List of political parties in Australia
This article lists political parties in Australia.
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Australia |
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The Australian federal parliament has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, with full-preference instant-runoff voting in single-member seats to elect the lower house, the Australian House of Representatives, and the use of the single transferable vote to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.
Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. Federally, 6 of the 150 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as are 15 of the 76 members of the upper house (senators).
Other parties tend to perform better in the upper houses of the various federal and state parliament since these typically use a form of proportional representation.
Federal parties
Federal parliamentary parties
Name | Abbr. | Leader | Ideology | MPs | Senators | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Coalition | |||||||
Liberal Party of Australia | Liberal | Scott Morrison | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
61 / 151 |
31 / 76 | ||
National Party of Australia | National | Michael McCormack | Conservatism Agrarianism |
16 / 151 |
5 / 76 | ||
Australian Labor Party | Labor, ALP | Anthony Albanese | Social democracy | 68 / 151 |
26 / 76 | ||
Australian Greens | Greens | Adam Bandt | Green politics | 1 / 151 |
9 / 76 | ||
Centre Alliance | CA | No leader | Social liberalism | 1 / 151 |
2 / 76 | ||
Katter's Australian Party | KAP | Robbie Katter | Australian nationalism Economic nationalism |
1 / 151 |
0 / 76 | ||
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | One Nation, PHON | Pauline Hanson | Australian nationalism Right-wing populism |
0 / 151 |
2 / 76 | ||
Jacqui Lambie Network | JLN | Jacqui Lambie | Australian nationalism Regionalism |
0 / 151 |
1 / 76 |
Two political groups dominate the Australian political spectrum, forming a de facto two-party system. One is the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a centre-left party which is formally linked to the Australian labour movement. Formed in 1893, it has been a major party federally since 1901, and has been one of the two major parties since the 1910 federal election. The ALP is in government in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
The other group is a conservative grouping of parties that are in coalition at the federal level, as well as in New South Wales, but compete in Western Australia and South Australia. The main party in this group is the centre-right Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is the modern form of a conservative grouping that has existed since the fusion of the Protectionist Party and Free Trade Party into the Commonwealth Liberal Party in 1909. Although this group has changed its nomenclature, there has been a general continuity of MPs and structure between different forms of the party. Its modern form was founded by Robert Menzies in 1944. The party's philosophy is generally liberal conservatism.
Every elected prime minister of Australia since 1910 has been a member of either the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, or one of the Liberal Party's previous incarnations (the Commonwealth Liberal Party, the Nationalist Party of Australia, or the United Australia Party).
The Liberal Party is joined by the National Party, a party that seeks to represent rural interests, especially agricultural ones. The Nationals contest a limited number of seats and do not generally directly compete with the Liberal Party. Its ideology is generally more socially conservative than that of the Liberal Party. In 1987, the National Party made an abortive run for the office of prime minister in its own right, in the Joh for Canberra campaign. However, it has generally not aspired to become the majority party in the coalition, and it is generally understood that the prime minister of Australia will be a member of either the Labor or Liberal parties. On two occasions (involving Earle Page in 1939, and John McEwen from December 1967 to January 1968), the deputy prime minister, the leader of the National Party (then known as the Country Party), became the prime minister temporarily, upon the death of the incumbent prime minister. Arthur Fadden was the only other Country Party, prime minister. He assumed office in August 1941 after the resignation of Robert Menzies and served as prime minister until October of that year.
The Liberal and National parties have merged in Queensland and the Northern Territory, although the resultant parties are different. The Liberal National Party of Queensland, formed in 2008, is a branch of the Liberal Party, but it is affiliated with the Nationals and members elected to federal parliament may sit as either Liberals or Nationals. The Country Liberal Party was formed in 1978 when the Northern Territory gained responsible government. It is a separate member of the federal coalition, but it is affiliated with the two major members and its president has voting rights in the National Party. The name refers to the older name of the National Party.
Federally, these parties are collectively known as the Coalition. The Coalition has existed continually (between the Nationals and their predecessors, and the Liberals and their predecessors) since 1923, with minor breaks in 1940, 1973, and 1987.
