National Party of Australia
Encyclopedia
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 commonly referred to as The Nationals. Federally, in New South Wales, and to an extent Victoria, it has generally been the minor party in the traditional coalition with the Liberal Party of Australia
in government. In Opposition it has worked in formal Coalition or separately, but generally in co-operation with the Liberal Party and it predecessor, the United Australia Party. It was the major coalition party in Queensland between 1957 and 2008, when it merged with the junior Queensland Division of the Liberal Party of Australia to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland – an organisation dominated by ex-Nationals.
The party's federal parliamentary leader since 3 December 2007, following the coalition's defeat at the 2007 federal election, is Warren Truss
.
According to historian B. D. Graham (1959), the graziers who operated the sheep ranches were politically conservative. They disliked the Labor party, which represented their workers, and feared that Labor governments would pass unfavorable legislation and listen to foreigners and Communists. The graziers were satisfied with the marketing organisation of their industry, opposed any change in land tenure and labor relations, and advocated lower tariffs, low freight rates, and low taxes. On the other hand, Graham reports, the small farmers, not the graziers, founded the Country party. The farmers advocated government intervention in the market through price support schemes and marketing pools. The graziers often supported the Country party politically and financially and made the Country party more conservative.
The Country Party was formally founded in 1913 in Western Australia, and nationally in 1920 from a number of state-based parties such as the Victorian Farmers Union (VFU) and the Farmers and Settlers Party of New South Wales
.
The VFU won a seat in the House of Representatives
in 1918, and at the 1919 federal election
the state-based country parties won seats in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. They also began to win seats in the state parliaments. In 1920 the Country Party was established as a national party led by William McWilliams
from Tasmania. In his first speech as leader, McWilliams laid out the principles of the new party, stating "we crave no alliance, we spurn no support but we intend drastic action to secure closer attention to the needs of primary producers" McWilliams was deposed as party leader in favour of Dr Earle Page
in April 1921 following instances where McWilliams voted against the party line. McWilliams would later leave the Country Party to sit as an Independent.
At the 1922 election
, it won enough seats to deny the Nationalists an overall majority, and was the Nationalists' only realistic coalition partner. However, Page let it be known that his party would not serve under Hughes, and forced his resignation. Page then entered negotiations with the Nationalists' new leader, Stanley Bruce
, for a coalition government. Page's terms were stiff—five seats in a Cabinet of 11, including the Treasurer
portfolio and the second rank in the ministry for himself. Nonetheless, Bruce readily agreed, and the "Bruce-Page Ministry" was formed—thus beginning the tradition of the party's leader ranking second in Coalition cabinets.
Page remained dominant in the party until 1939 and briefly served as an interim Prime Minister between the death of Joseph Lyons
and the election of Robert Menzies
as his successor, but Page's refusal to serve under Menzies led to his resignation as leader. The coalition was re-formed under Archie Cameron
in 1940, and continued until October 1941 despite the election of Arthur Fadden
as leader after the 1940 Election. Fadden was well regarded within conservative circles and proved to be a loyal deputy to Menzies in the difficult circumstances of 1941. When Menzies was forced to resign as Prime Minister, Fadden briefly replaced him as Prime Minister (despite the Country Party being the junior partner in the governing coalition). However, the two independents who had been propping up the government rejected Fadden's budget and brought the government down.
Fadden stood down in favour of Labor leader John Curtin
and continued as leader of the Opposition until the formation of the Liberal Party of Australia
in 1945. After the 1946 election
, Fadden resumed his political partnership with Robert Menzies, though still keen to assert the independence of his party. Indeed, in the lead up to the 1949 federal election
, Fadden played a key role in the defeat of the Chifley Labor government, frequently making inflammatory claims about the "socialist" nature of the Labor Party, which Menzies could then "clarify" or repudiate as he saw fit, thus appearing more "moderate". In 1949 Arthur Fadden became Treasurer in the second Menzies government and remained so until his retirement in 1958. His successful partnership with Menzies was one of the elements that sustained the coalition, which remained in office until 1972 (Menzies himself retired in 1966).
Fadden's successor, Trade Minister
John McEwen
, took the then unusual step of declining to serve as Treasurer, believing he could better ensure that the interests of Australian primary producers were safeguarded. Accordingly McEwen personally supervised the signing of the first post-war trade treaty with Japan, new trade agreements with New Zealand and Britain, and Australia's first trade agreement with the USSR (1965). In addition to this he insisted on developing an all encompassing system of tariff protection that would encourage the development of those secondary industries that would "value add" Australia's primary produce. His success in this endeavour is sometimes dubbed "McEwenism". This was the period of the Country Party's greatest power, as was demonstrated in 1962 when McEwen was able to insist that Menzies sack a Liberal Minister who claimed that Britain's entry into the European Economic Community
was unlikely to severely impact on the Australian economy as a whole.
Menzies retired in 1966 and was succeeded by Harold Holt
. McEwen thus became the longest-tenured member of the government, with the informal right to veto government policy. The most significant instance that McEwen exercised this came when Holt disappeared in December 1967. John Gorton
became the new Liberal Prime Minister in January 1968. McEwen was sworn in as an interim Prime Minister pending the election of the new Liberal leader. Logically, the Liberals' deputy leader, William McMahon
, should have succeeded Holt. However, McMahon was a staunch free-trader, and there were also rumors that he was homosexual. As a result, McEwen told the Liberals that he and his part would not serve under McMahon. McMahon stood down in favour of John Gorton
. It would be only after McEwen announced his retirement that MacMahon would be able to successfully challenge Gorton for the Liberal leadership. McEwen's reputation for political toughness led to him being nicknamed "Black Jack" by his allies and enemies alike.
