Western Australia Party

The Western Australia Party is a registered political party in Western Australia, established by Julie Matheson as Julie Matheson for Western Australia to contest the 2017 state election.[1] It was registered by the Western Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC) on 18 October 2016.[2]

Not to be confused with Western Australian Party.

Western Australia Party
LeaderJulie Matheson
SecretaryStephen Phelan
Founded2016 (2016)
IdeologyRegionalism
Populism
WA Legislative Council
1 / 36
Website
westernaustraliaparty.org.au

History

Matheson established the party amid community anger over the government introducing Development Assessment Panels while she was a member of the City of Subiaco council.[3] The party endorsed candidates in 20 Legislative Assembly seats for the 2017 election and in all six regions for the Legislative Council. Matheson herself stood as a candidate in the Legislative Council's North Metropolitan Region.[4]

In July 2017, the Western Australian Electoral Commission approved a name change to the Western Australia Party.[5]

The party contested its first election in 2018, when Ron Norris ran in the Cottesloe by-election. He finished 3rd with 9% of the vote.

It contested the Darling Range by-election and received 5.8% of the vote, outpolling One Nation and the Greens in many booths but falling behind them both overall.[6]

The party applied to be registered for federal elections. The notice of application was published by the Australian Electoral Commission on 15 June 2018, inviting any objections to be lodged by 15 July 2018. Julie Matheson is the registered officer of the Western Australia Party.[7] It was granted registration on 30 August 2018.[8]

On 12 May 2020, the party gained its first member of parliament when independent member of the Legislative Council Charles Smith joined the party.[9]

References
  1. "Registered Political Parties in WA". Western Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. No. 191, Western Australian Government Gazette, 21 October 2016, p. 4787.
  3. Turner, Rebecca (22 July 2016). "DAPS anger behind formation of new Western Australian political party". ABC News. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. "North Metropolitan Region". WA Election 2017. ABC Australia. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  5. Kerslake, David (13 July 2017). "Approval of Change of Name and Abbreviated Name". Letter. Western Australian Electoral Commission.
  6. Laschon, Eliza. "WA Party plans federal by-election tilt after strong Darling Range GST protest vote result". ABC News.
  7. "Western Australia Party" (PDF). NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION AS A POLITICAL PARTY. Australian Electoral Commission. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  8. "Registration of a political party: Western Australia Party" (PDF). Notice under s 133(1A)(a) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Australian Electoral Commission. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  9. "Charles Smith, former One Nation MP, turned independent, joins new party". Out in Perth. 12 May 2020.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.