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Democratic Labor Party (historical)
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Labor Party (abbreviated as the DLP) was an Australian political party
that existed from 1955 until 1978.
in the Australian Labor Party
(ALP) that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V. Evatt, and the majority of the Victorian
branch, which was dominated by a faction composed largely of ideologically driven anti-Communist Catholics
. Many ALP members in the Cold War period, most but not all Roman Catholics, were alarmed at what they saw as the growing power of the Communist Party
in the trade unions. These members formed units within the unions called Industrial Groups
to combat this alleged infiltration. The membership of the Industrial Groups generally supported the DLP after 1955.
The DLP was substantially, although not exclusively, a party of Irish Catholics. A minority of its parliamentarians and members, and a significant minority of its voters, were non-Catholics. Journalist Don Whitington argued in 1964 that the DLP, as a basically sectarian party, was a most dangerous and distasteful force in Australian politics. He claimed that the party was backed by influential sections of the Roman Catholic Church, and that while it professed to exist primarily to combat communism the party had less commendable reasons for being. Whitington's views were held by many people at the time they were written. The Archbishop of Melbourne
, Daniel Mannix
, was a DLP supporter, as were other influential clerics.
The intellectual leader of the Victorian Catholic wing of the ALP (although not actually a party member) was B.A. Santamaria, a Melbourne lawyer and lay Catholic activist who had the patronage of Mannix. Santamaria headed an activist group called "The Catholic Social Studies Movement" (often known as "The Movement"), which was modeled on Catholic Action
groups in Europe and, in organizational terms, on the methods of its principal target, the Communist Party of Australia
. This group later became the National Civic Council
(NCC).
Evatt denounced the Movement and the Industrial Groups in 1954, alleging that they were trying to take over the ALP and turn it into a European-style Christian Democratic party. At the ALP national conference in Hobart
, 1955, Santamaria's parliamentary supporters in the federal and Victorian parliaments were expelled from the ALP, against that party's constitutional rules. They then formed a group called the ALP (Anti-Communist)
, which in 1957 became the DLP, which lasted until 1978.
The split soon extended to the Victorian state parliament, where a faction of Movement supporters crossed the floor to bring down the ALP state government of John Cain
. In 1957, the Labor Party split in Queensland
following the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair
from the party. He and his followers formed the Queensland Labor Party
, which became the Queensland branch of the DLP in 1962. In New South Wales
, the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney
, Norman Thomas Gilroy, was opposed to the Movement's tactics, and as a result there was no party split there. The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)
's performance at the 1955 state elections in Victoria, where it obtained 12% of the vote and retained only one of the 12 Assembly seats it held, was another factor recommending against a similar split in New South Wales.
Between 1955 and 1974 the DLP was able to command a significant vote, particularly in Victoria and Queensland, and during the period held between one and five seats in the Senate
(which is elected by proportional representation
). The DLP Senate leaders were George Cole
from Tasmania between 1955–1965, Vince Gair
from Queensland between 1965–1973, and Frank McManus
from Victoria between 1973-1974. Other DLP Senators were Condon Byrne
from Queensland, Jack Kane
from New South Wales and Jack Little
from Victoria. No DLP Senators or state politicians were ever elected in South Australia or Western Australia — the ALP did not split in these states although some lay branch members switched to the new party once it had been established. Since the ALP and the conservative parties usually held approximately equal numbers of seats in the Senate, the DLP was able to use balance of power in the Senate to extract concessions from Liberal
governments, particularly government grants to Catholic schools, greater spending on defence and non-recognition of the People's Republic of China
.
During this period the DLP also exercised influence by directing its supporters to give their second-preferences to Liberal candidates in federal and state elections (see Australian electoral system
), thus helping to keep the ALP out of office at the federal level and in Victoria. The DLP vote gradually declined during the 1960s but remained strong enough for the Liberals to continue to need DLP preferences to win close elections. Santamaria's strategy was to keep the ALP out of office in this way until it agreed to his terms for re-unification.
