New South Wales state election, 1976

New South Wales state election, 1976

← 1973 1 May 1976 (1976-05-01) 1978 →
All 99 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 50 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Neville Wran Eric Willis Party Labor Liberal/Country coalition Leader since 17 November 1973 23 January 1976 Leader's seat Bass Hill Earlwood Last election 44 seats 52 seats Seats won 50 seats 48 seats Seat change 6 4 Percentage 49.75% 46.32% Swing 6.82 1.99
Legislative Assembly after the election
Premier before election Eric Willis Liberal/Country coalition Elected Premier Neville Wran Labor

Eric Willis
Liberal/Country coalition

Neville Wran
Labor

A general election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 1 May 1976. The result was a narrow win for the Australian Labor Party under Neville Wran—the party's first in the state in more than a decade.

The incumbent Liberal-Country Party coalition had lost its longtime leader, Sir Robert Askin, at the end of 1974. His successor, Tom Lewis, didn't last a year as premier before his colleagues dumped him in favour of Eric Willis.

Wran successfully emerged from the shadow of the defeated Whitlam Labor government at a federal level. Labor's campaign focussed largely on the leader himself, what Australians call a "Presidential" style campaign. The state party had undergone a long process of renewal, and emerged with strong moderate credentials. Labor also offered an alternative to a long-serving government widely perceived as corrupt.

Wran's campaign slogan, "Let's put the state in better shape," delivered by the leader and key spokesmen Peter Cox and Syd Einfeld, resonated with voters.

The election was in doubt for several days. Ultimately, the seats of Gosford and Hurstville fell to Labor by only 74 and 44 votes respectively. Had the Coalition retained these seats, it would have stayed in power with a one-seat majority. As it turned out, the loss of Gosford and Hurstville gave Wran a one-seat majority.