At the state level, from 1957 to 1989, the Country Party under Frank Nicklin
and Joh Bjelke-Petersen
dominated governments in Queensland
. It also took part in governments in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.
However, successive electoral redistributions after 1964 indicated that the Country Party was losing ground electorally to the Liberals as the rural population declined, and the nature of some parliamentary seats on the urban/rural fringe changed. A proposed merger with the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) under the banner of "National Alliance"
was rejected when it failed to find favour with voters at the 1974 state election
.
Also in 1974, the Northern Territory
members of the party joined with its Liberal party members to form the independent Country Liberal Party
. This party continues to represent both parent parties in that territory. A separate party, the Joh-inspired NT Nationals, competed in the 1987 election with former Chief Minister Ian Tuxworth
winning his seat of Barkly
by a small margin. However, this splinter group were not endorsed by the national executive and soon disappeared from the political scene.
, and decentralist; it fostered rural solidarity and justified demands for government subsidies. "Countrymindedness" grew out of the failure of the country areas to participate in the rapid economic and population expansions that occurred after 1890. The growth of the ideology into urban areas came as most country people migrated to jobs in the cities. Its decline was due mainly to the reduction of real and psychological differences between country and city brought about by the postwar expansion of the Australian urban population and to the increased affluence and technological changes that accompanied it.
, but nowhere else. In Western Australia, the party publicly walked out of the coalition agreement in Western Australia in May 1975, to return in 1976. However, the party split in two over the decision in late 1978, with a new National Party forming and becoming independent, holding three seats in the Western Australian lower house, while the National Country Party remained in coalition and also held three seats. They reconciled after the Burke Labor government came to power in 1983.
The 1980s were dominated by the feud between Bjelke-Petersen and the federal party leadership, which led to defeat at the 1987 federal election and the fall of the Nationals in Queensland in 1989. The Nationals experienced difficulties in the late 1990s from two fronts – firstly from the Liberal Party, who were winning seats on the basis that the Nationals were not seen to be a sufficiently separate party, and from the One Nation Party
riding a swell of rural discontent with many of the policies such as multiculturalism
and gun control
embraced by all of the major parties. The rise of Labor in formerly safe National-held areas in rural Queensland, particularly on the coast, has been the biggest threat to the Queensland Nationals.
at a state level has put pressure on the Nationals' links with the Liberal Party, their traditional coalition partner. In most states, the Coalition agreement is not in force when the parties are in opposition, allowing the two parties greater freedom of action.
In Queensland the National Party has merged with the Liberal Party, forming the Liberal National Party in 2008. The Liberal National Party led by Lawrence Springborg went on to lose the March 2009 election to Anna Bligh's Australian Labor Party.
In South Australia, for the first time in the Nationals' history, in 2002 the single Nationals member in the House of Assembly entered the Rann Labor Government as a Minister forming an informal coalition between the two parties. Since the 2010 South Australian State election, the Nationals in South Australia have no representative in either the House of Assembly or the Upper House or at a Federal level.
Western Australia's National Party chose to position itself in a similar way after an acrimonious co-habitation with the Liberals on the 2005 campaign trail
. Unlike its New South Wales and Queensland counterparts, the WA party had decided to oppose Liberal candidates in the 2008 election. The party aimed to hold the balance of power in the state "as an independent conservative party" ready to negotiate with the Liberals or Labor to form a minority government. After the election, the Nationals negotiated an agreement to form a government with the Liberals and an independent MP, though not described as a "traditional coalition" due to the reduced cabinet collective responsibility
of National cabinet members.
Western Australia's one-vote-one-value reforms will cut the number of rural seats in the state assembly to reflect the rural population level: this, coupled with the Liberals' strength in country areas has put the Nationals under significant pressure.
The Nationals were stung in early 2006, when their only Victorian senator, Julian McGauran
, defected to the Liberals and created a serious rift between the Nationals and the Liberals. Several commentators believed that changing demographics and unfavourable preference deals would demolish the Nationals at the state election
that year, but they went on to enjoy considerable success by winning two extra lower house seats. The Nationals are in a coalition
with the Liberals at a State level in Victoria.
Traditionally, the leader of the National Party serves as Deputy Prime Minister
when the Coalition is in government. This tradition dates back to the creation of the office in 1968.
When the Liberal Prime Minister Harold Holt
died in office, his Country Party deputy John McEwen
became Prime Minister for a period of weeks while the Liberal Party elected a new leader. In the Queensland state parliament
, the National Party has historically been the stronger coalition partner numerically, and though the parties have merged, the majority of Members of the Queensland Parliament in the Liberal-National Party are former Nationals.
The National Party's support base and membership are closely associated with the agricultural community. Historically anti-union, the party has vacillated between state support for primary industries ("agrarian
socialism
") and free agricultural trade and has opposed tariff protection for Australia's manufacturing and service industries. This vacillation prompted those opposed to the policies of the Nationals to joke that its real aim was to "capitalise its gains and socialise its losses!". It is usually pro-mining, pro-development, and anti-environmentalist.
