The Progressive Party of New South Wales was a
New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
political party that operated between 1920 and 1927, achieving representation in the
Legislative Assembly due to
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. It was not a direct successor to the earlier
Progressive Party that had operated in the state between 1901 and 1907 but did include members of the former party including
George Briner and
Walter Bennett.
The party attracted support from conservative voters in both rural and urban NSW. As a result, its policies were socially conservative but had elements of
agrarian socialism
Agrarian socialism is a political ideology that promotes “the equal distribution of landed resources among collectivized peasant villages” This socialist system places agriculture at the center of the economy instead of the industrializatio ...
. At the
1920 election it won 15 seats.
In December 1921, the party split over the question of support for the
first government of
Nationalist Party politician
George Fuller. An urban wing, led by
Thomas Ley and
Walter Wearne, agreed to enter Fuller's coalition, but a rural wing ("The True Blues"), led by
Michael Bruxner
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner (25 March 1882 – 28 March 1970) was an Australian politician and soldier, serving for many years as leader of the Country Party (and its predecessors) in New South Wales. Born in the north o ...
and
Ernest Buttenshaw, offered Fuller only conditional support. The urban members of the party were absorbed into the Nationalist Party at that time. The Progressive Party was reduced to nine rural members at the
1922 election and was a coalition partner in Fuller's
second government.
The rural wing contested the
1925 election and maintained its 9 seats,
but in 1927, it reorganised as the NSW branch of the
Country Party, of which the Progressive Party was essentially a fore-runner.
1921 split
This table provides the details of the 1921 split, covering members of the Legislative Assembly.
References
Defunct political parties in New South Wales
Political parties established in 1920
1920 establishments in Australia
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