Liberal Party | |
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Other name | Commonwealth Liberal Party Deakinite Liberal Party [1] Federal Liberal Party [2] Fusion Liberal Party [3] Fusion Party [4] |
Historic leaders | Alfred Deakin Joseph Cook |
Founded | 1909 |
Dissolved | 1917 |
Merger of | Protectionist Party Anti-Socialist Party |
Merged into | Nationalist Party |
Ideology | Conservatism [ citation needed ] Liberalism [ citation needed ] Anti-socialism [ citation needed ] |
Political position | Centre-right |
Part of a series on |
Liberalism in Australia |
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The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fusion.
The creation of the party marked the emergence of a two-party system, replacing the unstable multi-party system that arose after Federation in 1901. The first three federal elections produced hung parliaments, with the Protectionists, Free Traders, and Australian Labor Party (ALP) forming a series of minority governments. Free Trade leader George Reid envisioned an anti-socialist alliance of liberals and conservatives, rebranding his party accordingly, and his views were eventually adopted by his Protectionist counterpart Deakin. Objections towards Reid saw Deakin take the lead in coordinating the merger. The Fusion was controversial, with some of his radical supporters regarding it as a betrayal and choosing to sit as independents or join the ALP.
The new party formed Australia's first federal majority government and allowed Deakin to return for a third term as prime minister. However, it lost the 1910 election to the ALP in a landslide and had little electoral success thereafter, winning a majority in the House of Representatives only once and never in the Senate. Following the ALP split over conscription in 1916, Deakin's successor Joseph Cook led the Liberals into an alliance with Prime Minister Billy Hughes' new National Labor Party. The two parties formally merged under Hughes' leadership a few months before the 1917 federal election, with the resulting Nationalist Party becoming the new primary opponent of the ALP in the two-party system.
Unlike the ALP, the Liberal Party did not have a single external organisation supporting the parliamentary party and had only loose links with equivalent parties at state level. Deakin attempted to form a national organisation under the name Commonwealth Liberal Party, but it failed to spread beyond Victoria. In each state various similar bodies were created to endorse candidates and provide campaign financing, while the party also enjoyed the support of pre-existing organisations like the Australian Women's National League. The "Liberal" identity was retained by some state parties after 1917 and revived by Nationalist breakaways in the 1920s, eventually being re-adopted by the modern Liberal Party of Australia.
George Reid adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs non-Labour lines – prior to the 1906 election, he renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded a two-party system as very much the norm. [3]
The Liberal Party was formed in response to Labor forming its second government under Andrew Fisher in 1908. Under considerable pressure from middle- and upper-class interests, Alfred Deakin, the leader of the Protectionists, and Joseph Cook, leader of the Anti-Socialists, joined forces in order to counter Labor's growing popularity. In 1909, the two parties at a meeting in Melbourne's Parliament House agreed to merge into a single party, based on a shared anti-Labor platform. Deakin was the new party's first leader, with Cook as deputy leader. The merger didn't sit well with several of the more liberal Protectionists, who defected to Labor or sat as independents.
Between them, the Protectionists and Anti-Socialists held a majority of seats on the floor of the House of Representatives. As a result, the newly merged party used its numbers to force Fisher to hand power to Deakin. However, the Liberals were defeated by Labor at the 1910 election, which saw Labor with an elected majority in both houses, the first federal occurrence for a party.
Cook took over the leadership from Deakin shortly before the 1913 election and won government by a single seat. However, only a year later, Cook deliberately introduced a bill abolishing preferential treatment for public-service union members. Cook knew the Labor-controlled Senate would vote the bill down, giving him an excuse to call a double dissolution election, the first time one would be called. When the Senate rejected the bill twice, Cook called the 1914 election. The Liberal Party was again defeated with Labor again winning a majority in both houses.
The Liberals remained in opposition until November 1916, when it reached a confidence and supply agreement with Prime Minister Billy Hughes, who had recently been expelled from Labor for supporting conscription in World War I and organised his followers as the National Labor Party. In February 1917, the Liberals and National Labor formally merged to form the Nationalist Party. Although the merged party was dominated by former Liberals, Hughes became its leader with Cook as his deputy. Hughes would stay on as Prime Minister until the 1922 election where the new Country Party of Australia (later The Nationals) stripped the Nationalists of their majority, and demanded his resignation in exchange for confidence and supply. Stanley Bruce subsequently became Prime Minister.