The Nationals hold a larger membership base than either the Liberal or Labor Parties, although in the larger eastern states its vote is in decline and its traditional supporters are turning instead to prominent independents such as Bob Katter
, Tony Windsor
and Peter Andren
in Federal Parliament
and similar independents in the Parliaments of New South Wales
, Queensland
and Victoria
, many of whom are former members of the National Party. In fact at the 2004 Federal election, National Party candidates received fewer first preference votes than the Australian Greens
. However, the situation in Western Australia and South Australia, where the party is more clearly differentiable from the Liberals, is quite different, with the Nationals narrowly missing out on winning a second seat in South Australia in 2006 and winning a safe Liberal seat in Western Australia in 2005.
Demographic changes are not helping, with fewer people living and employed on the land or in small towns, the continued growth of the larger provincial centres, and, in some cases, the arrival of left-leaning "city refugees" in rural areas. The Liberals have also gained support as the differences between the coalition partners on a federal level have become invisible. This was highlighted in January 2006, when Nationals Senator Julian McGauran
defected to the Liberals, saying that there was "no longer any real distinguishing policy or philosophical difference".
In Queensland, Nationals leader Lawrence Springborg
advocated merger of the National and Liberal parties at a state level in order to present a more effective opposition to the Labor Party. Previously this plan had been dismissed by the Queensland branch of the Liberal party, but the idea received in-principle support from the Liberals. Federal leader Mark Vaile
stated the Nationals will not merge with the Liberal Party at a federal level. The plan was opposed by key Queensland Senators Ron Boswell
and Barnaby Joyce
, and was scuttled in 2006. After suffering defeat in the 2006 Queensland poll, Lawrence Springborg was replaced by Jeff Seeney
, who indicated he was not interested in merging with the Liberal Party until the issue is seriously raised at a Federal level.
Support for the Nationals in the 2006 Victorian state election was considerable with the party picking up two extra seats in the Lower House to maintain its total representation of 11 sitting members (two Upper House seats were lost, mostly due to a change from preferential to proportional representation). This success can be attributed to a more assertive National Party image (a differentation to that of the Liberals) and the growing popularity of state and federal Nationals identities such as Barnaby Joyce
.
In September 2008, Barnaby Joyce
replaced CLP Senator and Nationals deputy leader Nigel Scullion
as leader of the Nationals in the Senate, and stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house, which opened up another possible avenue for the Rudd Labor Government
to get legislation through.
1 In the Northern Territory
, the National Party does not field candidates, although they endorse the Country Liberal Party
as their preferred party in the Territory.
2 In Queensland
, the National Party merged with the Liberal Party of Australia
to form the Liberal National Party in 2008. Jeff Seeney
is acting as parliamentary leader of the LNP and Leader of the Opposition, pending the preselection and election of Campbell Newman
.
The National Party does not stand candidates in Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory.
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 commonly referred to as The Nationals. Federally, in New South Wales, and to an extent Victoria, it has generally been the minor party in the traditional coalition with 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...
in government. In Opposition it has worked in formal Coalition or separately, but generally in co-operation with the Liberal Party and it predecessor, the United Australia Party. It was the major coalition party in Queensland between 1957 and 2008, when it merged with the junior Queensland Division of the Liberal Party of Australia to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland – an organisation dominated by ex-Nationals.
The party's federal parliamentary leader since 3 December 2007, following the coalition's defeat at the 2007 federal election, is Warren Truss
Warren Truss
Warren 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...
.
History
The Country Party was formally founded in 1913 in Western Australia, and nationally in 1920 from a number of state-based parties such as the Victorian Farmers Union (VFU) and the Farmers and Settlers Party of 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 VFU won a seat in the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The 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....
in 1918, and at the 1919 federal election
Australian federal election, 1919
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. 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 defeated the opposition Australian...
the state-based country parties won seats in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. They also began to win seats in the state parliaments. In 1920 the Country Party was established as a national party led by William McWilliams
William McWilliams
William James McWilliams was the inaugural leader of the Country Party of Australia.Born in Bream Creek, near Sorell, Tasmania, the son of Irish immigrants who ran the local school. Originally trained as a teacher, McWilliams became a journalist in 1877, rising to editor of the Launceston...
from Tasmania. In his first speech as leader, McWilliams laid out the principles of the new party, stating "we crave no alliance, we spurn no support but we intend drastic action to secure closer attention to the needs of primary producers" McWilliams was deposed as party leader in favour of Dr Earle Page
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:...
in April 1921 following instances where McWilliams voted against the party line. McWilliams would later leave the Country Party to sit as an Independent.
At the 1922 election
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...
, it won enough seats to deny the Nationalists an overall majority, and was the Nationalists' only realistic coalition partner. However, Page let it be known that his party would not serve under Hughes, and forced his resignation. Page then entered negotiations with the Nationalists' new leader, Stanley Bruce
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
, for a coalition government. Page's terms were stiff—five seats in a Cabinet of 11, including the Treasurer
Treasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
portfolio and the second rank in the ministry for himself. Nonetheless, Bruce readily agreed, and the "Bruce-Page Ministry" was formed—thus beginning the tradition of the party's leader ranking second in Coalition cabinets.