After Evatt's retirement in 1960, his successor Arthur Calwell
, a Catholic, tried to bring about a reconciliation between the ALP and the DLP. Negotiations were conducted through intermediaries, and in 1965 a deal was almost done. Three out of four of the ALP's parliamentary leaders agreed with a deal. However, Calwell refused to share power within the party with the DLP leadership on a membership number basis, so the deal failed. Santamaria believed that had he accepted, Calwell would have become Prime Minister. Four years later
, DLP preferences kept Calwell's successor, Gough Whitlam
, from toppling the Coalition despite winning an 18-seat swing and a majority of the two-party vote. Had four seats in the Melbourne area—the DLP's heartland—gone the other way, Whitlam would have won.
The DLP's policies were traditional Labor policies such as more spending on health, education and pensions, combined with strident opposition to Communism and emphasis for greater defence spending. The DLP strongly supported Australia's participation in the Vietnam War
.
From the early 1960s onwards, the DLP became increasingly socially conservative, opposing homosexuality
, abortion
and pornography
and drugs. This stand against "permissiveness" appealed to many conservative voters as well as the party's base among Catholics. Some members of the DLP disagreed with this, believing the party should stay focused on anti-communism.
The highest DLP vote was 11.11 percent, which occurred at the 1970 half-senate election
.
Whitlam and the ALP won government in the 1972 election
, bringing the DLP's strategy of keeping the ALP out of power undone. In 1974, Whitlam appointed Gair Ambassador to Ireland in a bid to split the DLP and remove its influence. This tactic was successful and the DLP lost all its Senate seats at the 1974 election
. The party was formally wound up in 1978. Soon after, a small group of supporters formed a new Democratic Labor Party
, which continues to this day.
Santamaria continued to exercise considerable influence through the National Civic Council (NCC)
until his death in 1998.
was successful in electing upper house candidates with low primary votes but high-volume preference flows at the 2006 Victorian state election
(2.7%) and the 2010 federal election (2.3% in Victoria). Peter Kavanagh
served a four-year term in the Victorian Legislative Council
, whilst John Madigan
began his six-year term in the Australian Senate
from July 2011. Thus far, neither has played a balance of power
role, unlike their predecessors.
(Please See Queensland Labor Party
for a full list of QLP members in this Assembly.)
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
that existed from 1955 until 1978.
History
The DLP was formed as a result of a splitAustralian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
in 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) that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V. Evatt, and the majority of the Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
branch, which was dominated by a faction composed largely of ideologically driven anti-Communist Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Many ALP members in the Cold War period, most but not all Roman Catholics, were alarmed at what they saw as the growing power of the Communist Party
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
in the trade unions. These members formed units within the unions called Industrial Groups
Industrial Groups
The Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party in the late 1940s, to combat Communist Party influence in the trade unions....
to combat this alleged infiltration. The membership of the Industrial Groups generally supported the DLP after 1955.
The DLP was substantially, although not exclusively, a party of Irish Catholics. A minority of its parliamentarians and members, and a significant minority of its voters, were non-Catholics. Journalist Don Whitington argued in 1964 that the DLP, as a basically sectarian party, was a most dangerous and distasteful force in Australian politics. He claimed that the party was backed by influential sections of the Roman Catholic Church, and that while it professed to exist primarily to combat communism the party had less commendable reasons for being. Whitington's views were held by many people at the time they were written. The Archbishop of Melbourne
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was elevated in 1874 as an archdiocese of the...
, Daniel Mannix
Daniel Mannix
Daniel Mannix was an Irish-born Australian Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th century Australia....
, was a DLP supporter, as were other influential clerics.
The intellectual leader of the Victorian Catholic wing of the ALP (although not actually a party member) was B.A. Santamaria, a Melbourne lawyer and lay Catholic activist who had the patronage of Mannix. Santamaria headed an activist group called "The Catholic Social Studies Movement" (often known as "The Movement"), which was modeled on Catholic Action
Catholic Action
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society.They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France, and...
groups in Europe and, in organizational terms, on the methods of its principal target, the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
. This group later became the National Civic Council
National Civic Council (NCC)
The National Civic Council is a grassroots Australian political movement, although sometimes referred to as a think tank.The NCC develops and promotes policy based on its ‘five primacies’ of the integrity of human life, support for the family unit, decentralism, patriotism , and Judeo-Christian...
(NCC).
