1990 Australian Election

The 1990 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 24 March 1990. All 148 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by newly elected Paul Keating defeated the opposition Liberal Party of Australia led by John Hewson with coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by Tim Fischer. The election saw the reelection of a Keating government, the fourth successive term, at the cost of a minority government.

Background
John Howard lost the 1987 election to Hawke, and Andrew Peacock was elected Deputy Leader in a show of party unity. In May 1989 Peacock's supporters mounted a party room coup which failed when John Hewson was appointed to the leadership instead, as a factional breaker between the moderates and conservatives. As a result Andrew Peacock defected from the Liberal Party, joining the Australian Democrats. Hawke's government was in political trouble, with high interest rates and a financial crisis in Victoria. In September 26th 1989, Hawke resigned from the prime-ministership after health complications, and the party room elected Treasurer Paul Keating. In 1988, The Queensland National Party defected from the coalition, led by recently elected member for Maranoa Joh Bjelke-Petersen.