Page remained dominant in the party until 1939 and briefly served as an interim Prime Minister between the death of Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
and the election of Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
as his successor, but Page's refusal to serve under Menzies led to his resignation as leader. The coalition was re-formed under Archie Cameron
Archie Cameron
Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:...
in 1940, and continued until October 1941 despite the election of Arthur Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
as leader after the 1940 Election. Fadden was well regarded within conservative circles and proved to be a loyal deputy to Menzies in the difficult circumstances of 1941. When Menzies was forced to resign as Prime Minister, Fadden briefly replaced him as Prime Minister (despite the Country Party being the junior partner in the governing coalition). However, the two independents who had been propping up the government rejected Fadden's budget and brought the government down.
Fadden stood down in favour of Labor leader John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
and continued as leader of the Opposition until the formation of 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...
in 1945. After the 1946 election
Australian federal election, 1946
Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, Fadden resumed his political partnership with Robert Menzies, though still keen to assert the independence of his party. Indeed, in the lead up to the 1949 federal election
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
, Fadden played a key role in the defeat of the Chifley Labor government, frequently making inflammatory claims about the "socialist" nature of the Labor Party, which Menzies could then "clarify" or repudiate as he saw fit, thus appearing more "moderate". In 1949 Arthur Fadden became Treasurer in the second Menzies government and remained so until his retirement in 1958. His successful partnership with Menzies was one of the elements that sustained the coalition, which remained in office until 1972 (Menzies himself retired in 1966).
Minister for Trade (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...
John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
, took the then unusual step of declining to serve as Treasurer, believing he could better ensure that the interests of Australian primary producers were safeguarded. Accordingly McEwen personally supervised the signing of the first post-war trade treaty with Japan, new trade agreements with New Zealand and Britain, and Australia's first trade agreement with the USSR (1965). In addition to this he insisted on developing an all encompassing system of tariff protection that would encourage the development of those secondary industries that would "value add" Australia's primary produce. His success in this endeavour is sometimes dubbed "McEwenism". This was the period of the Country Party's greatest power, as was demonstrated in 1962 when McEwen was able to insist that Menzies sack a Liberal Minister who claimed that Britain's entry into the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
was unlikely to severely impact on the Australian economy as a whole.
Menzies retired in 1966 and was succeeded by Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
. McEwen thus became the longest-tenured member of the government, with the informal right to veto government policy. The most significant instance that McEwen exercised this came when Holt disappeared in December 1967. John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
became the new Liberal Prime Minister in January 1968. McEwen was sworn in as an interim Prime Minister pending the election of the new Liberal leader. Logically, the Liberals' deputy leader, William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, should have succeeded Holt. However, McMahon was a staunch free-trader, and there were also rumors that he was homosexual. As a result, McEwen told the Liberals that he and his part would not serve under McMahon. McMahon stood down in favour of John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
. It would be only after McEwen announced his retirement that MacMahon would be able to successfully challenge Gorton for the Liberal leadership. McEwen's reputation for political toughness led to him being nicknamed "Black Jack" by his allies and enemies alike.
At the state level, from 1957 to 1989, the Country Party under Frank Nicklin
Frank Nicklin
Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, KCMG, MM was Premier of the Australian state of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, and the first Country Party Premier since 1932.-Early life and career:...
and Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir 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...
dominated governments 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...
. It also took part in governments in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.
However, successive electoral redistributions after 1964 indicated that the Country Party was losing ground electorally to the Liberals as the rural population declined, and the nature of some parliamentary seats on the urban/rural fringe changed. A proposed merger with the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) under the banner of "National Alliance"
National Alliance (Australia)
The National Alliance was an Australian political party of the early 1970s. The party was formed in Western Australia as a result of a merger between the WA Country Party and WA Democratic Labor Party . The National Alliance contested the WA state elections in March 1974, winning more than 8.5% of...
was rejected when it failed to find favour with voters at the 1974 state election
Western Australian state election, 1974
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 30 March 1974 to elect all 51 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council...
.
Also in 1974, 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...
members of the party joined with its Liberal party members to form the independent 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...
. This party continues to represent both parent parties in that territory. A separate party, the Joh-inspired NT Nationals, competed in the 1987 election with former Chief Minister Ian Tuxworth
Ian Tuxworth
Ian Lindsay Tuxworth is an Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia from 17 October 1984 until he resigned on 10 May 1986....
winning his seat of Barkly
Electoral division of Barkly
Barkly is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1974, and is named after the Barkly Tableland area, which occupies much of the electorate. Barkly is a rural electorate, covering 381,729.2 km² and taking in the towns of Tennant...
by a small margin. However, this splinter group were not endorsed by the national executive and soon disappeared from the political scene.
Countrymindedness
"Countrymindedness" was a slogan that summed up the ideology of the Country Party from 1920 through the early 1970s. It was an ideology that was physiocratic, populistPopulism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, and decentralist; it fostered rural solidarity and justified demands for government subsidies. "Countrymindedness" grew out of the failure of the country areas to participate in the rapid economic and population expansions that occurred after 1890. The growth of the ideology into urban areas came as most country people migrated to jobs in the cities. Its decline was due mainly to the reduction of real and psychological differences between country and city brought about by the postwar expansion of the Australian urban population and to the increased affluence and technological changes that accompanied it.