Evatt denounced the Movement and the Industrial Groups in 1954, alleging that they were trying to take over the ALP and turn it into a European-style Christian Democratic party. At the ALP national conference in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, 1955, Santamaria's parliamentary supporters in the federal and Victorian parliaments were expelled from the ALP, against that party's constitutional rules. They then formed a group called the ALP (Anti-Communist)
Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)
The Australian Labor Party was the name initially used by the right-wing group which split away from the Australian Labor Party in 1955, and which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 1957....
, which in 1957 became the DLP, which lasted until 1978.
The split soon extended to the Victorian state parliament, where a faction of Movement supporters crossed the floor to bring down the ALP state government of John Cain
John Cain (senior)
John Cain was an Australian politician, who became the 34th premier of Victoria, and was the first Australian Labor Party leader to win a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. He was the only premier of Victoria whose son also served as premier.-Early life:Cain was born, one of 18...
. In 1957, the Labor Party split 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...
following the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair
Vince Gair
Vincent Clare "Vince" Gair was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Australian Labor Party. He was elected to the Australian Senate and led the Democratic Labor Party...
from the party. He and his followers formed the Queensland Labor Party
Queensland Labor Party
The Queensland Labor Party was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Australian Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair...
, which became the Queensland branch of the DLP in 1962. In 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...
, the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Norman Thomas Gilroy, was opposed to the Movement's tactics, and as a result there was no party split there. The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)
Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)
The Australian Labor Party was the name initially used by the right-wing group which split away from the Australian Labor Party in 1955, and which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 1957....
's performance at the 1955 state elections in Victoria, where it obtained 12% of the vote and retained only one of the 12 Assembly seats it held, was another factor recommending against a similar split in New South Wales.
Between 1955 and 1974 the DLP was able to command a significant vote, particularly in Victoria and Queensland, and during the period held between one and five seats in the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
(which is elected by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
). The DLP Senate leaders were George Cole
George Cole (Australian politician)
George Ronald Cole was an Australian politician. Born in Don, Tasmania, he was raised in the Methodist faith of his mother, educated at state schools and then the University of Tasmania, before becoming a teacher and headmaster in state schools.As an Australian rules footballer with New Town, Cole...
from Tasmania between 1955–1965, Vince Gair
Vince Gair
Vincent Clare "Vince" Gair was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Australian Labor Party. He was elected to the Australian Senate and led the Democratic Labor Party...
from Queensland between 1965–1973, and Frank McManus
Frank McManus (Australian politician)
Francis Patrick Vincent McManus , Australian politician, was the last leader of the parliamentary Democratic Labor Party and a prominent figure in Australian politics for 30 years....
from Victoria between 1973-1974. Other DLP Senators were Condon Byrne
Condon Byrne
Condon Bryan Byrne , Australian politician, was a Senator with the Australian Labor Party and later the Democratic Labor Party...
from Queensland, Jack Kane
Jack Kane
John Thomas "Jack" Kane was an Australian politician. Born in Burraga, New South Wales, he was educated at Catholic schools in Lithgow, after which he became a coalminer. He was Vice-President of the Transport Workers' Union 1952-1956 and Assistant General Secretary of the New South Wales Labor...
from New South Wales and Jack Little
Jack Little (Australian politician)
John Albert "Jack" Little was an Australian politician. Born in Maryborough, Victoria, he was educated at East Brunswick and Thornbury State Primary Schools, before becoming a Clicker in a Shoe factory in Collingwood, and later an official with the Victorian Boot Employees' Union, of which he was...
from Victoria. No DLP Senators or state politicians were ever elected in South Australia or Western Australia — the ALP did not split in these states although some lay branch members switched to the new party once it had been established. Since the ALP and the conservative parties usually held approximately equal numbers of seats in the Senate, the DLP was able to use balance of power in the Senate to extract concessions from Liberal
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...
governments, particularly government grants to Catholic schools, greater spending on defence and non-recognition of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
During this period the DLP also exercised influence by directing its supporters to give their second-preferences to Liberal candidates in federal and state elections (see Australian electoral system
Australian electoral system
The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government, and has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, preferential voting and the use of proportional voting to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.- Compulsory voting...
), thus helping to keep the ALP out of office at the federal level and in Victoria. The DLP vote gradually declined during the 1960s but remained strong enough for the Liberals to continue to need DLP preferences to win close elections. Santamaria's strategy was to keep the ALP out of office in this way until it agreed to his terms for re-unification.
