Coalition (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Coalition in Australia
n politics refers to a group of centre-right
parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement
(on and off) since 1922
. The Coalition partners are the Liberal Party of Australia
(or its predecessors before 1945) and the National Party of Australia
(known as the Australian Country Party from 1921 to 1975 and the National Country Party of Australia from 1975 to 1982). The Country Liberal Party
in the Northern Territory
and the Liberal National Party in Queensland
are their equivalents in those states, while the National Party of Western Australia
and The Nationals South Australia
are not in any form of coalition and are separate parties. There is no National Party in the ACT or Tasmania. The Coalition's main rival for government is the centre-left Australian Labor Party
.
The Liberal leader usually becomes the Prime Minister or Premier, while the Nationals leader usually becomes the Deputy Prime Minister or Deputy Premier, if the parties win government. In modern times, Queensland was the only state where this system worked in reverse, as Queensland was the only state where the National Party was the stronger coalition partner (Victoria had Country-party dominated coalitions from the 1920s to the 1950s). However, the Queensland coalition parties merged in 2008, meaning that former party affiliations had no real effect.
The status of the Coalition varies across the Commonwealth and states. Below is the status of each state on a state-by-state basis.
At the federal level, there was until recently a Coalition between the Liberals, Nationals and Country Liberal Party
, with the Queensland Liberal National Party participating through their affiliation with the Liberals. This was briefly broken in 1987, but was renewed after the 1987 federal election. In September 2008, Barnaby Joyce
became leader of the Nationals in the Senate, with the party moving to the crossbenches. Joyce stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts.
's preferential voting
systems which enable Liberals and Nationals to compete locally while exchanging preferences in elections, thereby avoiding "three-cornered-contests", usually with the Australian Labor Party
(ALP), which would weaken their prospects under first past the post voting. From time to time, friction is caused by the fact that the Liberal and National candidates are campaigning against each other, usually without undue long-term damage to the relationship.
Indeed, the whole point of introducing preferential voting was to allow safe spoiler-free three-cornered contests. It was a government of the forerunner to the modern Liberal party
that introduced the necessary legislation
, after Labor won the 1918 Swan by-election
after the conservative vote was split in two. Two months later, a by-election held under preferential voting caused the initially-leading ALP candidate to lose after some lower-placed candidates' preferences had been distributed.
As a result of variations on the preferential voting system used in every state and territory, the Coalition has been able to thrive, wherever both its member parties have both been active. The preferential voting system has allowed the Liberal and National parties to compete and cooperate at the same time. By contrast, a variation of the preferential system known as Optional Preferential Voting
has proven a significant handicap to coalition co-operation in Queensland
and New South Wales
, because significant numbers of voters don't express all useful preferences.
(TPP) vote which is based on Labor and the Coalition. The Australian Electoral Commission
has distinguished between "traditional" (Coalition/Labor) two-party-preferred (TPP/2PP) contests, and "non-traditional" (Independent
, Greens
, Liberal vs National) two-candidate-preferred (TCP/2CP) contests. At the 2010 federal election, all eight seats which resulted in a two-candidate-preferred result were re-counted to also express a statistical-only two-party-preferred result.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politics refers to a group of centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
(on and off) since 1922
Australian federal election, 1922
Federal elections were held in Australia on 16 December 1922. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes lost its majority...
. The Coalition partners are the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
(or its predecessors before 1945) and the National Party of Australia
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
(known as the Australian Country Party from 1921 to 1975 and the National Country Party of Australia from 1975 to 1982). The Country Liberal Party
Country Liberal Party
The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
and the Liberal National Party in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
are their equivalents in those states, while the National Party of Western Australia
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....
and The Nationals South Australia
The Nationals South Australia
The Nationals SA are a sub-division of the National Party of Australia. First contesting the 1965 state election, the party has only held two seats at alternating periods; Peter Blacker in Flinders and Karlene Maywald in Chaffey....
are not in any form of coalition and are separate parties. There is no National Party in the ACT or Tasmania. The Coalition's main rival for government is the centre-left Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
.
