The politics of 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, 16 of the 151 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as are 17 of the 76 members of the upper house (senators).
The Parliament of Australia 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.
Other parties tend to perform better in the upper houses of the various federal and state parliaments since these typically use a form of proportional representation, except for in Tasmania where the lower house is proportionally elected and the upper house is made up of single member districts.
HistoryEdit
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2022) |
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, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and the Federal Government of Australia.
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, and the United Australia Party).
The Liberal Party is joined by the National Party, a party that historically sought to represent rural and agricultural interests and now focuses on rural coal mining interests. 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/South Australia, 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 , 2019 and 2022. Additionally, support for Independent politicians in Australia has resulted in major parties having to come to agreements to form government at times, including the 2010 Australian Federal Election.
Membership requirementEdit
To maintain registration, parties must demonstrate that they have a certain number of members.
Federally, since 2022, unless a party has current parliamentary representation, they must demonstrate they have 1,500 members.[2][3]
For the state and territory elections, parties require 100 members in Tasmania and the ACT, 200 in South Australia and Northern Territory, 500 in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, and 750 in New South Wales.[3]
| State/Level | Requirement |
|---|---|
 Federal
|
1,500 |
 New South Wales
|
750 |
 Victoria
|
500 |
 Queensland
| |
 Western Australia
| |
 South Australia
|
200 |
 Northern Territory
| |
 Tasmania
|
100 |
 Australian Capital Territory
| |
Federal partiesEdit
Federal parliamentary partiesEdit
| Party | Members of the federal Parliament as of July 2022 | Party leader | Ideology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House | Senate | ||||||
| Australian Labor Party | 77 / 151
|
26 / 76
|
Anthony Albanese | Social democracy, Social liberalism | |||
| The Coalition | |||||||
| Liberal Party | 42 / 151
|
26 / 76
|
Peter Dutton | Liberal conservatism, Economic liberalism | |||
| National Party | 15 / 151
|
6 / 76
|
David Littleproud | Conservatism, Agrarianism | |||
| Australian Greens | 4 / 151
|
11 / 76
|
Adam Bandt | Green politics, Social democracy | |||
| One Nation | 0 / 151
|
2 / 76
|
Pauline Hanson | Right-wing populism, Hansonism | |||
| Jacqui Lambie Network | 0 / 151
|
2 / 76
|
Jacqui Lambie | Tasmanian regionalism, Populism | |||
| Centre Alliance | 1 / 151
|
0 / 76
|
No leader | Social liberalism, Populism | |||
| Katter's Australian Party | 1 / 151
|
0 / 76
|
Robbie Katter | Conservatism, Developmentalism | |||
| United Australia Party | 0 / 151
|
1 / 76
|
Ralph Babet | Nationalism, Right-wing populism | |||
Federal non-parliamentary partiesEdit
Parties listed in alphabetical order as of February 2022:[4]
State and Territory partiesEdit
New South WalesEdit
As of the New South Wales Electoral Commission:[9]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MLAs | MLCs | Leader | Ideology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Coalition | ||||||||
| Liberal Party | 33 / 93
|
11 / 42
|
Dominic Perrottet | Liberal conservatism, Economic liberalism | ||||
| National Party | 12 / 93
|
6 / 42
|
Paul Toole | Conservatism, Agrarianism | ||||
| Australian Labor Party | 36 / 93
|
14 / 42
|
Chris Minns | Social democracy, Social liberalism[10] | ||||
| Australian Greens | 3 / 93
|
3 / 42
|
No leader | Green politics | ||||
| Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | 0 / 93
|
2 / 42
|
Robert Borsak | Green conservatism, Right-wing populism | ||||
| Animal Justice Party | 0 / 93
|
2 / 42
|
Mark Pearson | Animal welfare Ethical veganism | ||||
| One Nation | 1 / 93
|
2 / 42
|
Mark Latham | Right-wing populism, Australian nationalism, Hansonism | ||||
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
VictoriaEdit
As of the Victorian Electoral Commission:[12]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MLAs | MLCs | Leader | Ideology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 56 / 88
|
15 / 40
|
Daniel Andrews | Social democracy, Social liberalism[10] | ||||
| The Coalition | ||||||||
| Liberal Party | 19 / 88
|
12 / 40
|
John Pesutto | Liberal conservatism, Economic liberalism | ||||
| National Party | 9 / 88
|
2 / 40
|
Peter Walsh | Conservatism, Agrarianism | ||||
| Australian Greens | 4 / 88
|
4 / 40
|
Samantha Ratnam | Green politics | ||||
| Legalise Cannabis | 0 / 88
|
2 / 40
|
Cannabis Legalisation | |||||
| Democratic Labour Party | 0 / 88
|
1 / 40
|
Bernie Finn | Social conservatism, Christian democracy | ||||
| Liberal Democratic Party | 0 / 88
|
1 / 40
|
Tim Quilty | Classical liberalism, Right-libertarianism | ||||
| Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | 0 / 88
|
1 / 40
|
Jeff Bourman | Green conservatism, Right-wing populism | ||||
| One Nation | 0 / 88
|
1 / 40
|
Right-wing populism, Australian nationalism | |||||
| Animal Justice Party | 0 / 88
|
1 / 40
|
Andy Meddick | Animal rights Ethical veganism | ||||
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angry Victorians Party | Chris Burson | Veterans' rights, Populism | |
| Companions and Pets Party | John Hutchison | Greyhound racing advocacy, Horse racing advocacy[13] | |
| Derryn Hinch's Justice Party | Stuart Grimley | Justice reform, Anti-paedophilia | |
| Family First Party | Tom Kenyon | Christian politics | |
| Freedom Party of Victoria | Morgan Jonas | Anti-lockdown politics, Conservatism | |
| Health Australia Party | Andrew Hicks | Naturopathy, Anti-vaccination | |
| Reason Party | Fiona Patten | Civil libertarianism | |