National Country Party, and National Party
In 1975 the Country Party changed its name to the National Country Party as part of a strategy to expand into urban areas. This had some success in Queensland under Joh Bjelke-PetersenJoh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir 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...
, but nowhere else. In Western Australia, the party publicly walked out of the coalition agreement in Western Australia in May 1975, to return in 1976. However, the party split in two over the decision in late 1978, with a new National Party forming and becoming independent, holding three seats in the Western Australian lower house, while the National Country Party remained in coalition and also held three seats. They reconciled after the Burke Labor government came to power in 1983.
The 1980s were dominated by the feud between Bjelke-Petersen and the federal party leadership, which led to defeat at the 1987 federal election and the fall of the Nationals in Queensland in 1989. The Nationals experienced difficulties in the late 1990s from two fronts – firstly from the Liberal Party, who were winning seats on the basis that the Nationals were not seen to be a sufficiently separate party, and from the One Nation Party
One Nation Party
One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. It gained 22% of the vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election and made major inroads into the vote of the existing parties...
riding a swell of rural discontent with many of the policies such as multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and gun control
Gun politics in Australia
Gun politics have only become a notable issue in Australia since the 1980s. Low levels of violent crime through much of the 20th century kept levels of public concern about firearms low...
embraced by all of the major parties. The rise of Labor in formerly safe National-held areas in rural Queensland, particularly on the coast, has been the biggest threat to the Queensland Nationals.
State parties
The continued success of the Australian Labor PartyAustralian 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...
at a state level has put pressure on the Nationals' links with the Liberal Party, their traditional coalition partner. In most states, the Coalition agreement is not in force when the parties are in opposition, allowing the two parties greater freedom of action.
In Queensland the National Party has merged with the Liberal Party, forming the Liberal National Party in 2008. The Liberal National Party led by Lawrence Springborg went on to lose the March 2009 election to Anna Bligh's Australian Labor Party.
In South Australia, for the first time in the Nationals' history, in 2002 the single Nationals member in the House of Assembly entered the Rann Labor Government as a Minister forming an informal coalition between the two parties. Since the 2010 South Australian State election, the Nationals in South Australia have no representative in either the House of Assembly or the Upper House or at a Federal level.
Western Australia's National Party chose to position itself in a similar way after an acrimonious co-habitation with the Liberals on the 2005 campaign trail
Western Australian state election, 2005
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 26 February 2005 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...
. Unlike its New South Wales and Queensland counterparts, the WA party had decided to oppose Liberal candidates in the 2008 election. The party aimed to hold the balance of power in the state "as an independent conservative party" ready to negotiate with the Liberals or Labor to form a minority government. After the election, the Nationals negotiated an agreement to form a government with the Liberals and an independent MP, though not described as a "traditional coalition" due to the reduced cabinet collective responsibility
Cabinet collective responsibility
Cabinet 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...
of National cabinet members.
Western Australia's one-vote-one-value reforms will cut the number of rural seats in the state assembly to reflect the rural population level: this, coupled with the Liberals' strength in country areas has put the Nationals under significant pressure.
The Nationals were stung in early 2006, when their only Victorian senator, Julian McGauran
Julian McGauran
Julian McGauran , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian Senate, representing the state of Victoria. Elected as a member of the National Party, he resigned from the Nationals and joined the Liberal Party of Australia in February 2006...
, defected to the Liberals and created a serious rift between the Nationals and the Liberals. Several commentators believed that changing demographics and unfavourable preference deals would demolish the Nationals at the 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...
that year, but they went on to enjoy considerable success by winning two extra lower house seats. The Nationals are in a coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
with the Liberals at a State level in Victoria.
Political role
The Nationals see their main role as giving a voice to Australians who live outside the country's metropolitan areas.Traditionally, the leader of the National Party serves as Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
when the Coalition is in government. This tradition dates back to the creation of the office in 1968.
When the Liberal Prime Minister Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
died in office, his Country Party deputy John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
became Prime Minister for a period of weeks while the Liberal Party elected a new leader. In the Queensland state parliament
Parliament of Queensland
The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. According to the state's constitution, the Parliament consists of the Queen and the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state parliament in the country, the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, having been...
, the National Party has historically been the stronger coalition partner numerically, and though the parties have merged, the majority of Members of the Queensland Parliament in the Liberal-National Party are former Nationals.
The National Party's support base and membership are closely associated with the agricultural community. Historically anti-union, the party has vacillated between state support for primary industries ("agrarian
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
") and free agricultural trade and has opposed tariff protection for Australia's manufacturing and service industries. This vacillation prompted those opposed to the policies of the Nationals to joke that its real aim was to "capitalise its gains and socialise its losses!". It is usually pro-mining, pro-development, and anti-environmentalist.
The Nationals hold a larger membership base than either the Liberal or Labor Parties, although in the larger eastern states its vote is in decline and its traditional supporters are turning instead to prominent independents such as Bob Katter
Bob Katter
Robert Carl "Bob" Katter is an Australian federal politician, a member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993 for the Division of Kennedy, and the leader of Katter's Australian Party...