The Liberal leader usually becomes the Prime Minister or Premier, while the Nationals leader usually becomes the Deputy Prime Minister or Deputy Premier, if the parties win government. In modern times, Queensland was the only state where this system worked in reverse, as Queensland was the only state where the National Party was the stronger coalition partner (Victoria had Country-party dominated coalitions from the 1920s to the 1950s). However, the Queensland coalition parties merged in 2008, meaning that former party affiliations had no real effect.
Present-day Coalition status
| Coalition Member Parties | |
|---|---|
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
|
| Liberal National Party of Queensland | |
| National Party of Australia National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
|
| Country Liberal Party Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties... (NT Northern Territory The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions... ) |
The status of the Coalition varies across the Commonwealth and states. Below is the status of each state on a state-by-state basis.
At the federal level, there was until recently a Coalition between the Liberals, Nationals and Country Liberal Party
Country Liberal Party
The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
, with the Queensland Liberal National Party participating through their affiliation with the Liberals. This was briefly broken in 1987, but was renewed after the 1987 federal election. In September 2008, Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
became leader of the Nationals in the Senate, with the party moving to the crossbenches. Joyce stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts.
- New South Wales: A Coalition between the Liberal and National parties exists in New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The Liberal Party is led by Barry O'FarrellBarry O'FarrellBarry Robert O'Farrell MP, is an Australian politician and is the 43rd Premier of New South Wales, Minister for Western Sydney, Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Ku-ring-gai for the Liberal Party since 1999.Born in...
and the National Party by Andrew StonerAndrew StonerAndrew John Stoner is an Australian politician, Deputy Premier of New South Wales and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the seat of Oxley since the 1999 state election, and the Leader of the New South Wales National Party since 31 March 2003...
. It won the 2011 state electionNew South Wales state election, 2011Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...
in a massive swing. New South Wales is the only state where the coalition had never broken, and yet had also never merged.
- Victoria: A Coalition between the Liberal and National parties exists in Victoria. The Liberal Party is led by Ted BaillieuTed BaillieuEdward Norman "Ted" Baillieu MLA is an Australian politician. He is currently the Premier of Victoria and the member for the Legislative Assembly seat of Hawthorn...
and the National Party by Peter RyanPeter Ryan (politician)Peter Julian Ryan is an Australian politician and leader of the National Party in Victoria. He has represented the electoral district of Gippsland South since 1992, and has been the Deputy Premier of Victoria, Minister for Police as well as the Minister for Rural and Regional Development since 2...
. When Ryan became leader of the Nationals shortly after the 1999 election, he briefly terminated the Coalition agreement and went into the 2002 and 2006Victorian state election, 2006An election for the 56th Parliament of Victoria took place on Saturday, 25 November 2006. Just over 3 million Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly and, for the first time, 40 members to the Legislative Council under a proportional representation system...
elections separately from the Liberals. However, the Coalition agreement was renewed in 2008 and the Victorian Liberal and National parties went into the 2010 electionVictorian state election, 2010The 2010 Victorian state election was held on 27 November. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party government, led by John Brumby, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Ted Baillieu....
as a Coalition. The Coalition ended up winning the 2010 election with a one-seat margin.
- Queensland: In recent times, Queensland is the only state in which the Nationals have been the stronger coalition partner. The Queensland Liberals broke the Coalition in 1983. At a election held two months later, the Nationals under Joh Bjelke-PetersenJoh Bjelke-PetersenSir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
came up one seat short of a majority, but later gained a majority when two Liberal MLAs crossed the floor to the Nationals. The Nationals then governed in their own right until 1989, but governed in Coalition under Rob BorbidgeRob BorbidgeRobert Edward Borbidge AO , Australian politician, was the 35th Premier of Queensland, and leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party...