| Restore Democracy Sack Dan Andrews Party | |||
| Sustainable Australia Party | Clifford Hayes | Environmentalism, Sustainable development | |
| Transport Matters Party | Rod Barton | Taxi industry advocacy | |
| United Australia Party | Ralph Babet | Right-wing populism, Anti-lockdown politics | |
| Victorian Socialists | No leader | Democratic socialism | |
QueenslandEdit
As of the Queensland Electoral Commission:[14]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MPs | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 52 / 93
|
Annastacia Palaszczuk | Social democracy, Social liberalism[10] | |
| Liberal National Party | 34 / 93
|
David Crisafulli | Liberal conservatism, Economic liberalism | |
| Katter's Australian Party | 3 / 93
|
Robbie Katter | Right-wing populism, Developmentalism | |
| Australian Greens | 2 / 93
|
No leader | Green politics, Left-wing populism | |
| One Nation | 1 / 93
|
No state leader | Right-wing populism, Australian nationalism | |
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
Western AustraliaEdit
As of the Western Australian Electoral Commission:[15]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MLAs | MLCs | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 53 / 59
|
22 / 36
|
Mark McGowan | Social democracy Social liberalism[10] | |
| National Party | 4 / 59
|
3 / 36
|
Mia Davies | Conservatism Agrarianism | |
| Liberal Party | 2 / 59
|
7 / 36
|
David Honey | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism | |
| Legalise Cannabis | 0 / 59
|
2 / 36
|
Sophia Moermond | Cannabis legalisation | |
| Australian Greens | 0 / 59
|
1 / 36
|
Brad Pettitt | Green politics | |
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Christians | Jamie van Burgel | Conservatism Christian right | |
| Animal Justice Party | Katrina Love | Animal rights Ethical veganism | |
South AustraliaEdit
As of the Electoral Commission of South Australia:[16]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MHAs | MLCs | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 27 / 47
|
9 / 22
|
Peter Malinauskas | Social democracy Social liberalism[10] | |
| Liberal Party | 16 / 47
|
8 / 22
|
David Speirs | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism | |
| Australian Greens | 0 / 47
|
2 / 22
|
Tammy Franks | Green politics | |
| One Nation | 0 / 47
|
1 / 22
|
Jennifer Game | Right-wing populism Australian nationalism Hansonism | |
| SA-Best | 0 / 47
|
2 / 22
|
Connie Bonaros | Social liberalism | |
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
TasmaniaEdit
As of the Tasmanian Electoral Commission:[17]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MHAs | MLCs | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party | 13 / 25
|
4 / 15
|
Jeremy Rockliff | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism | |
| Australian Labor Party | 9 / 25
|
4 / 15
|
Rebecca White | Social democracy Social liberalism[10] | |
| Australian Greens | 2 / 25
|
0 / 15
|
Cassy O'Connor | Green politics | |
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
Australian Capital TerritoryEdit
As listed with the ACT Electoral Commission:[18]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MLAs | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 10 / 25
|
Andrew Barr | Social democracy Social liberalism[10] | |
| Liberal Party | 9 / 25
|
Elizabeth Lee | Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism | |
| Australian Greens | 6 / 25
|
Shane Rattenbury | Green politics | |
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
Northern TerritoryEdit
As of the Northern Territory Electoral Commission:[20]
Parliamentary partiesEdit
| Name | MLAs | Leader | Ideology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 14 / 25
|
Natasha Fyles | Social democracy Social liberalism[10] | |
| Country Liberal Party | 7 / 25
|
Lia Finocchiaro | Liberal conservatism Agrarianism | |
Non-parliamentary partiesEdit
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "OzPolitics.info". OzPolitics.info. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ "Changes to federal election rules including party sizes and names pass Parliament". ABC News. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ a b Green, Antony. "More on Minimum Membership Requirements for Registering Political Parties". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Current Register of Political Parties". Australian Electoral Commission. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "National anti-corruption commission urgent". Australian Democrats. Australian Democrats. 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Rorts Watch". Australian Democrats. Australian Democrats.
- ^ "No jab, no vote: new anti-vax party registered". Crikey. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ Johnson, Chris (18 May 2022). "Election 2022: What's going on in Canberra's senate race?". The Mandarin. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "State Register of Parties". www.elections.nsw.gov.au. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Information About Registered Parties". www.elections.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Currently registered parties". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "Upstart party takes on Animal Justice". Weekly Times Now. 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Queensland, Electoral Commission of (26 August 2022). "Registers". www.ecq.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Registered Political Parties in WA". Western Australian Electoral Commission. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Register of political parties". Electoral Commission of South Australia. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "TEC Party Register". www.tec.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Register of political parties". www.elections.act.gov.au. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Policy Platform - Sustainable Australia Party". Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ NTEC (3 August 2022). "Register of political parties in the Northern Territory". NTEC. Retrieved 29 August 2022.