The Australia Party was a minor political party established initially in 1966 as the

Liberal Reform Group The Liberal Reform Group, later known as the Australian Reform Movement, was a minor Australian political party and predecessor to the Australia Party, which in turn was a predecessor to the Australian Democrats. It was founded by Gordon Barton, ...

. As the Australia Party, it became influential, particularly in the landmark 1972 federal election when its preferences assisted the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

to victory—ending 23 years of Liberal/

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

government. The Australia Party grew out of the

, a group of members of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United A ...

and Independents who opposed the party's policy of

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

and military involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. The leading figure in this group was a businessman, Gordon Barton, who was assisted in the funding by Ken Thomas of TNT Transport and with the party organisation and branch establishment by

Nick Gorshenin Nicholas Gorshenin (25 October 1922 – 9 October 2005) was a shark meshing contractor, North Sydney Council alderman and one of the founders of the Liberal Reform Group, which became the Australia Party. The preferences from the Australia Party ...

, Sydney shark meshing contractor and North Sydney Council alderman. In 22 October 1966, when US President Lyndon B. Johnson visited

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, Gordon Barton and Ken Thomas sponsored a full-page advertisement in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' lamenting the involvement of Australian troops in the Vietnam War. At that time no political party was opposed to Australian involvement in the war. Nick Gorshenin telephoned Gordon Barton that evening and they decided to form the Liberal Reform Group. They used their various contacts to establish the initial branches in Sydney,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Newcastle and Gold Coast. The "Australia Party" name was adopted in 1969, by which time it was also attracting disaffected

(ALP) supporters. The party contested state and federal elections, achieving its best results in 1972. Though failing to win any seats, by directing its preferences to the ALP, it greatly assisted that party to win government for the first time since 1949. The Australia Party poll performance declined a little in 1974 and again in the 1975 federal election; however, by this stage it had replaced the Democratic Labor Party as the fourth party after Labor, Liberal and Country parties. Subsequently, the party allied itself with the New Liberal Movement in the formation of the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Austral ...

for the 1977 federal election. However, a rump party continued on, fielding separate candidates in NSW, SA and Victoria in the 1977 election, in SA and Victoria in the 1980 election and the 1982 Flinders by-election. One candidate stood for the House of Representatives in Victoria in 1983. Relations between the rump party and the Australian Democrats were poor: in the 1977 election in South Australia, Australia Party preferences flowed to the Liberal Party rather than the Democrats, resulting in the Liberal

Baden Teague Baden Chapman Teague (born 18 September 1944) served as a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1977 until his retirement in 1996. Born in Adelaide, Teague was educated at St. Peter’s College, the University of Adelaide and Cambridge Univ ...

defeating the Democrat

Ian Gilfillan Ian Gilfillan (born 7 June 1932) is a former Australian politician. He was educated in Adelaide and was based on Kangaroo Island. He contested the 1974 federal election as a member of the Australia Party, but joined the Australian Democrats in ...

for the fifth and final Senate seat. The rump party merged into former Australian Democrat

John Siddons John Royston Siddons (5 October 1927 – 22 September 2016) was an Australian politician. He was a businessman and the executive chairman of Siddons Industries Ltd. before entering politics. Siddons was born on 5 October 1927 in Melbourne, the ...

' new

Unite Australia Party The Unite Australia Party (UAP) was a short-lived Australian political party that existed in the late 1980s. In December 1986, Senator John Siddons, former deputy leader of the Australian Democrats, quit the Democrats to form the UAP, arguing t ...

(UAP) in December 1986, along with the Advance Australia Party. At the time ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' reported that the Australia Party had few remaining members, most of whom were in Victoria. Significant figures in the Australia Party were Senator

Reg Turnbull Reginald John David "Spot" Turnbull (21 February 1908 – 17 July 2006) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1946 to 1961 (1946–1959 for the Labor Party, 1959–1961 as an Independent), then a ...

(elected as an independent, but Australia Party leader in 1969–1970), and journalist Alan Fitzgerald, then an elected member of the Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council. Two Australia Party members were elected to the newly formed Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 1975: Ivor Vivian and Maureen Worsley. Vivian joined the Australian Democrats, and was re-elected in 1979, but Worsley sat as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

from 1977 to the end of her term in 1979. Australia Party members who later entered federal parliament as Australian Democrats senators included

Colin Mason Colin Victor James Mason (28 October 1926 – 18 July 2020) was a New Zealand-born Australian journalist, author and politician. Mason worked for 14 years as the first foreign correspondent of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and became ...

(NSW), John Siddons (Vic),

Sid Spindler Siegfried Emil "Sid" Spindler (9 July 19321 March 2008) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 1990 to 1996, representing the Australian Democrats. Early life Spindler was born in Łódź, Poland, to an ethnic G ...

(Vic)Spindler
Gordon Barton—electoral impacts
(Speech at Sydney University, 3 Sep 2005) and Jean Jenkins (WA). An important aspect of the Australia Party and later Australian Democrats is that they nullified and then overtook the minority influence of the Democratic Labor Party, which had wielded much influence in post-war federal and state politics. The Australia Party altered the power dynamics, and the Australia Democrats continued that role until they were succeeded by the Greens in the 2004 federal election.

Election results

House of Representatives

Senate

References

{{Authority control Australia 1969 Defunct political parties in Australia Political parties established in 1969 1969 establishments in Australia Political parties disestablished in 1986 1986 disestablishments in Australia Liberal parties in Australia

Election results

House of Representatives

Senate

See also

References