from 1996 to 1998. In 2008, the parties agreed to merge, forming the Liberal National Party, which is affiliated with the Liberal Party. LNP MP Warren TrussWarren TrussWarren Errol Truss , Australian politician, is the current leader of the National Party of Australia in the Parliament of Australia. He has held the House of Representatives seat of Wide Bay since the 1990 election...
is the federal leader of the Nationals, and four other LNP MPs sit with the Nationals in the House. Barnaby Joyce, the Senate leader of the Nationals, is an LNP member, and one other LNP Senator sits with the Nationals as well. There is an informal agreement within the LNP as to which party room LNP members will sit with. Members who were are re-elected to parliament remain in the same party, whereas members who win seats from the ALP that previously belonged to the coalition will sit with the previous member's party. An amicable division of seats was decided upon for new seats or seats that have never been won by the coalition.
- Western Australia: The National Party of Western AustraliaNational Party of Western AustraliaThe National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....
was in Coalition with the state Liberal government from 1993 to 2001 (see Hendy CowanHendy CowanHendy John Cowan is a former Australian politician who served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly as the Member for Merredin-Yilgarn from 30 March 1974 and the Member for Merredin from 19 February 1977...
), but the Coalition was subsequently broken. In 2008, the Liberals, Nationals, and an independent MP formed the Government after the 2008 election, but this is not characterised as a "traditional coalition", with limited cabinet collective responsibilityCabinet collective responsibilityCabinet collective responsibility is constitutional convention in governments using the Westminster System that members of the Cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This support includes voting for the government in...
for National cabinet members. The Leader of the Liberals in Western Australia is Premier Colin BarnettColin BarnettColin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008...
and the Nationals Leader is Brendon GryllsBrendon GryllsBrendon John Grylls is an Australian politician and is currently the Member for Central Wheatbelt in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, as well as the Leader of the National Party of Western Australia. Grylls has been the Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Lands in the...
. Tony CrookTony Crook (politician)Anthony John "Tony" Crook is an Australian politician. He has been the member of the Australian House of Representatives seat of O'Connor for the National Party of Western Australia since the 2010 federal election...
was elected as the WA Nationals candidate for the seat of O'ConnorDivision of O'ConnorThe Division of O'Connor is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia. It is one of Western Australia's three rural seats....
at the 2010 federal election. He is a crossbencher in the hung parliamentHung parliamentIn a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
. Crook and the WA Nationals remain independent and not in a coalition.
- South Australia: The two parties merged to form the Liberal and Country LeagueLiberal and Country LeagueThe Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the...
in 1932. This in turn joined the Liberal party in 1973, and a separate Country Party (later Nationals SAThe Nationals South AustraliaThe Nationals SA are a sub-division of the National Party of Australia. First contesting the 1965 state election, the party has only held two seats at alternating periods; Peter Blacker in Flinders and Karlene Maywald in Chaffey....
) emerged, which has only ever had two representatives: Peter BlackerPeter BlackerPeter Douglas Blacker is a former Australian politician who represented the seat of Flinders in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Nationals SA from 1973 to 1993. During that time he was the only Nationals member in the South Australian parliament. He is now the Chair of the Minister’s...
from 1973 to 1993, and Karlene MaywaldKarlene MaywaldKarlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
from 1997 to 2010. From 2004 to 2010, Maywald was a Minister in the RannMike RannMichael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
Labor Government, before losing her seat at the 2010 South Australian state election, thereby informally creating a coalition between the ALP and the National Party at South Australia's state level of government. The National Party, at the time, rejected the notion that it was in a coalition with Labor at the state level. State National Party President John Venus told journalists that: "We (The Nationals) are not in coalition with the Labor Party, we aren't in coalition with the Liberals, we are definitely not in coalition with anyone. We stand alone in South Australia as an independent party." Flinders UniversityFlinders UniversityFlinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...
political scientist Haydon ManningHaydon ManningHaydon Manning is an Australian political scientist and Senior Lecturer in Political and International Studies at The Flinders University of South Australia. Manning holds a Bachelor of Arts and PhD from Flinders University...
disagreed, saying that it is "churlish to describe the government as anything but a coalition". The party did not run candidates at the 2010 federal election.
