Independent Labor (or Independent Labour) is a description used in Australian politics, often to designate a politician who is an Australian Labor Party (ALP) member but not endorsed by the party at elections or if sitting in a parliament, not a member of the Labor party room caucus. The label has also been used to describe candidate who identify with the labour movement, but not the ALP. The label is often used at

local government elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, especially in states or local government areas where the ALP does not endorse any candidates. However, registering a party or affiliation as an "Independent Labor" is not permitted in New South Wales under section 64 of the ''Electoral Act 2017'', and the use of the term in electoral material is also considered an offence under section 180 of the act. As of July 2024, the only MPs who are rank-and-file members of the Labor Party yet are not part of the party's parliamentary caucus are both members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly −

Darren Cheeseman Darren Leicester Cheeseman (born 8 June 1976) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of South Barwon. He previously held the federal seat of ...

and

Will Fowles Will Fowles (born 27 July 1978) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of Burwood in Melbourne's Eastern suburbs. Ahead of the 2022 Victoria ...

History

The first Independent Labour MP in federal politics was

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, b ...

, who was elected at the 1901 election. He had been a member of the ALP previously, and rejoined the party in 1903. The Blackburn-Mutton Labor Party was formed in June 1947 by

Doris Blackburn Doris Amelia Blackburn (; 18 September 1889 – 12 December 1970) was an Australian social reformer and politician. She served in the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1949, the second woman after Enid Lyons to do so. Blackburn was a promin ...

, the member for Bourke, and

Charlie Mutton Charles Mutton (14 September 1890 – 13 May 1989) was an Australian politician. He was born in North Melbourne to tobacco worker Charles Mutton and Mary Ann Moloney. He attended Catholic schools and from 1903 to 1910 worked for Excelsior Ba ...

, the member for Coburg in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was created as a guarantee company so that both MPs could keep describing themselves as Independent Labor after the ALP attempted to restrict the use of the word "Labor". The party later merged into the Progressive Labor Party. The

Independent Labor Group The Independent Labor Group was a minor Australian political grouping in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1959 to 1977. The group emerged when a number of Labor Party MLCs were expelled from the party for voting against the abolition ...

was a grouping in the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

from 1959 to 1977, after a number of Labor MLCs were expelled from the party for voting against the abolition of the Legislative Council, which was then party policy. In more recent years, the label has been rarely used outside of local elections. Former MP

Brenton Best Brenton Roy Best (born 13 November 1963) is an Australian politician. He was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1996 as a Labor member for Braddon. Biography Best was born on 13 November 1963 in Devonport, Tasmania. At the age of ...

nominated as an Independent Labor candidate in 2017, and Territory Labor MP Jeff Collins used the label after resigning from the party in 2019, before later joining Territory Alliance. On 23 August 2021, former Tasmanian Labor leader David O’Byrne resigned from the party caucus to sit as an Independent Labor MP, which he continued to do so until resigning his ALP membership on 4 February 2024. On 5 August 2023, Ringwood MP

was asked to resign from the parliamentary Victorian Labor Party by then-Premier

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...

following allegations of a serious assault. In 2024,

was suspended from the Victorian Labor Party caucus over allegations of misconduct.

Similar political descriptions

Australian politicians have also been elected under other independent labels, including Independent Liberal, Independent National, Independent Free Trade, Independent UAP and Independent Socialist.

References

{{reflist Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party factions Political terminology in Australia

History

Similar political descriptions

See also

References