The Queensland Liberal Association was an early political association in the colony of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The first attempt at forming the association was undertaken by

Charles Lilley Sir Charles Lilley (27 August 1827 – 20 August 1897) was a Premier of Queensland, Premier and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He had a significant influence on the form and spirit of state education in colonial Queensland whi ...

and his supporters for the 1860 Queensland colonial election. Lilley was a strong believer in the

party system A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable ...

and attempted to form the association to bring structure to the liberal cause. The liberals in the first parliament were disorganised and the measure was not successful, though they did support the Premier,

Robert Herbert Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert, (12 June 1831 – 6 May 1905), was the first Premiers of Queensland, Premier of Queensland, Australia. At 28 years and 181 days of age, he was the youngest person ever to become premier of an Australian state ...

. A successful attempt was made in 1879, and colonial MPs

Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and ...

, John Douglas (who had eschewed the 1859 attempt at forming an association), James Dickson, James Garrick, and Peter McLean served as office-bearers of the new organisation. Samuel Griffith served as the organisation's first president, a position he held concurrently as

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in the Legislative Assembly. Griffith had been elected president of the association on the 13th of June. In 1879 the group supported: * Triennial

parliaments In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...

* Payment for MPs *

Land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

Protective tariff Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically produced goods to rise, ...

* Pro-European immigration * "Reform of the Divisional Boards Act by substituting Land Tax for rating" * Abolition of

pensions A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...

* "Any such other reforms as may be necessary" The Queensland Liberal Association was merged with

Thomas McIlwraith Sir Thomas McIlwraith (17 May 1835 – 17 July 1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1879 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893. In common with most po ...

's Conservatives, forming the Continuous Ministry in the

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the unicameral legislative body of the Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the ...

References

{{reflist Political parties disestablished in 1890 Defunct political parties in Australia 1890 disestablishments in Australia Defunct conservative parties Right-wing politics in Australia

See also

References