Coalition (New South Wales)

The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as the Coalition,[1] is an alliance of centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in New South Wales politics. The two partners in the Coalition are the New South Wales Liberal Party and the New South Wales National Party. Its main opponent is the New South Wales Labor Party (ALP); the two forces are often regarded as operating in a two-party system. The Coalition was last in government from 2011 to 2023. The group is led by Mark Speakman, who succeeded Dominic Perrottet after the 2023 state election.

The Coalition
Liberal–National Coalition
LeaderMark Speakman
Deputy LeaderNatalie Ward
Founded1927
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationFederal Coalition
Colours  Blue
Member parties
Legislative Assembly
36 / 93
Legislative Council
14 / 42

Details

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The two parties in the Coalition have different geographical voter bases, with the Liberals – the larger party – drawing most of their vote from urban areas and the Nationals operating almost exclusively in rural and regional areas. They occupy a broadly similar place on the right of the political spectrum.[citation needed]

The partnership between the two current parties dates back to 1946, shortly after the Liberal Party was formed, and has continued almost uninterrupted since then. The Country Party also maintained similar alliances with the Liberal Party's predecessors, the Democratic Party, the United Australia Party and Nationalist Party.[citation needed]

The Liberals and Nationals maintain separate organisational wings and separate parliamentary parties, but co-operate in various ways determined by a mixture of formal agreements and informal conventions. There is a single Coalition frontbench, both in government and in opposition, with each party receiving a proportionate number of positions.[citation needed]

By convention, the leader of the Liberal Party serves as the overall leader, serving as Premier when the Coalition is in government and leader of the opposition when the Coalition is in opposition. The leader of the National Party becomes the deputy premier during periods of Coalition government. The two parties co-operate on their election campaigns, run joint Legislative Council tickets, and generally avoid running candidates against each other in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.[citation needed]

A merger of the Liberals and Nationals has been suggested on a number of occasions, but has never become a serious proposition.[citation needed]

History

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A Coalition between the Liberal (and predecessors) and National parties has existed without interruption in New South Wales since 1927. Predecessors of the NSW Liberal Party, including the UAP, Nationalist Party and the Democratic Party, maintained a coalition with the Country Party (old name of National Party).[citation needed]

The Liberal Party is led by Mark Speakman and the National Party by Dugald Saunders. The Coalition won the 2011 state election in a massive swing under Barry O'Farrell, the 2015 election with a reduced majority under Mike Baird, and the 2019 election under Gladys Berejiklian. The Coalition led by Dominic Perrottet lost the 2023 state election and is in opposition since.[citation needed]

New South Wales is the only state where the non-Labor Coalition has never broken, and yet has also never merged. This remained the case even in 2011, when the Liberals won a majority in their own right but still retained the Coalition. On 10 September 2020, the Nationals threatened to move to the crossbench over a dispute regarding koala protection laws,[2] but the issue was resolved the next day and the Nationals remained in the Coalition.[citation needed]

Election results

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Election Seats won ± Total votes % Position Leader Senior party Junior party
1927
46 / 90
 5 47.3% Government Thomas Bavin Nationalist Country
1930
35 / 90
 11 40.06% Opposition
1932
64 / 90
 29 49.9% Government Bertram Stevens UAP
1935
61 / 90
 3 46.02% Government
1938
61 / 90
 2 49.6% Government
1941
26 / 90
 33 31.3% Opposition Alexander Mair
1944
22 / 90
 4 371,560 29.32% Opposition Reginald Weaver Democratic
1947
34 / 90
 12 647,753 40.75% Opposition Vernon Treatt Liberal
1950
46 / 94
 12 749,001 46.48% Opposition
1953
36 / 94
 10 612,419 39.54% Opposition
1956
42 / 94
 6 783,362 46.25% Opposition Pat Morton
1959
44 / 94
 2 603,718 44.06% Opposition
1962
39 / 94
 5 852,356 44.22% Opposition Bob Askin
1965
47 / 94
 8 1,016,694 49.82% Minority Government
1968
53 / 94
 6 1,061,170 49.06% Government
1971
49 / 96
 4 993,310 44.39% Government
1973
52 / 99
 3 1,104,829 44.33% Government
1976
48 / 99
 4 1,249,489 46.32% Opposition Eric Willis
1978
35 / 99
 13 1,031,780 36.88% Opposition Peter Coleman National Country
1981
28 / 99
 7 1,090,304 38.83% Opposition Bruce McDonald
1984
37 / 99
 9 1,292,996 43.00% Opposition Nick Greiner National
1988
59 / 109
 22 1,588,095 49.54% Government
1991
49 / 99
 10 1,377,314 44.68% Minority Government
1995
46 / 99
 3 1,500,068 43.94% Opposition John Fahey
1999
33 / 93
 13 1,258,711 33.69% Opposition Kerry Chikarovski
2003
32 / 93
 1 1,312,892 34.35% Opposition John Brogden
2007
35 / 93
 3 1,457,296 36.99% Opposition Peter Debnam
2011
69 / 93
 34 2,124,321 51.15% Government Barry O'Farrell
2015
54 / 93
 15 2,009,821 45.63% Government Mike Baird
2019
48 / 93
 6 1,892,816 41.58% Government Gladys Berejiklian
2023
36 / 93
 12 1,663,215 35.37% Opposition Dominic Perrottet


References

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  1. ^ Smith, Alexandra (10 May 2023). "Marriage of inconvenience: Can the NSW Coalition survive life in opposition?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  2. ^ "NSW Government in turmoil as 'betrayed' Nationals effectively leave Coalition over koala bill". www.abc.net.au. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.