After Evatt's retirement in 1960, his successor Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
, a Catholic, tried to bring about a reconciliation between the ALP and the DLP. Negotiations were conducted through intermediaries, and in 1965 a deal was almost done. Three out of four of the ALP's parliamentary leaders agreed with a deal. However, Calwell refused to share power within the party with the DLP leadership on a membership number basis, so the deal failed. Santamaria believed that had he accepted, Calwell would have become Prime Minister. Four years later
Australian federal election, 1969
Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
, DLP preferences kept Calwell's successor, Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, from toppling the Coalition despite winning an 18-seat swing and a majority of the two-party vote. Had four seats in the Melbourne area—the DLP's heartland—gone the other way, Whitlam would have won.
The DLP's policies were traditional Labor policies such as more spending on health, education and pensions, combined with strident opposition to Communism and emphasis for greater defence spending. The DLP strongly supported Australia's participation in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
From the early 1960s onwards, the DLP became increasingly socially conservative, opposing homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and drugs. This stand against "permissiveness" appealed to many conservative voters as well as the party's base among Catholics. Some members of the DLP disagreed with this, believing the party should stay focused on anti-communism.
The highest DLP vote was 11.11 percent, which occurred at the 1970 half-senate election
Australian Senate election, 1970
Half-senate elections were held in Australia on 21 November 1970.Independents: Reg Turnbull , Michael Townley , Syd Negus -See also:*Candidates of the Australian Senate election, 1970...
.
Whitlam and the ALP won government in the 1972 election
Australian federal election, 1972
Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...
, bringing the DLP's strategy of keeping the ALP out of power undone. In 1974, Whitlam appointed Gair Ambassador to Ireland in a bid to split the DLP and remove its influence. This tactic was successful and the DLP lost all its Senate seats at the 1974 election
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
. The party was formally wound up in 1978. Soon after, a small group of supporters formed a new Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party
The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal...
, which continues to this day.
Santamaria continued to exercise considerable influence through the National Civic Council (NCC)
National Civic Council (NCC)
The National Civic Council is a grassroots Australian political movement, although sometimes referred to as a think tank.The NCC develops and promotes policy based on its ‘five primacies’ of the integrity of human life, support for the family unit, decentralism, patriotism , and Judeo-Christian...
until his death in 1998.
21st century DLP
The modern Democratic Labor PartyDemocratic Labor Party
The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal...
was successful in electing upper house candidates with low primary votes but high-volume preference flows at the 2006 Victorian state election
Victorian state election, 2006
An 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...
(2.7%) and the 2010 federal election (2.3% in Victoria). Peter Kavanagh
Peter Kavanagh (Australian politician)
Peter Kavanagh , Australian politician, is a former member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing the Democratic Labor Party .Kavanagh was born into a family with a long connection with the DLP...
served a four-year term in the Victorian Legislative Council
Victorian Legislative Council
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
, whilst John Madigan
John Madigan (Australian politician)
John Joseph Madigan is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Democratic Labor Party , elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal election, serving a six-year term since July 2011.-Early life:Born into a Catholic family, Madigan...
began his six-year term in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
from July 2011. Thus far, neither has played a balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
role, unlike their predecessors.
ALP (Anti-Communist) and DLP Parliamentarians
- Australian House of RepresentativesAustralian House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
- Thomas AndrewsThomas Andrews (Australian politician)Thomas William Andrews was an Australian politician. Born in Kalino, Victoria, he was educated at state schools in Ballarat. From 1917-49 he was a teacher in state schools, as well as an official with the Teachers' Union. He sat on Preston City Council and was a member of the 1947 Royal Commission...
(DarebinDivision of DarebinThe Division of Darebin was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1949 and abolished in 1969, and was named for the Darebin Creek. It was located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, including Heidelberg, Preston, Reservoir and Thornbury. It was a fairly safe...
, Vic), 1955 - Bill BourkeBill BourkeWilliam Meskill "Bill" Bourke was an Australian politician.Bourke was elected to the Australian House of Representatives seat of Fawkner at the 1949 election representing the Australian Labor Party...
