,163 54.2% Peter Bardos (Liberal) 5,346 (8.5 pts)
1987 Jeannette Mchugh Labor 34,743 54.1% Ray Collins (Liberal) 5,252 (8.2 pts)
1990 Jeannette Mchugh Labor 35,819 56.6% Charles Copeman (Liberal) 8,324 (13.1 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

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

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Joseph FitzgeraldLabor19,45551.2%
William LatimerLiberal16,30242.9%
Jessie StreetIndependent2,2726.0%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Joseph FitzgeraldLabor19,40153.4%
Leslie FingletonLiberal16,91346.6%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Joseph FitzgeraldLabor19,82658.9%
Henry ClarkeLiberal13,84941.1%

1955

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
William AstonLiberal21,14251.1%
Joseph FitzgeraldLabor20,22548.9%

1958

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
William AstonLiberal18,83647.1%
Joseph FitzgeraldLabor18,46746.2%
Peter DalyDemocratic Labor Party2,2065.5%
Sidney DoubledayIndependent4631.2%

1961

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Sydney EinfeldLabor19,09450.3%
William AstonLiberal16,74144.1%
Peter DalyDemocratic Labor Party2,1025.5%

1963

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
William AstonLiberal18,12847.7%
Sydney EinfeldLabor17,63446.4%
John AntillDemocratic Labor Party2,2155.8%

1966

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
William AstonLiberal20,27756.2%
Brian O'kaneLabor13,38937.1%
John HannanIndependent1,2283.4%
Dominique DroulersDemocratic Labor Party1,1593.2%

1969

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Joseph RiordanLabor23,12143.9%
William AstonLiberal22,86543.4%
Lyle AntcliffDemocratic Labor Party2,3014.4%
William WhitbyIndependent1,8153.4%
Teofila CohenIndependent1,2542.4%
Jack GrayAP5901.1%
Ronald RigbyIndependent3270.6%
Kenneth YeomansIndependent2380.5%
Alex MacdonaldIndependent1290.2%

1972

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Joseph RiordanLabor28,06550.0%
William AstonLiberal22,84940.7%
Virginia WalkerAP2,2644.0%
Dennis AndersonDemocratic Labor Party1,9343.4%
Colette TuckerIndependent5280.9%
Thomas ConwayIndependent3440.6%
Neville YeomansIndependent1080.2%

1974

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Joseph RiordanLabor31,33752.7%
John CunninghamLiberal26,19844.1%
Virginia WalkerAP1,3682.3%
David TaylorIndependent5500.9%

1975

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jack BirneyLiberal31,86950.6%
Joseph RiordanLabor29,52546.9%
Michael ClarkeIndependent8821.4%
Marie MorrisAP6751.1%

1977

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jack BirneyLiberal31,51748.0%
Joseph RiordanLabor28,87644.0%
Alan NeedhamAustralian Democrats4,6647.1%
Barry ElliottIndependent5810.9%

1980

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jack BirneyLiberal29,54148.7%
Jeannette MchughLabor27,90446.0%
Leslie ReissAustralian Democrats2,7814.6%
Russell DeileyIndependent4740.8%

1983

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jeannette MchughLabor29,90949.7%
Jack BirneyLiberal27,90346.4%
Karin SowadaAustralian Democrats1,6982.8%
Lawrence HoganIndependent2920.5%
Timothy DalyIndependent2480.4%
Julien DroulersIndependent1460.2%

1984

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jeannette MchughLabor31,60150.2%
Peter BardosLiberal25,91141.1%
Karin SowadaAustralian Democrats3,4695.5%
Donald RuglessIndependent1,3262.1%
Fred BrinkmanIndependent6851.1%

1987

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jeannette MchughLabor31,55249.1%
Ray CollinsLiberal27,50842.8%
Karin SowadaAustralian Democrats4,3396.8%
Fred BrinkmanIndependent8441.3%

1990

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Jeannette MchughLabor27,75443.7%
Charles CopemanLiberal21,58934.0%
Armon HicksAustralian Democrats6,0149.5%
Cynthia WrublewskiIndependent3,8286.0%
David BarringtonGreens2,8574.5%
Kevin LohanCommunist Party5700.9%
Toby MarshallIndependent4800.8%
George VlaznyIndependent4260.7%

Margin Over Time

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

1949: Labor margin 8.8 pts 1951: Labor margin 6.9 pts 1954: Labor margin 17.7 pts 1955: Liberal margin 2.2 pts 1958: Liberal margin 3.7 pts 1961: Labor margin 6.6 pts 1963: Liberal margin 5.6 pts 1966: Liberal margin 20.5 pts 1969: Liberal margin 0.8 pts 1972: Labor margin 10.2 pts 1974: Labor margin 8.9 pts 1975: Liberal margin 3.8 pts 1977: Liberal margin 4.0 pts 1980: Liberal margin 1.3 pts 1983: Labor margin 3.4 pts 1984: Labor margin 8.5 pts 1987: Labor margin 8.2 pts 1990: Labor margin 13.1 pts 1949 1951 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1966 1969 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990

Trend

Phillip has been contested at 18 federal elections on record since 1949. Winning parties over that span: Labor, Liberal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Phillip in the 1990 federal election?

Jeannette Mchugh (Labor) won Phillip in 1990 after preferences, with 35,819 votes (56.6%) to Charles Copeman's 27,495.

Which parties have won Phillip since 1949?

Since 1949, Phillip has been won by: Labor, Liberal.

What was the closest result in Phillip?

The closest result on record for Phillip was 1969, when William Aston (Liberal) beat Joseph Riordan by 440 votes (0.8 percentage points) after preferences.

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