Nuclear Disarmament Party
Encyclopedia
The Nuclear Disarmament Party (NDP) was a political party in Australia
. The party was formed in 1984 and enjoyed considerable initial success.
doctor and peace activist, Dr Michael Denborough
, in response to the world political situation in the early 1980s, particularly the arms race
between the United States
under Ronald Reagan
and the Soviet Union
. Such activists were disappointed that the Australian Labor Party
government of Bob Hawke
, elected in 1983, had not taken a stronger stance against the policies of the U.S., and also that Hawke had overturned a long-standing ALP policy not to mine uranium, and had allowed mining in South Australia at Roxby Downs, which has since become one of the largest uranium mines in the world.
At the December 1984 federal election the NDP received 643,061 votes (7.23% of the total), and exceeded 4% in every state except Tasmania, where it received 3.9%. Amongst the NDP candidates were Peter Garrett
, a rock singer, and Jean Melzer
, a former Victorian ALP senator. Garrett polled 9.6% of the vote in NSW, and Melzer polled 7.3% in Victoria. Because of an adverse distribution of preferences (see Australian electoral system
), neither Garrett nor Melzer was elected. However, Western Australia
n peace activist Jo Vallentine
was elected to the Senate.
In April 1985, Vallentine, Garrett and Melzer, along with 30 other members, walked out of the national conference in Melbourne and resigned from the NDP, claiming that the party had been taken over
by the Socialist Workers Party
(SWP), a Trotskyist group. In the wake of the split, Vallentine became an independent 'senator for nuclear disarmament' and went on to be re-elected as a "Vallentine Peace Group" candidate in the double dissolution
election of 1987.
and members of the Labor Party were recognised handing out this card and that the allocation of preferences to the ALP on the card damaged the NDP.
The government entered a cover-up to protect its state secretary Peter Batchelor
and the Labor party. As police investigated the case, the culprits blamed the SWP.
.
When Wood was subsequently granted Australian citizenship he became eligible to be a member of parliament. The New South Wales Branch of the NDP asked Dunn to resign so they could seek to have Wood appointed to fill the casual vacancy. This may have allowed Wood to re-enter the Senate, however Dunn refused, citing various difficulties and risks with this scenario. The New South Wales Branch of the NDP then expelled Dunn from the NDP. Like Wood and Vallentine, Dunn described herself as a Senator for Nuclear Disarmament having already distanced herself from the NDP. She lost her Senate place at the 1990 election.
Jo Vallentine
continued as a catalyst of the Australian Greens
through her status as a WA Greens
senator from 1990 until her resignation on health grounds in 1992.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The party was formed in 1984 and enjoyed considerable initial success.
Foundation, the 1984 election, and the split
The NDP was founded by a CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
doctor and peace activist, Dr Michael Denborough
Michael Denborough
Michael Antony Denborough AM is an Australian academic and medical researcher who founded the Nuclear Disarmament Party.Denborough was born in Salisbury in Rhodesia to Paul Peter Denborough and Alma Mary Hepburn...
, in response to the world political situation in the early 1980s, particularly the arms race
Arms race
The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for the best armed forces. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Such activists were disappointed that 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...
government of Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
, elected in 1983, had not taken a stronger stance against the policies of the U.S., and also that Hawke had overturned a long-standing ALP policy not to mine uranium, and had allowed mining in South Australia at Roxby Downs, which has since become one of the largest uranium mines in the world.
At the December 1984 federal election the NDP received 643,061 votes (7.23% of the total), and exceeded 4% in every state except Tasmania, where it received 3.9%. Amongst the NDP candidates were Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
, a rock singer, and Jean Melzer
Jean Melzer
Jean Isobelle Melzer was an Australian Senator representing the Australian Labor Party and the state of Victoria. She was elected on 18 May 1974 she served two terms, she was defeated at 1980 elections as she was placed third on the Labor ticket...
, a former Victorian ALP senator. Garrett polled 9.6% of the vote in NSW, and Melzer polled 7.3% in Victoria. Because of an adverse distribution of preferences (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...
), neither Garrett nor Melzer was elected. However, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n peace activist Jo Vallentine
Jo Vallentine
Josephine Vallentine is a peace activist and a former Australian Senator for Western Australia. Vallentine entered the Senate on 1 July 1985 after she had been elected as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party but she sat as an independent and then as a member of the Greens Western Australia...
was elected to the Senate.
In April 1985, Vallentine, Garrett and Melzer, along with 30 other members, walked out of the national conference in Melbourne and resigned from the NDP, claiming that the party had been taken over
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
by the Socialist Workers Party
Democratic Socialist Perspective
The Democratic Socialist Perspective was an Australian Marxist political group, which operated as the largest component of a broad-left socialist formation, the Socialist Alliance...
(SWP), a Trotskyist group. In the wake of the split, Vallentine became an independent 'senator for nuclear disarmament' and went on to be re-elected as a "Vallentine Peace Group" candidate in the double dissolution
Double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
election of 1987.