(FawknerDivision of FawknerThe Division of Fawkner was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1906 , and was abolished itself in 1969. It was named for John Pascoe Fawkner, one of the founders of Melbourne. It was located in the inner southern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various...
, Vic), 1955 - Bill BrysonBill Bryson (Australian politician)William George "Bill" Bryson was an Australian politician for the Australian Labor Party from 1943 to 1946 and 1949 to 1955 and helped establish the Democratic Labor Party....
(WillsDivision of WillsThe Division of Wills is an Australian electoral division of Victoria. It is currently held by the Australian Labor Party's Kelvin Thomson.The electorate encompasses many of the suburbs in the City of Moreland in Melbourne's north, including Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner, Glenroy, and Essendon Airport...
, Vic), 1955 - John CremeanJohn CremeanJohn Lawrence Cremean was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was educated at Catholic schools before becoming a clerk. He was secretary to federal Labor minister Arthur Calwell from 1942–45, secretary of the Fire Brigades Employees Union 1945-48, and also sat on Richmond City Council...
(GellibrandDivision of GellibrandThe Division of Gellibrand is anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Joseph Gellibrand, a pioneer settler of the Melbourne area...
, Vic), 1955 - Robert JoshuaRobert JoshuaRobert Joshua, MC was an Australian politician, and a key figure in the 1955 split in the Australian Labor Party which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party and, subsequently, the Democratic Labor Party.-Early life:Joshua was born at Prahran, Victoria, to Edward Cecil Joshua, a...
(BallaaratDivision of BallaratThe Division of Ballarat is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the provincial city of Ballarat....
, Vic), 1955 - Stan KeonStan KeonStandish Michael "Stan" Keon was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in the Federal Parliament from 1949 to 1955 , and who helped establish the Democratic Labor Party.Keon won the House of Representatives seat of Yarra at the 1949 election, succeeding former...
(YarraDivision of YarraThe Division of Yarra was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was located in inner eastern suburban Melbourne, and was named after the Yarra River, which originally formed the eastern border of the Division, and eventually ran through it. It originally covered the suburbs...
, Vic), 1955 - John MullensJohn MullensJohn Michael Mullens was an Australian politician. Born in Ballarat, Victoria, he was educated there at St Patrick's College before becoming a teacher in state schools...
(HoddleDivision of HoddleThe Division of Hoddle was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1949 and abolished in 1955. It was named for Robert Hoddle, the surveyor who laid out the street plan of the City of Melbourne...
, Vic), 1955
- Thomas Andrews
- Australian SenateAustralian SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
- George ColeGeorge Cole (Australian politician)George Ronald Cole was an Australian politician. Born in Don, Tasmania, he was raised in the Methodist faith of his mother, educated at state schools and then the University of Tasmania, before becoming a teacher and headmaster in state schools.As an Australian rules footballer with New Town, Cole...
(Tas), 1955–65 - Frank McManusFrank McManus (Australian politician)Francis Patrick Vincent McManus , Australian politician, was the last leader of the parliamentary Democratic Labor Party and a prominent figure in Australian politics for 30 years....
(Vic), 1955–62, 1965–74 - Vince GairVince GairVincent Clare "Vince" Gair was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Australian Labor Party. He was elected to the Australian Senate and led the Democratic Labor Party...
(Qld), 1965–74 - Condon ByrneCondon ByrneCondon Bryan Byrne , Australian politician, was a Senator with the Australian Labor Party and later the Democratic Labor Party...
(Qld), 1968–74 (Queensland Labor Party Senator 1957-58) - Jack LittleJack Little (Australian politician)John Albert "Jack" Little was an Australian politician. Born in Maryborough, Victoria, he was educated at East Brunswick and Thornbury State Primary Schools, before becoming a Clicker in a Shoe factory in Collingwood, and later an official with the Victorian Boot Employees' Union, of which he was...
(Vic), 1968–74 - Jack KaneJack KaneJohn Thomas "Jack" Kane was an Australian politician. Born in Burraga, New South Wales, he was educated at Catholic schools in Lithgow, after which he became a coalminer. He was Vice-President of the Transport Workers' Union 1952-1956 and Assistant General Secretary of the New South Wales Labor...