Historically, support for either the Coalition or the Labor Party was often viewed as being based on social class, with the upper and middle classes supporting the Coalition and the working class supporting Labor. This has been a less important factor since the 1970s and 1980s when the Labor Party gained a significant bloc of middle-class support and the Coalition gained a significant bloc of working-class support.[1]
The two-party duopoly has been relatively stable, with the two groupings (Labor and Coalition) gaining at least 70% of the primary vote in every election since 1910 (including the votes of autonomous state parties). Third parties have only rarely received more than 10% of the vote for the Australian House of Representatives in a federal election, such as the Australian Democrats in the 1990 election and the Australian Greens in 2010, 2016 and 2019
Federal non-parliamentary parties
Parties listed in alphabetical order as of 10 February 2020:[2][3]
Name | Leader | Ideology | |
---|---|---|---|
Animal Justice Party | Bruce Poon | Animal welfare | |
Australian Federation Party | Glenn O’Rourke | Big tent | |
Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated | James Saleam | White nationalism Ultranationalism | |
Australian Affordable Housing Party | Andrew Potts | Affordable housing | |
Australian Better Families | Leith Erikson | Men's rights | |
Australian Christians | Ray Moran | Social conservatism Christian right | |
Australian Citizens Party | Craig Isherwood | LaRouche movement | |
Australian Democrats | Elisa Resce | Social liberalism Agrarianism | |
Australian People's Party | Gabriel Harfouche | Australian nationalism Economic nationalism | |
Australian Progressives | Robert Knight | Progressivism | |
Australian Workers Party | Mark Ptolemy | Modern Monetary Theory Social democracy | |
Child Protection Party | Tony Tonkin | Child protection advocacy | |
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) | Fred Nile | National conservatism Christian right | |
Clive Palmer's United Australia Party | Clive Palmer | Right-wing populism Australian nationalism | |
Democratic Labour Party (DLP) | Rosemary Lorrima | Social conservatism Christian democracy Distributism | |
Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party | Fraser Anning | National conservatism Right-wing populism | |
Health Australia Party | Andrew Patterson | Vaccination choice Naturopathy | |
Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party | Michael Balderstone | Cannabis legalisation | |
Independents For Climate Action Now | Jim Tait | Climate change action | |
Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party | Michael O'Neill[4] | Vaccination choice Anti-fluoridation | |
Liberal Democratic Party | Duncan Spender | Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism | |
Love Australia or Leave | Kim Vuga | Anti-immigration Anti-Islam | |
Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting) | Andrew Thompson | Fathers' rights | |
Online Direct Democracy | Berge Der Sarkissian | Digital direct democracy | |
Pirate Party Australia | Simon Frew | Pirate politics E-democracy | |
Reason Australia | Fiona Patten | Civil libertarianism Progressivism | |
Republican Party of Australia | Kerry Bromson | Republicanism | |
Save Our One Planet Alliance | Climate change action | ||
Science Party | Andrea Leong | Techno-progressivism Technocentrism | |
Secular Party of Australia | John Perkins | Secular humanism Secular liberalism | |
Seniors United Party of Australia | Chris Osborne | Pensioners' interests | |
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | Robert Brown | Conservatism Gun rights | |
Socialist Alliance | No leader | Socialism Anti-capitalism | |
Socialist Equality Party | Nick Beams | Orthodox Trotskyism Anti-capitalism | |
#Sustainable Australia | William Bourke | Anti-immigration Anti-overdevelopment | |
Tim Storer Independent SA Party | Tim Storer | Social liberalism | |
The Australian Mental Health Party | Ben Mullings | Mental health advocacy | |
The Great Australian Party | Rod Culleton | Right-wing populism | |
The Small Business Party | Angela Vithoulkas | Small business advocacy | |
The Together Party | Social democracy | ||
The Women's Party | Divvi De Vendre | Representation parity Liberal feminism | |
Transport Matters Party | Rod Barton | Taxi industry advocacy | |
Victorian Socialists | No leader | Democratic socialism Anti-capitalism | |
Voluntary Euthanasia Party | Kerry Bromson | Voluntary euthanasia | |
VOTEFLUX.ORG | Upgrade Democracy! | Nathan Spataro | Digital direct democracy | |
Western Australia Party | Julie Matheson | Regionalism Populism | |
Yellow Vest Australia | Debbie Robinson | Anti-Islam Right-wing populism |
State parties
New South Wales
Divisions of the federal parties:[5]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MLAs | MLCs | Federal division | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Coalition | ||||||||
Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division) | Gladys Berejiklian | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
35 / 93 |
11 / 42 |
||||
National Party of Australia – NSW | John Barilaro | Conservatism Agrarianism |
13 / 93 |
6 / 42 |
||||
Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch) | Jodi McKay | Social democracy | 36 / 93 |
14 / 42 |
||||
Country Labor Party | ||||||||
Greens NSW | No leader | Green politics | 3 / 93 |
3 / 42 |
||||
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | Robert Brown | Conservatism Gun rights |
3 / 93 |
2 / 42 |
||||
Animal Justice Party | Mark Pearson | Animal rights | 0 / 93 |
2 / 42 |
||||