, Tony Windsor
Tony Windsor
Antony Harold Curties "Tony" Windsor , an Australian politician, is an independent member of the House of Representatives since 2001, representing the Division of New England, New South Wales...
and Peter Andren
Peter Andren
Peter James Andren AM was an Australian politician. He was an independent member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until October 2007, representing the electorate of Calare, New South Wales....
in Federal Parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
and similar independents in the Parliaments of 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...
, 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 Victoria
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....
, many of whom are former members of the National Party. In fact at the 2004 Federal election, National Party candidates received fewer first preference votes than the Australian 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...
. However, the situation in Western Australia and South Australia, where the party is more clearly differentiable from the Liberals, is quite different, with the Nationals narrowly missing out on winning a second seat in South Australia in 2006 and winning a safe Liberal seat in Western Australia in 2005.
Demographic changes are not helping, with fewer people living and employed on the land or in small towns, the continued growth of the larger provincial centres, and, in some cases, the arrival of left-leaning "city refugees" in rural areas. The Liberals have also gained support as the differences between the coalition partners on a federal level have become invisible. This was highlighted in January 2006, when Nationals Senator Julian McGauran
Julian McGauran
Julian McGauran , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian Senate, representing the state of Victoria. Elected as a member of the National Party, he resigned from the Nationals and joined the Liberal Party of Australia in February 2006...
defected to the Liberals, saying that there was "no longer any real distinguishing policy or philosophical difference".
In Queensland, Nationals leader Lawrence Springborg
Lawrence Springborg
Lawrence James Springborg is an Australian politician and became Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland since 2 April 2009. He was deputy leader of the new Liberal National Party...
advocated merger of the National and Liberal parties at a state level in order to present a more effective opposition to the Labor Party. Previously this plan had been dismissed by the Queensland branch of the Liberal party, but the idea received in-principle support from the Liberals. Federal leader Mark Vaile
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
stated the Nationals will not merge with the Liberal Party at a federal level. The plan was opposed by key Queensland Senators Ron Boswell
Ron Boswell
Ronald Leslie Doyle "Ron" Boswell , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate since 5 March 1983, representing Queensland. Since 2008 he has been the Father of the Senate....
and 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...
, and was scuttled in 2006. After suffering defeat in the 2006 Queensland poll, Lawrence Springborg was replaced by Jeff Seeney
Jeff Seeney
Jeffrey William Seeney is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since the 1998 state election, representing the National Party and merged Liberal National Party ....
, who indicated he was not interested in merging with the Liberal Party until the issue is seriously raised at a Federal level.
Support for the Nationals in the 2006 Victorian state election was considerable with the party picking up two extra seats in the Lower House to maintain its total representation of 11 sitting members (two Upper House seats were lost, mostly due to a change from preferential to proportional representation). This success can be attributed to a more assertive National Party image (a differentation to that of the Liberals) and the growing popularity of state and federal Nationals identities such as 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...
.
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...
replaced CLP Senator and Nationals deputy leader Nigel Scullion
Nigel Scullion
Nigel Gregory Scullion , Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate for the Northern Territory since November 2001, representing the Country Liberal Party...
as leader of the Nationals in the Senate, and stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house, which opened up another possible avenue for the Rudd Labor Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
to get legislation through.
Liberal/National merger
Merger plans came to a head in May 2008, when the Queensland state Liberal Party gave an announcement not to wait for a federal blueprint but instead to merge immediately. The new party, the Liberal National Party, was founded in July 2008.Historical electoral results
| Federal results in the Lower House Australian House of Representatives The 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.... since 1919 |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1919 | 1922 | 1925 | 1928 | 1929 | 1931 | 1934 | 1937 | 1940 | 1943 |
| % | 9.26 | 12.56 | 10.74 | 10.47 | 10.27 | 12.25 | 12.61 | 15.55 | 13.71 | 6.96 |
| House Seats | 11 of 75 | 14 of 75 | 14 of 75 | 13 of 75 | 10 of 75 | 16 of 75 | 14 of 74 | 16 of 74 | 14 of 74 | 7 of 74 |
| Year | 1946 | 1949 | 1951 | 1954 | 1955 | 1958 | 1961 | 1963 | 1966 | 1969 |
| % | 10.70 | 10.87 | 9.72 | 8.52 | 7.90 | 9.32 | 8.51 | 8.94 | 9.84 | 8.56 |
| House Seats | 11 of 74 | 19 of 121 | 17 of 121 | 17 of 121 | 18 of 122 | 19 of 122 | 17 of 122 | 20 of 122 | 21 of 124 | 20 of 125 |
| Year | 1972 | 1974 | 1975 | 1977 | 1980 | 1983 | 1984 | 1987 | 1990 | 1993 |
| % | 9.44 | 9.96 | 11.25 | 10.01 | 8.97 | 9.21 | 10.63 | 11.50 | 8.42 | 7.17 |
| House Seats | 20 of 125 | 21 of 127 | 23 of 127 | 19 of 124 | 20 of 125 | 17 of 125 | 21 of 148 | 19 of 147 | 14 of 148 | 16 of 148 |
| Year | 1996 | 1998 | 2001 | 2004 | 2007 | 2010 | ||||
| % | 8.21 | 5.29 | 5.61 | 5.89 | 5.49 | 3.43 | ||||
| House Seats | 19 of 148 | 16 of 148 | 13 of 150 | 12 of 150 | 10 of 150 | 6 of 150 | ||||
Leaders
| Leader of the National Party | Term in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| William James McWilliams William McWilliams William James McWilliams was the inaugural leader of the Country Party of Australia.Born in Bream Creek, near Sorell, Tasmania, the son of Irish immigrants who ran the local school. Originally trained as a teacher, McWilliams became a journalist in 1877, rising to editor of the Launceston... |
1920–1921 | |
| Sir Earle Page Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:... |
1921–1939 | Prime Minister Prime Minister of Australia The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful... April 1939 |
| Archie Cameron Archie Cameron Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:... |
1939–1940 | |
| Sir Arthur Fadden Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:... |
1940–1958 | Prime Minister August – October 1941 |
| Sir John McEwen John McEwen Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia... |
1958–1971 | Prime Minister December 1967 – January 1968 Deputy Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime... January 1968 – February 1971 |