(NSW), 1970–74
- George Cole
- Victorian Legislative AssemblyVictorian Legislative AssemblyThe Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
- William BarryWilliam Barry (Australian politician)William Peter Barry was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of Carlton from July 1932 until April 1955...
(Carlton), 1955 - Stan CorriganStan CorriganStanislaus Terence "Stan" Corrigan was an Australian politician.Born in South Melbourne to Tom Corrigan and Emily Olive Angleton, he was educated at Christian Brothers College and qualified as a mechanic. Around 1945 he married Matilda Semmens, with whom he had two children...
(Port MelbourneElectoral district of Port MelbourneElectoral district of Port Melbourne was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria.-Members for Port Melbourne:...
), 1955 - Leslie D'Arcy (Grant), 1955
- George Fewster (EssendonElectoral district of EssendonThe Electoral district of Essendon is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It lies just north of Melbourne and covers the suburbs of Essendon, Moonee Ponds and Ascot Vale...
), 1955 - Thomas Hayes (MelbourneElectoral district of MelbourneThe Electoral district of Melbourne is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is currently based around the localities of Carlton, North Carlton, Melbourne, East Melbourne, West Melbourne, North Melbourne, Parkville, Newmarket, Kensington and Flemington, and includes Melbourne...
), 1955 - Michael Lucy (IvanhoeElectoral district of IvanhoeThe Electoral district of Ivanhoe is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is located in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne and is based around the suburbs of Heidelberg, Ivanhoe and Rosanna....
), 1955 - Edmund MorrisseyEdmund MorrisseyEdmund "Leo" Morrissey was a member of the Australian Labor Party for the seat of Mernda from December 1952 until April 1955. In 1955, he left the ALP and "crossed the floor" and joined the anti-Communist Democratic Labor Party....
(MerndaElectoral district of MerndaThe Electoral district of Mernda was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.-Members for Mernda:-See also:*Parliaments of the Australian states and territories*List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly...
), 1955 - Charles Murphy (HawthornElectoral district of HawthornThe Electoral district of Hawthorn is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was first proclaimed in 1889 and has usually been a safe seat for the Liberal Party and its predecessors....
), 1955 - Joseph O'Carroll (Clifton HillElectoral district of Clifton HillElectoral district of Clifton Hill was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria.-Members for Clifton Hill:...
), 1955 - Peter Randles (BrunswickElectoral district of BrunswickThe Electoral district of Brunswick is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and is based around the suburb of Brunswick....
), 1955 - Frank ScullyFrank Scully (politician)Francis Raymond Scully , Australian politician, was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Richmond representing the Australian Labor Party from 1949-1955 and the Australian Labor Party from 1955-1958...
(Richmond), 1955–58 - George White (Mentone), 1955
- William Barry
- Victorian Legislative CouncilVictorian Legislative CouncilThe Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
- Albert Bailey (Melbourne WestMelbourne West ProvinceMelbourne West Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council.-Members for Melbourne West Province:...
), 1955–58 - Thomas Brennan (MonashMonash ProvinceMonash Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council.-Members for Monash Province:-References:...
), 1955–58 - Leslie ColemanLeslie ColemanPatrick Leslie Coleman , Australian politician, was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Melbourne West Province representing the Australian Labor Party from October 1943 until March 1955 and very briefly the Australian Labor Party from March-June 1955...
(Melbourne WestMelbourne West ProvinceMelbourne West Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council.-Members for Melbourne West Province:...
), 1955 - Paul JonesPaul Jones (Australian politician)Paul Jones was an Australian politician. Born in Gaffneys Creek, Victoria, he was educated at South Melbourne College before becoming a goldminer and teacher. He also studied at the University of Melbourne for an MA. In 1928, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in bizarre...
(Doutta GallaDoutta Galla ProvinceDoutta Galla Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council.-Members for Doutta Galla Province:...
), 1955–58 - Jack LittleJack Little (Australian politician)John Albert "Jack" Little was an Australian politician. Born in Maryborough, Victoria, he was educated at East Brunswick and Thornbury State Primary Schools, before becoming a Clicker in a Shoe factory in Collingwood, and later an official with the Victorian Boot Employees' Union, of which he was...
(Melbourne NorthMelbourne North ProvinceMelbourne North Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council.-Members for Melbourne North Province:...