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | Mark Latham | Australian nationalism Right-wing populism |
0 / 93 |
2 / 42 |
||||
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) | Paul Green | National conservatism Christian right |
0 / 93 |
1 / 42 |
||||
Liberal Democratic Party | Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism |
0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
|||||
Keep Sydney Open | Anti-lockout laws | 0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
|||||
Reason Party NSW | Civil libertarianism Progressivism |
0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
|||||
Flux Party (NSW) | Nathan Spataro | Direct democracy | 0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
||||
Socialist Alliance | No leader | Socialism Anti-capitalism |
0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
||||
Australian Conservatives (NSW) | Conservatism Social conservatism |
0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
|||||
Sustainable Australia (NSW) | Anti-immigration Anti-overdevelopment Green liberalism |
0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
|||||
The Small Business Party | Small business advocacy | 0 / 93 |
0 / 42 |
Victoria
As of the Victorian Electoral Commission:[6]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MLAs | MLCs | Federal division | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) | Daniel Andrews | Social democracy | 55 / 88 |
18 / 40 |
||||
The Coalition | ||||||||
Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) | Michael O'Brien | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
21 / 88 |
10 / 40 |
||||
National Party of Australia – Victoria | Peter Walsh | Conservatism Agrarianism |
6 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Australian Greens Victoria | Samantha Ratnam | Green politics | 3 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Derryn Hinch's Justice Party | Stuart Grimley | Justice reform Anti-paedophilia |
0 / 88 |
2 / 40 |
||||
Liberal Democratic Party | Tim Quilty | Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism |
0 / 88 |
2 / 40 |
||||
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (Victoria) | Jeff Bourman | Conservatism Gun rights |
0 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Fiona Patten's Reason Party | Fiona Patten | Civil libertarianism | 0 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Sustainable Australia | Clifford Hayes | Anti-immigration Anti-overdevelopment Green liberalism |
0 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Animal Justice Party | Andy Meddick | Animal rights | 0 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Transport Matters Party | Rod Barton | Taxi industry advocacy | 0 / 88 |
1 / 40 |
||||
Victorian Socialists | No leader | Democratic socialism Anti-capitalism |
0 / 88 |
0 / 40 |
||||
Democratic Labour Party | Rosemary Lorrimar | Social conservatism Christian democracy |
0 / 88 |
0 / 40 |
||||
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | No leader | Australian nationalism Right-wing populism |
0 / 88 |
0 / 40 |
Queensland
As of the Queensland Electoral Commission:[7]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MPs | Federal division | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch) | Annastacia Palaszczuk | Social democracy | 48 / 93 |
||
Liberal National Party of Queensland | Deb Frecklington | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
39 / 93 |
||
Katter's Australian Party | Robbie Katter | Australian nationalism Economic nationalism |
3 / 93 |
||
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | Pauline Hanson | Right-wing populism Anti-immigration |
1 / 93 |
||
Queensland Greens | Michael Berkman | Green politics | 1 / 93 |
||
North Queensland First | Jason Costigan | North Queensland statehood |
1 / 93 |
||
Flux Party Queensland | Nathan Spataro | Direct democracy | 0 / 93 |
||
Motorists Party | Jeffrey Hodges | Public ownership | 0 / 93 |
||
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (QLD) | Andrew Pope | Conservatism Gun rights |
0 / 93 |
||
Animal Justice Party (Queensland) | Andrew Pope | Animal rights | 0 / 93 |
Western Australia
As of the Western Australian Electoral Commission:[8]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MLAs | MLCs | Federal division | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Labor Party (WA Branch) | Mark McGowan | Social democracy | 40 / 59 |
14 / 36 |
||
Liberal Party of Australia (WA Division) | Liza Harvey | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
14 / 59 |
9 / 36 |
||
National Party of Australia (WA) | Mia Davies | Conservatism Agrarianism |
5 / 59 |
4 / 36 |
||
Greens WA | Robin Chapple | Green politics | 0 / 59 |
4 / 36 |
||
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | Colin Tincknell | Australian nationalism Right-wing populism |
0 / 59 |
2 / 36 |
||
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (WA) Inc | Rick Mazza | Conservatism Gun rights |
0 / 59 |
1 / 36 |
||
Liberal Democratic Party | Aaron Stonehouse | Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism |
0 / 59 |
1 / 36 |
||
Australian Christians (WA) | Jamie van Burgel | Conservatism Christian right |
0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Animal Justice Party | Katrina Love | Animal rights | 0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Socialist Alliance WA | No leader | Socialism Anti-capitalism |
0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Flux Party WA | Nathan Spataro | Direct democracy | 0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Daylight Saving Party | Wilson Tucker | Daylight savings advocacy | 0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Fluoride Free WA | Anne Porter | Anti-fluoridation | 0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Western Australia Party | Julie Matheson | Regionalism Centrism |