| Doug Anthony Doug Anthony John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:... |
1971–1984 | Deputy Prime Minister February 1971 – December 1972, November 1975 – March 1983 |
| Ian Sinclair Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair AC , is an Australian politician and former leader of the National Party of Australia.Sinclair was born in Sydney, the son of a suburban accountant. He was educated at Knox Grammar School and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in arts and law... |
1984–1989 | |
| Charles Blunt Charles Blunt Charles William Blunt Australian politician and businessman, was leader of the National Party of Australia from 1989 to 1990.... |
1989–1990 | |
| Tim Fischer Tim Fischer Timothy Andrew Fischer, AC , is a former Australian politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 before retiring from Cabinet in 1999... |
1990–1999 | Deputy Prime Minister March 1996 – July 1999 |
| John Anderson John Anderson (Australian politician) John Duncan Anderson AO is a former Australian politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the rural-based National Party of Australia from July 1999 to July 2005.-Early years:... |
1999–2005 | Deputy Prime Minister July 1999 – July 2005 |
| Mark Vaile Mark Vaile Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:... |
2005–2007 | Deputy Prime Minister July 2005 – November 2007 |
| Warren Truss Warren Truss Warren 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... |
2007–present |
Deputy Leaders
Shown in chronological order of leadership| Year | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Edmund Jowett Edmund Jowett Edmund Jowett was an Australian politician and an early deputy leader of the Australian Country Party.-Early life:... |
|
| 1921 | Henry Gregory Henry Gregory (politician) Henry Gregory was an Australian politician. Born in Kyneton, Victoria, where he was educated, he moved to the Western Australian goldfields in 1894. He became Mayor of Menzies Shire as well as a stockbroker, farmer and press proprietor... |
|
| 1922 | William Fleming William Fleming (Australian politician) William Montgomerie Fleming was an Australian politician, who served in the Australian House of Representatives and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.... |
|
| 1923 | William Gibson | |
| 1929 | Thomas Paterson Thomas Paterson Thomas Paterson was an Australian farmer and politician.Paterson was born in Aston, near Birmingham, England and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Ayr Grammar School. He became a shoe salesman in 1897 and later a branch manager, but resigned in 1908 to study farming... |
|
| 1937 | Harold Thorby Harold Thorby Harold Victor Campbell Thorby was an Australian politician and government minister.-Early life:Thorby was born in the Sydney suburb of Annandale and was educated at Geurie Public School and Sydney Grammar School and worked on his grandparents' farm at Geurie. He studied woolclassing, veterinary... |
|
| 1940 | Arthur Fadden Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:... |
Later Prime Minister Prime Minister of Australia The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful... 1941 |
| 1941 | vacant | |
| 1943 | John McEwen John McEwen Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia... |
Later Prime Minister 1967-68 |
| 1958 | Charles Davidson Charles Davidson Sir Charles William Davidson KBE was an Australian politician. He attended Townsville Grammar School in 1912 and 1913. He served in World War I and on his return was a dairy farmer and later grew sugar cane. During World War II, he served in the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Army in New... |
|
| 1964 | Charles Adermann Charles Adermann Sir Charles Frederick Adermann KBE was an Australian federal politician and government minister.Adermann was born at Vernor Siding, near Lowood, Queensland, the son of German immigrants and educated at Lowood and Wooroolin State schools until he was 13... |
|
| 1966 | Doug Anthony Doug Anthony John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:... |
Later Leader |
| 1971 | Ian Sinclair Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair AC , is an Australian politician and former leader of the National Party of Australia.Sinclair was born in Sydney, the son of a suburban accountant. He was educated at Knox Grammar School and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in arts and law... |
Later Leader |
| 1984 | Ralph Hunt | |
| 1987 | Bruce Lloyd | |
| 1993 | John Anderson John Anderson (Australian politician) John Duncan Anderson AO is a former Australian politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the rural-based National Party of Australia from July 1999 to July 2005.-Early years:... |
Later Leader |
| 1999 | Mark Vaile Mark Vaile Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:... |
Later Leader |
| 2005 | Warren Truss Warren Truss Warren 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... |
Later Leader |
| 2007 | Nigel Scullion Nigel Scullion Nigel Gregory Scullion , Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate for the Northern Territory since November 2001, representing the Country Liberal Party... * |
|
- * Senator
Current State Parliamentary Leaders
| State | Leader | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NSW 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... |
Andrew Stoner Andrew Stoner Andrew 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... |
Deputy Premier of New South Wales Deputy Premier of New South Wales The Deputy Premier of New South Wales is the second-most senior officer in the Government of New South Wales. The Deputy Premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1932, and the Deputy Premier is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Premier.... since March 2011 |
| NT Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties... |
Terry Mills Terry Mills (politician) Terrence Kennedy Mills is the current Country Liberal Party leader and opposition leader in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 29 January 2008... |
Leader since 2008 1 |
| QLD Liberal National Party The Liberal National Party is a political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed on 26 July 2008 by the merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and National parties.-History:... |
Jeff Seeney Jeff Seeney Jeffrey William Seeney is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since the 1998 state election, representing the National Party and merged Liberal National Party .... |
Leader since 2011 2 |
| VIC 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.... |
Peter Ryan Peter 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... |
Deputy Premier of Victoria Deputy Premier of Victoria The Deputy Premier of Victoria is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Victoria. The Deputy Premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since , and the Deputy Premier is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Premier.... since December 2010 |
| WA 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.... |
Brendon Grylls Brendon Grylls Brendon 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... |
Leader Since 2005 |
1 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...