), 1955–58 - Patrick Sheehy (Melbourne), 1955–58
- Albert Bailey (Melbourne West
- New South Wales Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
- Kevin HarroldKevin HarroldKevin Joseph Harrold is a former Australian politician. He was the member for Gordon in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1973 to 1976 as the Democratic Labor Party's only member of the New South Wales Parliament....
(Gordon), 1973–76
- Kevin Harrold
- Queensland Legislative AssemblyQueensland Legislative AssemblyThe Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
(Please See Queensland Labor Party
Queensland Labor Party
The Queensland Labor Party was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Australian Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair...
for a full list of QLP members in this Assembly.)
-
- Leslie Diplock (AubignyElectoral district of AubignyThe electoral district of Aubigny was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Queensland. It was first created in a redistribution ahead of the 1873 state election, and existed until the 1972 state election....
), 1962–72 (QLP 1957-62) - Paul Hilton (CarnarvonElectoral district of CarnarvonCarnarvon was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland that existed from 1873 to 1992.The district took in rural areas in southern Queensland, including the towns of Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi....
), 1962–63 (QLP 1957-62) - Vince GairVince GairVincent Clare "Vince" Gair was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Australian Labor Party. He was elected to the Australian Senate and led the Democratic Labor Party...
(South Brisbane), QLP 1957–60
- Leslie Diplock (Aubigny
See also
- Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)The Australian Labor Party was the name initially used by the right-wing group which split away from the Australian Labor Party in 1955, and which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 1957....
- Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe 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...
External links
- Statement by Frank Scully about the DLP's formation
- The split - 50 years on
- Australian Biography interview with Bob Santamaria
Further reading
- Lyle Allan (1988), "Irish ethnicity and the Democratic Labor Party," Politics, Vol. 23 No.2, Pages 28-34
- Niall Brennan (1964), Dr Mannix, Adelaide, South Australia, Rigby.
- Ken Buckley, Barbara Dale and Wayne Reynolds (1994), Doc Evatt, Melbourne, Victoria, Longman Cheshire. ISBN 058287495X
- A.A.CalwellArthur CalwellArthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
(1972), Be Just and Fear Not, Hawthorn, Victoria, Lloyd O'Neil. ISBN 085550 352 1 - Bob Corcoran (2001), "The Manifold Causes of the Labor Split", in Peter Love and Paul Strangio (eds.), Arguing the Cold War, Carlton North, Victoria, Red Rag Publications. ISBN 0-9577352-6-X
- Brian Costar, Peter Love and Paul Strangio (eds.)(2005), The Great Labor Schism. A Retrospective, Melbourne, Victoria, Scribe Publications. ISBN 1-920769-42-0
- Peter Crockett (1993), Evatt. A Life, South Melbourne, Victoria, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-553558-8
- Allan Dalziel (1967), Evatt. The Enigma, Melbourne, Victoria, Lansdowne Press.
- Gavan Duffy (2002), Demons and Democrats. 1950s Labor at the Crossroads, North Melbourne, Victoria, Freedom Publishing. ISBN 0-9578682-2-7
- Bruce Duncan (2001), Crusade or Conspiracy? Catholics and the Anti-Communist Struggle in Australia, Sydney, NSW, University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0-86840-731-3
- Gil DuthieGil DuthieGilbert William Arthur "Gil" Duthie AM was an Australian politician. Born in Nhill, Victoria, he was educated at state schools and at the University of Melbourne before becoming a schoolteacher and farmer in rural Victoria. In 1938 he was ordained a Methodist minister, and in 1944 he moved to...
(1984), I had 50,000 bosses. Memoirs of a Labor backbencher 1946-1975, Sydney, NSW, Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-14916-X - John FaulknerJohn FaulknerJohn Philip Faulkner is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since 1989, representing the state of New South Wales. Following a period serving on various Senate Committees and as Deputy Whip, he was a Minister in the Keating Labor government 1993-96...
and Stuart MacintyreStuart MacintyreStuart Forbes Macintyre , Australian historian, academic and public intellectual, is a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. He has been voted one of Australia's most influential public intellectuals...