0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
||
Small Business Party | John Golawski | Small business advocacy | 0 / 59 |
0 / 36 |
South Australia
As of the Electoral Commission of South Australia:[9]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MHAs | MLCs | Federal division | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Party of Australia (SA Division) | Steven Marshall | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
25 / 47 |
9 / 22 |
||
Australian Labor Party (SA Branch) | Peter Malinauskas | Social democracy | 19 / 47 |
8 / 22 |
||
Greens SA | Mark Parnell | Green politics | 0 / 47 |
2 / 22 |
||
SA-BEST | Connie Bonaros | Social liberalism | 0 / 47 |
2 / 22 |
||
Advance SA | John Darley | Centrism | 0 / 47 |
1 / 22 |
||
National Party of Australia (SA) | Conservatism Agrarianism |
0 / 47 |
0 / 22 |
|||
Animal Justice Party | Louise Pfeiffer | Animal rights | 0 / 47 |
0 / 22 |
||
Child Protection Party | Tony Tonkin | Child protection advocacy | 0 / 47 |
0 / 22 |
Tasmania
As of the Tasmanian Electoral Commission:[10]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MHAs | MLCs | Federal division | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) | Peter Gutwein | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
13 / 25 |
2 / 15 |
||
Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) | Rebecca White | Social democracy | 9 / 25 |
4 / 15 |
||
Tasmanian Greens | Cassy O'Connor | Green politics | 2 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
||
Jacqui Lambie Network | Jacqui Lambie | Populism Regionalism |
0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
||
Shooters and Fishers Party Tasmania | Rebecca Byfield | Conservatism Gun rights |
0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
||
Socialist Alliance | No leader | Socialism Anti-capitalism |
0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
||
Australian Christians | Conservatism Christian right |
0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
|||
Australian Federation Party Tasmania | Big tent | 0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
|||
Animal Justice Party | Karen Bevis | Animal rights | 0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
||
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | Matthew Stephen | Australian nationalism Right-wing populism |
0 / 25 |
0 / 15 |
Australian Capital Territory
As listed with the ACT Electoral Commission:[11]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MPs | Federal division | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Labor Party (ACT Branch) | Andrew Barr | Social democracy | 12 / 25 |
||
Liberal Party of Australia (A.C.T. Division) | Alistair Coe | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism |
11 / 25 |
||
ACT Greens | Shane Rattenbury | Green politics | 2 / 25 |
||
Liberal Democratic Party | Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism |
0 / 25 |
|||
Animal Justice Party | Animal rights | 0 / 25 |
|||
Flux Party (ACT) | Nathan Spataro | Direct democracy | 0 / 25 |
||
Sustainable Australia (ACT) | John Haydon | Anti-immigration Anti-overdevelopment Green liberalism[12] |
0 / 25 |
||
The Community Alliance Party (ACT) | 0 / 25 |
||||
Northern Territory
As of the Northern Territory Electoral Commission:[13]
Name | Leader | Ideology | MPs | Federal division | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Labor Party (NT Branch) | Michael Gunner | Social democracy | 16 / 25 |
||
Territory Alliance | Terry Mills | Regionalism | 3 / 25 |
||
Country Liberal Party | Lia Finocchiaro | Liberal conservatism Agrarianism |
2 / 25 |
||
Greens NT | No leader | Green politics | 0 / 25 |
||
Shooters and Fishers Party | Conservatism Gun rights |
0 / 25 |
|||
Citizens Electoral Council (NT Division) | Craig Isherwood | LaRouche movement | 0 / 25 |
||
Ban Fracking Fix Crime Protect Water | Braedon Earley | Regionalism | 0 / 25 |
||
Australian Federation Party NT | Big tent | 0 / 25 |
|||
Animal Justice Party | Animal welfare | 0 / 25 |
See also
- List of historical political parties in Australia
- List of political parties by country
- Politics of Australia
References
- "OzPolitics.info". OzPolitics.info. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- "Current Register of Political Parties". Australian Electoral Commission. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- "Party registration decisions and changes". Australian Electoral Commission. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- "No jab, no vote: new anti-vax party registered". Crikey. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- "Information About Registered Parties". www.elections.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- "Currently registered parties". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- "Political party register". Electoral Commission Queensland. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- "Registered Political Parties in WA". Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- "Register of political parties". Electoral Commission of South Australia. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "Party Register". Tec.tas.gov.au. Tasmanian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- "Register of political parties". Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- "Policy Platform - Sustainable Australia Party". Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- "Register of political parties in the Northern Territory". NTEC. Retrieved 30 October 2018.