Background
In late 1947, the minority Labor government of Premier John Cain was under intense pressure from the combined opposition parties. The Liberal Party, which held a majority in the Victorian Legislative Council, rejected the government's Supply Bill, depriving the administration of the authority to disburse funds after its existing spending approval expired. The tactic was intended to force a political crisis and bring about an early election. However, the Cain government had delayed presenting the Supply Bill until the last possible moment, meaning that thousands of public servants would go unpaid as a direct result of the Council's rejection. The Opposition's hope of framing the ensuing election primarily as a referendum on the federal Chifley government's proposed bank nationalisation was also considered politically risky, with observers questioning whether many electors would change their state vote to express disapproval of a federal policy. Prime Minister Ben Chifley was expected to continue his pursuit of bank nationalisation regardless of any state election result. ==Results==