Liberal Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | William Kidston (1908-1911) Digby Denham (1911-1915) Edward Macartney (1915) James Tolmie (1915-1917) |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Dissolved | 1917 |
| Merger of | Kidstonites Philpite Conservatives |
| Merged into | National Party |
| Ideology | Liberalism (Australian) Liberal conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
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 Conservatives of 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.
The Liberals were formed after a period of flux in Queensland state politics in which multiple parties and factions had operated with both the 1907 and 1908 elections returning Legislative Assemblies with three groupings of approximately equal weight. [1] [2] William Kidston had served as Premier of Queensland since 1906, breaking with the Labor Party in 1907 to form his own "Kidstonites" grouping. The Kidstonites initially governed with the external support of Labor but in the two broke over bills on private railway construction which relied on the support of Robert Philp's Conservative faction. [3] Increasingly the Kidstonites and the Conservatives were drawn together and, following a trip by Kidston to the United Kingdom, in October 1908 the two groups merged; [4] this merger preceded the similar federal merger of anti-Labor forces as the Commonwealth Liberal Party by seven months. However not all of the Kidstonite MLAs accepted the merger, and a group called the "Independent Opposition" emerged, headed by former Attorney General James Blair and including former Labor leaders Peter Airey and George Kerr. [5] [6] The fused party revived the name "Liberals", previously used by the followers of Samuel Griffith, Premier in the 1880s & 1890s. [7]
Kidston became leader of the new party whilst Philp retired to the backbenches, [8] although other prominent followers of his such as Digby Denham served in the cabinet. [9] The new party governed for a year before another state election at which they increased their number of seats whilst the Independent Opposition was reduced to a small remnant. [2] The government pushed further reforms including electoral reform based on reasonably equal sized electorates and the consolidation & simplification of land legislation. In early 1911 Kidston retired from politics, to be succeeded by Denham. [2] [9] The same year saw the creation of the People's Progressive League, an extra-parliamentary organisation to support the government. [10]
Under Denham the party faced a number of divisions. Rural Liberals organised internally as the Farmers' Parliamentary Union, expressing discontent that would later boil over and lead to the emergence of a separate party. [11] A liquor bill was blocked by the Queensland Legislative Council in 1911 and a major constitutional crisis and split in the Liberals was only averted due to a tramway and general strike in Brisbane that began in January 1912. Denham took a hard law & order line against the strike, even when the federal government declined his request to supply armed forces. An early election was called in April at which the Liberals increased their seats, albeit with losses in Brisbane.The government passed the Industrial Peace Act that took a hard line against the unions. [9] [12] The government took an increasingly hardline approach in the face of a revived Labor Party, [10] but faced declining popularity.
In 1914 compulsory voting was introduced for state elections in the hope of shoring up support. [13] However the party continued to stumble. Rural discontent continued with the result that in the 1915 election dissatisfaction with the Denham government led to the Queensland Farmers' Union running its own candidates, five of whom were elected and formed a distinct separate Country Party grouping in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. [14] The 1915 election saw the Liberals swept from power, losing over half their seats with Denham himself and many other ministers personally defeated. [9] In opposition the party was briefly led by Edward Macartney, [15] and then by James Tolmie, [16] both former ministers.
The impact of Labor winning the election and their actions in government resulted in the opposition forces soon looking to ally. The National Political Council was formed in 1916 to co-ordinate activities between opposition groups and proved the foundation for further integration. [17] The Australian Labor Party split of 1916 had only a minor impact in the state with Premier T. J. Ryan working hard to successfully keep the party together in the state with only limited losses [18] and instead the emphasis remained on the opposition groups with the Liberals and Country Party coming together in July 1917 as the National Party. [7] [19] Tolmie became the leader of the new party. [20]
| Leader | Date started | Date finished |
|---|---|---|
| William Kidston | 22 October 1908 | 7 February 1911 |
| Digby Denham | 7 February 1911 | 1 June 1915 |
| Edward Macartney | 24 June 1915 | 8 September 1915 |
| James Tolmie | 8 September 1915 | 6 July 1917 |
| (Merged into the National Party) | 6 July 1917 |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | William Kidston | 107,370 | 50.91 | 41 / 72 |  4 |  1st | Majority government |
| 1912 | Digby Denham | 110,981 | 51.37 | 46 / 72 | 5 | 1st | Majority government |
| 1915 | Digby Denham | 109,985 | 41.97 | 21 / 72 |  25 | 2nd | Opposition |
Sir Robert Philp, was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.