Electoral controversy: the 1985 Nunawading Re-election
Due to a tied vote in the upper house province of Nunawading, and having the winning vote drawn from a hat, a Labor government for the first time in its history had control of the Legislative Council. A fresh election ordered by the Court of Disputed Returns after it was found that the Chief Electoral Officer drew a name from a hat rather than caste the deciding vote. The Liberals won re-election and Labor lost its slim majority. Within a week of polling day Mr Martin Peake, Chairman of the Victorian Nuclear Disarmament Party, lodged an official complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of Victoria, about a deceptive NDP how to vote card handed out at the booths. In essence, the Victorian ALP state secretary organised forged NDP how-to-vote cardsand members of the Labor Party were recognised handing out this card and that the allocation of preferences to the ALP on the card damaged the NDP.
The government entered a cover-up to protect its state secretary Peter Batchelor
Peter Batchelor
Peter Batchelor was an Australian politician before retiring at the Victorian State Election on 27 November 2010. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 1990, representing the electorate of Thomastown. He served most recently as Minister for Energy and...
and the Labor party. As police investigated the case, the culprits blamed the SWP.
Electoral controversy: the 1987 election
After this the NDP consisted of a group of activists led by Denborough. At the July 1987 federal election, the party's Senate vote in New South Wales fell from 9.6 % to 1.5 %. However, after distribution of preferences from other minor parties, the NDP's Robert Wood received more than the 7.7% quota, and hence was duly elected. In May 1988, however, Wood, who was born in the United Kingdom, was disqualified from membership of the Senate on the grounds that he had not been an Australian citizen at the time of nomination. Wood's seat was won on a recount of the ballots by the second candidate on the NDP ticket in NSW, Irina DunnIrina Dunn
Patricia Irene Dunn is an Australian writer who served in the Australian Senate between 1988 and 1990.-Background:Dunn was born in Shanghai, China around the time of the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, and her family, associated with Chiang Kai-Shek, fled to Hong Kong...
.
When Wood was subsequently granted Australian citizenship he became eligible to be a member of parliament. The New South Wales Branch of the NDP asked Dunn to resign so they could seek to have Wood appointed to fill the casual vacancy. This may have allowed Wood to re-enter the Senate, however Dunn refused, citing various difficulties and risks with this scenario. The New South Wales Branch of the NDP then expelled Dunn from the NDP. Like Wood and Vallentine, Dunn described herself as a Senator for Nuclear Disarmament having already distanced herself from the NDP. She lost her Senate place at the 1990 election.
Legacy
The NDP stood candidates at the 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007 federal elections. The party was officially deregistered in December 2009.Jo Vallentine
Jo Vallentine
Josephine Vallentine is a peace activist and a former Australian Senator for Western Australia. Vallentine entered the Senate on 1 July 1985 after she had been elected as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party but she sat as an independent and then as a member of the Greens Western Australia...
continued as a catalyst of 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...
through her status as a WA Greens
Greens Western Australia
The Greens Western Australia is the state branch of the Australian Greens in Western Australia. The Greens WA was formed following the merger of the WA Greens and the Green Earth Alliance...
senator from 1990 until her resignation on health grounds in 1992.
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement in AustraliaAnti-nuclear movement in AustraliaNuclear testing, uranium mining and export, and nuclear energy have often been the subject of public debate in Australia, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history...
- British nuclear tests at MaralingaBritish nuclear tests at MaralingaBritish nuclear tests at Maralinga occurred between 1955 and 1963 at the Maralinga site, part of the Woomera Prohibited Area, in South Australia. A total of seven major nuclear tests were performed, with approximate yields ranging from 1 to 27 kilotons of TNT equivalent...
- Campaign Against Nuclear EnergyCampaign Against Nuclear EnergyThe Campaign Against Nuclear Energy was established in Perth, Western Australia on 14 February 1976 by Friends of the Earth ; this included: Peter Brotherton, FOE coordinator WA and John Carlin, Mike Thomas and Barrie Machin after a meeting at University of WA...
- New Zealand's nuclear-free zoneNew Zealand's nuclear-free zoneIn 1984, Prime Minister David Lange barred nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships from using New Zealand ports or entering New Zealand waters. Under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987, territorial sea, land and airspace of New Zealand became nuclear-free zones...
- Uranium mining controversy in Kakadu National ParkUranium mining controversy in Kakadu National ParkKakadu National Park, located in the Northern Territory of Australia, possesses within its boundaries a number of large uranium deposits. The uranium is legally owned by the Australian Government, and is sold internationally, having a large effect on the Australian economy...
External links
- Nuclear Disarmament Party website as at 7 March 2008, before organisation's webpage ceased to operate.
Newsletter
- Newsletter (Nuclear Disarmament Party (Australia). A.C.T. Branch). ISSN 0815–4252. No. 1 ([1984])-no. 38 (Dec. 1991)