The Independents Group was a short-lived

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

operating in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. They briefly served as part of the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

government, alongside the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and

Residents Rally The Residents Rally (RR), officially known as the Residents Rally for Canberra Inc and also known simply as the Rally, was an Australian political party that was active during the early years of self-government in the Australian Capital Territor ...

. When the 1989 election was held, the No Self Government Party emerged as the larger of the two anti-self-government groups in the Assembly, electing three members, Craig Duby, Carmel Maher and David Prowse. However, unlike

Dennis Stevenson Dennis Ross Stevenson (born 12 November 1946) was an Australian politician. He was elected in the inaugural 1989 general election to serve in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, on a platform of abolishing self-government i ...

Abolish Self-Government Coalition The Abolish Self Government Coalition was a minor Australian Capital Territory Political parties in Australia, political party that experienced limited success in the early years of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It oppo ...

, the No Self-Government Party's focus soon began to change from their original single-issue basis. The first vote of the new Assembly saw Prowse voted in as the Speaker by the members. In late 1989,

, who were supporting the Follett

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government, began discussions aimed at forming a coalition government with the Liberals. They then turned to the No Self Government Party, who accepted the offer. However, as opposition to self-government itself was a core basis of their party, and it would have been seen as somewhat odd for them to then join a government, Duby, and Maher disbanded the party, and reformed as the Independents Group. Prowse joined the Liberal party in July 1990. The new party then became the third member of the Alliance government, and Duby, the old party's former leader, became Minister for Urban Services. Prowse retained his position as Speaker. Whilst Duby was a vocal member of the government, and was often heard in the Assembly and media, Maher tended to be a less significant player in ACT politics. Nevertheless, the party were vital in sustaining the Alliance government for its eighteen-month lifespan. As long as the Alliance survived, however, they nevertheless maintained influence in decision-making. This was to end when the Liberal Party and Residents Rally fell out in late 1991, causing Residents Rally to move a no-confidence motion in the government. The Follett Labor government with Residents Rally and independents support returned to power. Prowse retained the Speakership. Soon after, on 19 November, realising that the Independents Group was effectively dead, Duby quit the party to form the Hare-Clark Independent Party. With her influence in the Assembly reduced to practically nil, Maher continued under the Independents Group until the 1992 election. Both Maher and Prowse retired at the election, and though Duby contested the election with his new party, he lost his seat. By the 1995 election, the Independents Group was entirely dead, with none its members playing any further role in ACT politics.

References

Defunct political parties in the Australian Capital Territory Political parties disestablished in 1992 {{Australia-party-stub