William Kidston was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911.
Digby Frank Denham was a politician and businessman in Queensland, Australia. He was a Premier of Queensland and Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He was the first of only two Queensland Premiers to lose their own seat at a general election.
This is a list of members of the 14th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1902 to 1904, as elected at the 1902 state election held on 11 March 1902.
This is a list of members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1904 to 1907, as elected at the 1904 state election held on 27 August 1904.
This is a list of members of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from May 1907 to February 1908, as elected at the 1907 state election held on 18 May 1907.
This is a list of members of the 17th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from February 1908 to October 1909, as elected at the 1908 state election held on 5 February 1908.
This is a list of members of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1909 to 1912, as elected at the 1909 state election held on 2 October 1909.
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 22 May 1915 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.
The Second Kidston Ministry was the 25th ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Premier William Kidston. It succeeded the Second Philp Ministry on 18 February 1908, 13 days after the 1908 state election. The ministry was followed by the Denham Ministry on 7 February 1911 following Kidston's retirement from politics.
The First Kidston Ministry was the 23rd ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Premier William Kidston, who led a Labour–Liberal coalition. It succeeded the Morgan Ministry on 19 January 1906 upon the appointment of Arthur Morgan as president of the Queensland Legislative Council. The Labour Party split in 1907, with Kidston and several other moderate Labour members combining with the remaining Liberals in a new party, the "Kidstonites".
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 5 February 1908 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The election, held less than 9 months after the previous election, was made necessary by a series of events which had seen former Premier William Kidston, who commanded a majority on the floor of the Assembly, resign following an attempt to convince the Governor of Queensland to appoint sympathetic members to the Queensland Legislative Council, which had blocked key legislative measures. Following Kidston's resignation, Opposition leader Robert Philp was sent for and formed a ministry, but the ministry almost immediately lost a vote of no confidence in the Assembly, and as such, a new election had to be called.
The Morgan Ministry was the 22nd ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Premier Arthur Morgan, who led a Liberal–Labour coalition.
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 16 March 1918 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.
The Australian Labor Party split of 1916 occurred following severe disagreement within the Australian Labor Party over the issue of proposed World War I conscription in Australia. Labor Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes had, by 1916, become an enthusiastic supporter of conscription as a means to boost Australia's contribution to the war effort. On 30 August 1916, he announced plans for a referendum on the issue, and introduced enabling legislation into parliament on 15 September, which passed only with the support of the opposition. Six of Hughes's ministers resigned in protest at the move, and the New South Wales state branch of the Labor Party expelled Hughes. The referendum saw an intense campaign in which Labor figures vehemently advocated on each side of the argument, although the "no" campaign narrowly won on 14 November. In the wake of the referendum defeat, the caucus moved to expel Hughes on 14 November; instead, he and 23 supporters resigned and formed the National Labor Party. Frank Tudor was elected leader of the rump party. Hughes was recommissioned as Prime Minister, heading a minority government supported by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal Party; the two parties then merged as the Nationalist Party of Australia and won the 1917 federal election. The Nationalist Party served as the main conservative party of Australia until 1931, and the split resulted in many early Labor figures ending their careers on the political right. Hughes, for instance, sat as a member of the Nationalists and their successors, the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party, with only a few short breaks until his death in 1952.
The National Party of Australia – Queensland (NPA-Q), commonly known as Queensland Nationals, or the National Party of Queensland, was the Queensland-state branch of the National Party of Australia (NPA) until 2008. Prior to 1974, it was known as the Country Party.
The Liberal Party of Australia (Queensland Division), branded as Liberal Queensland, 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, later the United Party was a political party in the Australian state of Queensland from 1917 until 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 Kidstonites or Kidston party were a political party in the Australian state of Queensland in 1907 to 1908, formed by William Kidston. The party resulted from a split in the Queensland Labor Party and spent most of its existence in government, before merging with the conservative faction of Robert Philp in October 1908, to form the Liberal Party.