, the National Party does not field candidates, although they endorse 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...
as their preferred party in the Territory.
2 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...
, the National Party merged with 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...
to form the Liberal National Party in 2008. Jeff Seeney
Jeff Seeney
Jeffrey William Seeney is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since the 1998 state election, representing the National Party and merged Liberal National Party ....
is acting as parliamentary leader of the LNP and Leader of the Opposition, pending the preselection and election of Campbell Newman
Campbell Newman
Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman is the leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. He was the 15th Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 2004 to 2011....
.
The National Party does not stand candidates in Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory.
Queensland
| Premier | Term |
|---|---|
| Sir Frank Nicklin Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, KCMG, MM was Premier of the Australian state of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, and the first Country Party Premier since 1932.-Early life and career:... |
12 August 1957 – 17 January 1968 |
| Jack Pizzey Jack Pizzey Jack Charles Allan Pizzey was a Queensland Country Party politician. He was Premier of Queensland, in a coalition with the Liberal Party, from 17 January 1968 until his death on 31 July that year.... |
17 January 1968 – 31 July 1968 |
| Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir 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... |
8 August 1968 – 1 December 1987 |
| Mike Ahern | 1 December 1987 – 25 September 1989 |
| Russell Cooper Russell Cooper Theo Russell Cooper is a former Australian National Party politician.He was Premier of Queensland for a period of 73 days, from 25 September 1989 to 7 December 1989... |
25 September 1989 – 7 December 1989 |
| Rob Borbidge Rob Borbidge Robert Edward Borbidge AO , Australian politician, was the 35th Premier of Queensland, and leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party... |
19 February 1996 – 20 June 1998 |
Victoria
| Premier | Term |
|---|---|
| Sir John Allan John Allan (Australian politician) John Allan , Australian politician, was the 29th Premier of Victoria. He was born near Lancefield, where his father was a farmer of Scottish origin, and educated at state schools. He took up wheat and dairy farming at Wyuna and was director of a butter factory at Kyabram... |
18 November 1924 – 20 May 1927 |
| Sir Albert Dunstan Albert Dunstan Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan, KCMG was an Australian politician. A member of the Country Party , Dunstan was the 33rd Premier of Victoria. His term as Premier was the second-longest in the state's history, behind Sir Henry Bolte... |
2 April 1935 – 14 September 1943, 18 September 1943 – 2 October 1945 |
| John McDonald John McDonald (Victorian politician) Sir John Gladstone Black McDonald was 37th Premier of Victoria from 27 June 1950 to 17 December 1952, except for a few days in October 1952 when Thomas Hollway led a brief Electoral Reform League government... |
27 June 1950 – 28 October 1952, 31 October 1952 – 17 December 1952 |
Further reading
- Aitkin, Don. The country party in New South Wales (1972)
- Aitkin, Don. "'Countrymindedness': The Spread of an Idea," ACH: The Journal of the History of Culture in Australia, April 1985, Vol. 4, pp 34–41
- Davey, Paul. The Nationals: the Progressive, Country, and National Party in New South Wales 1919–2006 (2006)
- Davey, Paul. "Politics in the Blood - The Anthonys of Richmond" (2008)
- Davey, Paul. "Ninety Not Out - The Nationals 1920-2010" (2010)
- Davey, Paul. "The Country Party Prime Ministers - Their Trials and Tribulations" (2011)
- Duncan, C.J. "The demise of 'countrymindedness': New players or changing values in Australian rural politics?" Political Geography, Sep 1992, Vol. 11 Issue 5, pp 430–448
- Graham, B. D. "Graziers in Politics, 1917 To 1929," Historical Studies: Australia and New Zealand, 1959, Vol. 8 Issue 32, pp 383–391
- Leithner, Christian. "Rational Behaviour, Economic Conditions and the Australian Country Party, 1922–1937," Australian Journal of Political Science, July 1991, Vol. 26 Issue 2, pp 240–259
- Williams, John R. "The Organization of the Australian National Party," Australian Quarterly, 1969, Vol. 41 Issue 2, pp 41–51,