(eds.)(2001), True Believers. The Story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, Crows Nest, NSW, Allen and Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-527-8 - Ross FitzgeraldRoss FitzgeraldRoss Fitzgerald is an Australian academic, historian, novelist, secularist, and political commentator.Author of 35 books, in 2009 Professor Fitzgerald co-authored "Made in Queensland: A New History", published by University of Queensland Press and also "Under the Influence, a history of alcohol in...
, Adam James Carr and William J. Dealy, (2003), The Pope's Battalions. Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split, St Lucia, Queensland, University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3389-7 - Ross Fitzgerald and Stephen Holt (2010), Alan "The Red Fox" Reid. Pressman Par Excellence, Sydney, NSW, University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 978-1-74223-132-7
- Gerard HendersonGerard HendersonGerard Henderson is a conservative Australian newspaper columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.. He is also Executive Director of the Sydney Institute, a privately funded current affairs forum. His wife Anne Henderson is Deputy Director.-Education:Henderson attended the Jesuit Xavier College in...
(1982), Mr Santamaria and the Bishops, Sydney, NSW, Studies in the Christian Movement. ISBN 0-949807-00-1 - Jack KaneJack KaneJohn Thomas "Jack" Kane was an Australian politician. Born in Burraga, New South Wales, he was educated at Catholic schools in Lithgow, after which he became a coalminer. He was Vice-President of the Transport Workers' Union 1952-1956 and Assistant General Secretary of the New South Wales Labor...
(1989), Exploding the Myths. The Political Memoirs of Jack Kane, North Ryde, NSW, Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-16209-3 - Colm KiernanColm KiernanColm Padraic Kiernan was an historian and writer.- Historian :In 1964 Colm Kiernan was appointed foundation Lecturer in History at the University of Wollongong, Australia...
(1978), Calwell. A Personal and Political Biography, West Melbourne, Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0-17-005185-4 - Michael Lyons (2008), "Defence, the Family and the Battler: The Democratic Labor Party and its Legacy," Australian Journal of Political Science, September, 43-3, Pages 425-442.
- Frank McManusFrank McManus (Australian politician)Francis Patrick Vincent McManus , Australian politician, was the last leader of the parliamentary Democratic Labor Party and a prominent figure in Australian politics for 30 years....
(1977), The Tumult and the Shouting, Adelaide, South Australia, Rigby. ISBN 0-7270-0219-8 - Frank Mines (1975), Gair, Canberra City, ACT, Arrow Press. ISBN 0-909095-00-0
- Patrick Morgan (ed.)(2007), B.A.Santamaria. Your Most Obedient Servant. Selected Letters: 1918-1996, Carlton, Victoria, Miegunyah Press. ISBN 0-522-85274-2
- Patrick Morgan (ed.)(2008), Running the Show. Selected Documents: 1939-1996, Carlton, Victoria, Miegunyah Press. ISBN 978-0-522-85497-8
- Robert Murray (1970), The Split. Australian Labor in the fifties, Melbourne, Victoria, F.W. Cheshire. ISBN 0-7015-0504-4
- Paul Ormonde (1972), The Movement, Melbourne, Victoria, Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0-17-001968-3
- Paul Ormonde (2000), "The Movement - Politics by Remote Control," in Paul Ormonde (ed.) Santamaria. The Politics of Fear, Richmond, Victoria, Spectrum Publications. ISBN 0-86786-294-7
- P.L Reynolds (1974), The Democratic Labor Party, Milton, Queensland, Jacaranda. ISBN 0-7016-0703-3
- B.A. Santamaria (1964), The Price of Freedom. The Movement - After Ten Years, Melbourne, Victoria, Campion Press.
- B.A Santamaria (1981), Against the Tide, Melbourne, Victoria, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-554346-7
- B.A. Santamaria (1984), Daniel Mannix. A Biography. The Quality of Leadership, Carlton, Victoria, University of Melbourne Press. ISBN 0-522-84247-X
- Kylie Tennant (1970), Evatt. Politics and Justice, Cremorne, NSW, Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-12533-3
- Tom Truman (1960), Catholic Action and Politics, London, England, The Merlin Press.
- Kate White (1982), John Cain and Victorian Labor 1917-1957, Sydney, NSW, Hale and Iremonger. ISBN 0-86806-026-7
- Don Whitington (1964), The Rulers. Fifteen Years of the Liberals, Melbourne, Victoria, Lansdowne Press.