The Liberal Party of 1909 is often referred to by the retronym "Deakinite Liberal Party" in order to distinguish it from the later Liberal Party of Australia, which was officially founded in 1945. According to David Kemp, "the common reference to the Federal Liberal Party as the 'Commonwealth Liberal Party' is not correct, as this name was given only to Deakin's state party". [5]
Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | +/– | Leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1910 | 596,350 (#2) | 45.09 | 31 / 75 | ||
1913 | 930,076 (#1) | 48.94 | 38 / 75 | ![]() | |
1914 | 796,397 (#2) | 47.21 | 32 / 75 | ![]() |
Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | +/– | Leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1910 | 1,830,353 (#2) | 45.55 | 14 / 36 | ||
1913 | 2,840,420 (#1) | 49.38 | 7 / 36 | ![]() | |
1914 | 5,605,305 (#2) | 47.77 | 5 / 36 | ![]() |
The Australian Liberal Union was established in November 1911, following a conference in Melbourne attended by representatives of liberal organisations in each state. The conference resolved that the state-based organisations should co-operate more closely during federal election campaigns. The council of the new body was to consist of three representatives from each state. [6]
A second interstate conference was held in Melbourne in May 1912, with Senator Joseph Vardon presiding. [7] A constitution for the Australian Liberal Union was adopted, where it was agreed that the organisation would be governed by an annual conference. The constitution provided that the union would regularly confer with the federal parliamentary party, and that its work would be confined to federal politics. The state organisations would remain in charge of state politics, but would select federal candidates. [8] The conference also debated a fighting platform for the next federal election, [9] [10] which was not issued until 13 June. It comprised 20 planks. [11]
A third conference was held in Melbourne in August 1913, postponed and moved from Sydney due to a smallpox outbreak. [12] The inaugural address at the conference was given by the incumbent prime minister and parliamentary Liberal leader Joseph Cook. [13] David Gordon was elected president of the organisation. [14] An updated platform was issued in October. [15] Another meeting was held in March 1914, [16] and in October 1915 Joseph Cook stated that a meeting of the executive was planned to be held. [17]
In Victoria, Deakin formed an organisation to support the parliamentary Liberals under the name Commonwealth Liberal Party (CLP). It was formed at a meeting in Melbourne on 5 April 1909, with the aim "to organise the Liberal voters, both men and women, throughout Australia". [18] It was officially launched by Deakin with himself as president on 25 May 1909 at the Melbourne Town Hall. [19]
According to Deakin's biographer Judith Brett, the CLP did not spread beyond Victoria and "in fact scarcely beyond Deakin and his family, who provided most of its office bearers". [20] His son-in-law Herbert Brookes was Deakin's "right-hand man", [21] serving as party treasurer and chief fundraiser, while Deakin's daughter Ivy Brookes was founder and secretary of the CLP women's section, intended to form a liberal counterpart to the more conservative Australian Women's National League. In 1911, the CLP renamed itself the People's Liberal Party, as part of an abortive merger with the People's Party, a rural liberal organisation. [20] In July 1911, the PLP launched a monthly magazine, the Liberal, which was financed and edited by Herbert Brookes. Deakin wrote anonymous articles for the publication, which was short-lived. [22]
The New South Wales Federal Liberal League was established in July 1909 to help elect Liberal candidates to federal parliament. It was established by delegates from the Liberal and Reform Association, the People's Reform League, the Liberal and Progressive League, and the three equivalent women's branches. Dugald Thomson was chosen as the organisation's president and Archdale Parkhill as its secretary. Joseph Cook was given the title of "leader". [23] The league began conducting preselection ballots and endorsing candidates for federal parliament later in the year. [24]
Organisations supporting the federal parliamentary Liberals in other states included the People's Progressive League in Queensland, the Liberal Union in South Australia (1910), the Tasmanian Liberal League, and the Liberal League of Western Australia. [25]
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor and originally spelt Labour, 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. It has been in Opposition in the federal parliament since the 2013 election. The ALP is a federal party, with political branches in each state and territory. They are currently in government in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory. The Labor Party is the oldest political party in Australia.
Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served three separate terms as Prime Minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1907 to 1915.
Alfred Deakin was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime minister over the subsequent decade he played a key role in establishing national institutions.
John Christian Watson was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia, in office from 27 April to 18 August 1904. He served as the inaugural federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1901 to 1907 and was the first member of the party to serve as prime minister.
