He was unable to recover much of the ground Labor had lost in its severe defeat two years prior, and resigned as leader shortly after the election.

The government offering tax cuts to voters and ran advertisements with the slogan "fistful of dollars".

[citation needed] The election coincided with the retirement of the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr.

[citation needed] Kerr had appeared drunk at the Melbourne Cup in November and the public outcry resulted in the cancellation of his appointment as Ambassador to UNESCO.

The former Liberal minister Don Chipp had resigned his seat to leave politics but was soon invited to lead the new party and decided to run as a senator for Victoria.