Queensland state election, 1977

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12 November 1977 (1977-11-12)

1980 →

All 82 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland

	First party	Second party

Leader	Joh Bjelke-Petersen	Tom Burns
Party	National/Liberal coalition	Labor
Leader since	8 August 1968	19 December 1974 (1974-12-19)
Leader's seat	Barambah	Lytton
Last election	69 seats	11 seats
Seats won	59 seats	23 seats
Seat change	10	12
Percentage	52.37%	42.83%
Swing	5.14	6.80

Premier before election

Joh Bjelke-Petersen
National/Liberal coalition

Elected Premier

Joh Bjelke-Petersen
National/Liberal coalition

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 12 November 1977 to elect the 82 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.

The election resulted in a fourth consecutive victory for the National-Liberal Coalition under Joh Bjelke-Petersen. It was the eighth victory of the National Party in Queensland since it first came to office in 1957.

The major issue in the election was law and order. In 1977, the Government had passed a law making it illegal to march in the street without a permit, which were rarely given. The Coalition argued that this prevented traffic disruption and other inconveniences to the people of Brisbane, while the ALP claimed that it was a curtailment of civil liberties. Joh Bjelke-Petersen also no longer had the Whitlam Labor Government (which was unpopular in Queensland) to use as a campaigning tool.

The Labor Party gained twelve seats from the Coalition and Independents, making something of a recovery from its disastrous 1974 performance. Even so, the Coalition retained a commanding majority in the Legislative Assembly.

For the first time, the National Party won more votes than the Liberal party (an electoral malaportionment had allowed the Nationals to win more seats than the Liberals previously). The Liberal Party had begun to decline.

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