List of political parties in Australia

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Political parties in Australia lists political parties in Australia.

Australia has a mild two-party system. There are two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, and aspects of the Australian electoral system have made it difficult for other parties or independents to gain parliamentary representation. Nevertheless, the system of preferential voting used in Australian elections, combined with proportional representation for most Upper House elections, makes it easier for minor parties and independents to gain representation in Australia than in some other two-party systems of government, such as in the United States.

Significant political parties (and their federal leaders)

Two political groups dominate the Australian political spectrum.

One is the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a centre-left party which is formally linked to the Australian labour movement. As of December, 2007, the ALP is in government federally, as well as in all Australian states and territories.

The other group is a conservative grouping of parties that are presently in coalition at the federal level and in some states, but compete in others. The main party in this group is the centre-right Liberal Party. It is joined by The Nationals, a party that represents rural interests - especially primary industry. The third member is the Country Liberal Party, which is the major representative of the conservative side of politics in the Northern Territory (the Liberal and National parties do not operate in the NT). Collectively, these parties are known as The Coalition.

Historically, support for either the Coalition or the Labor Party was often viewed as being based around class, with the middle class supporting the Coalition and the working class supporting Labor. In more recent times, this has been a less important factor because the 1970s and 1980s saw Labor gain a significant bloc of middle class support and the Coalition gain a significant bloc of working class support.

There are 2 other parties which are of some significance in Australian political system. The Australian Greens are currently seen as the 'third force' in Australian politics. They are a left wing and environmentalist party, generally achieving 7-9% of votes in elections (although they achieve significantly higher votes in some States). The Family First Party, is a relatively recent party, with a Christian-influenced platform appealing mainly to social conservatives. They have achieved some success in recent elections, polling around 2% of the national vote. The proportional representation system has allowed these parties to win seats in the Senate, but they have generally been unable to win seats in the House of Representatives (the Greens won a House seat at a 2002 by-election, but lost it in 2004).

Other political parties which have been of some significance in the past (since World War II), in terms of shaping Australian politics, include the Australian Democrats, Democratic Labor Party, One Nation Party, Nuclear Disarmament Party, the Australia Party, the Liberal Movement, and the Communist Party of Australia.

Current parties

Current Parliamentary representation of minor parties

This is a list of parliamentary representation of minor parties at Federal and State levels:

  • Australian Greens: 20 [(Federal (5), NSW (4), Tasmania (4), Victoria (3), Western Australia (2), South Australia (1), ACT (1)]


Registered for elections with the AEC

For latest details see: http://aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/Party_Registration/Registered_parties/index.htm

Not currently registered with the AEC

Defunct parties

See also

Other parties on the Internet

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