- Tasmania: The National Party is not affiliated in TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, leaving the Liberal Party as the sole major non-Labor party in the state.
- Australian Capital Territory: The National Party is not affiliated in the Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
, leaving the Liberal Party as the sole major non-Labor party in the territory.
- Northern Territory: The two parties merged in 1975, forming the Country Liberal PartyCountry Liberal PartyThe Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
. CLP Senator Nigel ScullionNigel ScullionNigel Gregory Scullion , Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate for the Northern Territory since November 2001, representing the Country Liberal Party...
is the current deputy leader of the National PartyNational Party of AustraliaThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
, and was the leader of the Nationals in the Senate until Barnaby JoyceBarnaby JoyceBarnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
took that position in September 2008. The Country Liberal Party maintains full voting rights with the federal National Party, and has observer status with the federal Liberal Party. Federal CLP members are directed by the CLP whether to sit with the federal Liberals or Nationals.
Background
Coalition arrangements are facilitated by AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's preferential voting
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
systems which enable Liberals and Nationals to compete locally while exchanging preferences in elections, thereby avoiding "three-cornered-contests", usually with the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP), which would weaken their prospects under first past the post voting. From time to time, friction is caused by the fact that the Liberal and National candidates are campaigning against each other, usually without undue long-term damage to the relationship.
Indeed, the whole point of introducing preferential voting was to allow safe spoiler-free three-cornered contests. It was a government of the forerunner to the modern Liberal party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
that introduced the necessary legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
, after Labor won the 1918 Swan by-election
Swan by-election, 1918
The 1918 Swan by-election was a by-election for the Division of Swan in the Australian House of Representatives, following the death of the sitting member Sir John Forrest...
after the conservative vote was split in two. Two months later, a by-election held under preferential voting caused the initially-leading ALP candidate to lose after some lower-placed candidates' preferences had been distributed.
As a result of variations on the preferential voting system used in every state and territory, the Coalition has been able to thrive, wherever both its member parties have both been active. The preferential voting system has allowed the Liberal and National parties to compete and cooperate at the same time. By contrast, a variation of the preferential system known as Optional Preferential Voting
Optional Preferential Voting
Optional Preferential Voting is a system of vote-casting used in the states of Queensland and New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. Most Australian elections are run under full-preference preferential voting, where all candidates must be numbered in order of the preference of the...
has proven a significant handicap to coalition co-operation in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, because significant numbers of voters don't express all useful preferences.
Liberal/National Merger
Merger plans came to a head in May 2008, when the Queensland state Liberal Party announced that they would not wait for a federal merger blueprint, but would merge as soon as possible. The new party, the "Liberal-National Party", has a self-imposed deadline of late July for party registration. Candidates for the new Liberal National party contested the 2010 Australian Federal Election, with previously-elected members of parliament retaining their affiliation until their next election.Terminology
Due to a disciplined coalition between the parties and their predecessors in existance for almost 100 years with only a few brief cessations and the peception of a two-party parliamentary system, most commentators and the general public often refer to The Coalition as a single party. Polling and electoral results contain a two-party-preferredTwo-party-preferred vote
In politics, the two-party-preferred vote , or two-candidate-preferred vote , in an election or opinion poll uses preferential voting to express the electoral result after the distribution of preferences...
(TPP) vote which is based on Labor and the Coalition. The Australian Electoral Commission
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission, or the AEC, is the federal government agency in charge of organising and supervising federal elections and referendums. State and local government elections are overseen by the Electoral Commission in each state and territory.The Australian Electoral Commission...
has distinguished between "traditional" (Coalition/Labor) two-party-preferred (TPP/2PP) contests, and "non-traditional" (Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
, Liberal vs National) two-candidate-preferred (TCP/2CP) contests. At the 2010 federal election, all eight seats which resulted in a two-candidate-preferred result were re-counted to also express a statistical-only two-party-preferred result.