The Country and Progressive National Party was a short-lived conservative political party in the Australian state of Queensland. Formed in 1925, it combined the state's conservative forces in a single party and held office between 1929 and 1932 under the leadership of Arthur Edward Moore. Following repeated election defeat it split into separate rural and urban wings in 1936. [1]
The party was formed on 12 May 1925 as the result of a merger between the state's two conservative parties, the United Party (the Queensland branch of the Nationalist Party) and the Country Party, in an attempt to end a decade of Labor domination in the state. [2] [3] Initially called the Country Progressive Party it was formed by all of the Country MLAs and all but four United MLAs; the outstanding four joined in December when the party took the name Country and Progressive National Party. [4] The party was led throughout the entirety of its existence by Arthur Edward Moore, previously the leader of the Country Party. In the 1929 state election the party won power, defeating Labor in a landslide. The election was further notable for the surprise victory of Irene Longman, a Country and Progressive National candidate and the first woman ever to be elected to the Queensland parliament. However, the government floundered amidst the difficulties of the Great Depression, and was swept from power in 1932 by the Labor Party, led by William Forgan Smith. It contested the 1935 state election, but was severely beaten, being reduced to sixteen seats, which left Labor with a massive majority. As a result, in 1936, the party again split, leaving two state-based parties - the Country Party and the United Australia Party, each aligned with the federal parties of the same names. [5] The two parties continued in a coalition, with the Country Party as senior partner.
From 1941-1944 another merger was attempted via the Country-National Organisation [6] but this failed within a few years. [7]
A later merger between the two parties' successors, the Liberal and National parties, gave birth to the Liberal National Party of Queensland in 2008. [8]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Arthur Edward Moore | 192,043 | 48.48 | 28 / 72 |  1 |  2nd | Opposition |
| 1929 | Arthur Edward Moore | 233,977 | 54.23 | 43 / 72 |  15 | 1st | Majority government |
| 1932 | Arthur Edward Moore | 204,158 | 45.21 | 28 / 62 | 15 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1935 | Arthur Edward Moore | 156,325 | 33.80 | 16 / 62 | 12 | 2nd | Opposition |
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia. It is one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party. The Liberal Party was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Australia Party. Historically the most successful political party in Australia’s history, the Liberal Party is now in opposition at a federal level, although it presently holds government in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania at a sub-national level.
The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a centre-right and agrarian political party in Australia. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a federal level.
The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prime ministers: Joseph Lyons (1932–1939) and Robert Menzies (1939–1941).
Sir Arthur William Fadden was an Australian politician and accountant who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He held office as the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and served as treasurer of Australia from 1940 to 1941 and 1949 to 1958.
The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as the Coalition or the LNP, is an alliance of centre-right to right-wing political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. The two partners in the Coalition are the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia. Its main opponent is the Australian Labor Party (ALP); the two forces are often regarded as operating in a two-party system. The Coalition was last in government from 2013 to 2022. The group is led by Peter Dutton, who succeeded Scott Morrison after the 2022 federal election.
Arthur Edward Moore was an Australian politician. He was the Country and Progressive National Party Premier of Queensland, from 1929 to 1932. He was the only Queensland Premier not to come from the ranks of the Labor Party between 1915 and 1957. Although successful in achieving the unity of the conservative forces in Queensland for an extended period, Moore's abilities were tested by the onset of the Great Depression and like many other governments in Australia and elsewhere his was unable to endure the formidable challenges it posed.
Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non-Labor Party premier since 1932.
The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major conservative political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other states, the two parties remain distinct and often operate as a Coalition. The LNP is a division of the Liberal Party of Australia, and an affiliate of the National Party of Australia.
The Queensland Labor Party (QLP) was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair. In 1962 the party became the Queensland section of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). The party continued to hold seats in the Queensland state parliament until 1972, then suffered a collapse in its vote and wound itself up in 1978.
Sir Kenneth James Morris, was an Australian politician who served as Deputy Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1962.
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 11 May 1935 to elect the 62 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government of Premier William Forgan Smith was seeking a second term after having defeated the Country and Progressive National Party in the 1932 election.
Walter Alan Woods was an Australian Labor politician and journalist.
Ross Francis Gollan was an Australian journalist who was known for his work as a political reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He worked for the paper from 1923 until his death, and was a member of the Canberra Press Gallery from 1940 to 1946.
Herbert Robinson Brookes was an Australian businessman, philanthropist, and political activist. He inherited substantial holdings from his father, and served as president of the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures. He was involved in numerous charities, and was a major benefactor to the University of Melbourne, his alma mater. Brookes also filled various governmental positions, serving on the Board of Trade, the Tariff Board, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and briefly as the first Commissioner-General to the United States.
The National Party of Australia – Queensland (NPA-Q), commonly known as the Queensland Nationals, National Party of Queensland or simply the Nationals, was the Queensland branch of the National Party of Australia (NPA) until 2008. Prior to 1974, it was known as the Country Party. The party was disestablished in 2008, when it merged with the Queensland division of the Liberal Party of Australia to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP).
The Country-National Organisation was a short-lived conservative political party in the Australian state of Queensland during the Second World War.
The Queensland Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia, was the Queensland division of the Liberal Party of Australia until 2008.
The United Australia Party was the short-lived Queensland branch of the national United Australia Party in the 1930s and 1940s. Based around Brisbane, it spent the entire of its history in opposition, merging in 1941 into the Country-National Organisation. When that party separated in 1944, the remnants of the UAP joined the Queensland People's Party which in 1949 became the Liberal Party of Australia
The National Party, known as the United Party from 1923, was a political party in the Australian state of Queensland from 1917 to 1925. Although allied with the federal Nationalist Party, it had different origins in state politics. It sought to combine the state's Liberal Party with the Country Party but the latter soon withdrew. In 1923 the party sought a further unification with the Country Party but only attracted a few recruits. Then in 1925 it merged with the Country Party, initially as the Country Progressive Party with a few members left out and then they were absorbed into the renamed Country and Progressive National Party.
The Liberal Party was a political party in the Australian state of Queensland in the early 20th century. It combined the main non-Labor forces, the Kidstonites of William Kidston and the Conservative Party led by Robert Philp, similar to the federal Commonwealth Liberal Party whose fusion it preceded. The Liberals held government from their formation in 1908 until defeat in 1915 after which they combined with other elements in the state to form the National Party.