Sir George Houston Reid, was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1894 to 1899. He led the Free Trade Party from 1891 to 1908.
Sir Joseph Cook, was an Australian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1913 to 1914. He was the leader of the Liberal Party from 1913 to 1917, after earlier serving as the leader of the Anti-Socialist Party from 1908 to 1909.
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, in time for the 1887 colony election, which the party won. It advocated the abolition of protectionism, especially protective tariffs and other restrictions on trade, arguing that this would create greater prosperity for all. However, many members also advocated use of minimal tariffs for government revenue purposes only. Its most prominent leader was George Reid, who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia (1904–05). In New South Wales it was succeeded by the Liberal and Reform Association in 1902, and federally by the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906. In 1909, the Anti-Socialist Party merged with the Protectionist Party to form the Commonwealth Liberal Party.
The Protectionist Party or Liberal Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. The party advocated protective tariffs, arguing it would allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in the rural areas of New South Wales. Its most prominent leaders were Sir Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin, who were the first and second prime ministers of Australia.
Liberalism in Australia dates back to the earliest pioneers of the area, and has maintained a strong foothold to this day. Liberalism in the country is primarily represented by the centre-right Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is a fusion of liberal and conservative forces and are affiliated with the conservative centre-right International Democrat Union. Philosophical liberals are often called a "small-l liberal" to distinguish them from members of the Liberal Party.
This is a list of the members of the Australian House of Representatives in the Third Australian Parliament, which was elected on 12 December 1906.
Sir Littleton Ernest Groom KCMG KC was an Australian politician. He held ministerial office under four prime ministers between 1905 and 1925, and subsequently served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1926 to 1929.
The 1906 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 12 December 1906. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Protectionist Party minority government led by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin retained government, despite winning the fewest House of Representatives votes and seats of the three parties. Parliamentary support was provided by the Labour Party led by Chris Watson, while the Anti-Socialist Party, led by George Reid, remained in opposition.
James Newton Haxton Hume Cook CMG was an Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1910, after previously serving in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1894 to 1900. He was a member of the anti-socialist parties and served as a minister without portfolio under Alfred Deakin.
John Singleton Clemons was an Australian lawyer and politician. He served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1901 to 1914, representing the Free Trade Party until 1909 and then the Liberal Party. He served as an honorary minister in the government of Joseph Cook from 1913 to 1914.
Charles Carty Salmon was an Australian politician who served as the second Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, in office from 1909 to 1910. A doctor by profession, he began his political career in the Victorian Legislative Assembly before winning election to the House of Representatives at the inaugural 1901 federal election. He represented the Protectionist Party initially and then the Liberal Party, serving as Speaker for the duration of the Third Deakin Ministry. Salmon lost his seat in 1913, but returned to the House at a by-election in 1915. He died in office two years later.
The history of the Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation. Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia. Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia, 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies.
The first Deakin Government was the second federal executive government of the Commonwealth of Australia. It was led by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin, from 24 September 1903 until 27 April 1904. Deakin was the second Prime Minister of Australia, but served as Prime Minister again from 1905–1908 and 1909–1910 – see Second Deakin Government and Third Deakin Government.
Ivy Deakin Brookes was an Australian community worker and activist. She held leadership positions across a wide range of organisations in Victoria. She served as president of the National Council of Women of Australia from 1948 to 1953.
The Tasmanian Liberal League was a political party in the Australian state of Tasmania. It was founded in 1909 and merged into the Nationalist Party in 1917. During its existence it formed a two-party system in the Parliament of Tasmania with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Although the league was created in the same year as the federal Liberal Party, there were no formal ties between the two.
The People's Party was a political organisation in the Australian state of Victoria. It was established in 1910 by farmers opposed to the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It co-ordinated political campaigns with other anti-Labor organisations, supporting the parliamentary Liberals and later the Nationalists after 1917. It merged into the National Federation in 1917, after an earlier abortive merger with the Commonwealth Liberal Party.
She was active in the 'Deakinite' Liberal Party, formed in 1909, and she campaigned for Deakin in the 1910 general election.
The Fusion party governed only a short time before Labour won a clear majority in the election of April 1910. By the time of the 1913 election the Fusion party had become known as the 'Liberal' party.
That night at a packed Melbourne Town Hall, Deakin launched the Commonwealth Liberal Party, which was designed to give Deakin's Liberals their own organisational base.
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