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Australian Democrats
Founded1977
Headquarters711 South Road
Black Forest, SA 5035
IdeologySocial liberalism
Political positionCentre
Website
www.democrats.org.au

The Australian Democrats is an Australian social liberal political party formed in 1977. It is an amalgamation of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement.

The party currently has no federal parliamentary representation. After 30 years of representation the remaining senators lost their seats in the 2007 election, polling only 1.29% of the national Senate vote [1].

Foundation

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Don Chipp, Democrats leader 1977-1986

On the evening of 29 April 1977, Don Chipp addressed an overflowing Perth Town Hall meeting, called by Jack Evans, which unanimously passed a resolution to form a Centre-Line Party, from the merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement. The proposal had been facilitated by the leadership of both parties on the proviso that Chipp accept the leadership and the role of its public face. [2] Chipp firmly declined having quit professional politics. He was offered a lucrative position as a radio public affairs commentator.

However, at a May 9 meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall, Chipp received a standing ovation from over 3,000 people, including former Prime Minister John Gorton. This show of support garnered his commitment to lead a new party which was already being constructed by a national steering committee, which included Chair and later Senator Colin Mason, President of the New Liberal Movement and later Senator Jack Evans and the Australian Democrats' first President and later Senator John Siddons[3]. "Australian Democrats" [4] was the working title that would later be approved via postal ballot by the membership. It was the most favoured of 56 alternatives.

Reception

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Opinion in Canberra was mixed.[5]. MPs believed that Chipp's efforts were futile- Fraser referred to the party as "Chipp's unborn child"[5]. Despite this, he called an early election to circumvent the growing momentum of the fledging party. Popular opinion held that Chipp was more popular than both Fraser and the opposition leader [5]

The party's original support base consisted of two demographics; those alienated by the perceived unproductivity of the two party system, and an emerging constituency of people who desired a participatory democracy that could address environmental protection and social justice. Its membership largely comprised tertiary-educated and middle-class constituents. The party also appealed to voters opposed to untrammelled government power and wishing to have alternative views aired in parliaments and media.

Underlying philosophy

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The party philosophy is based on the social liberalism of the South Australian New Liberal movement. The modern party describes its political position as centrist rather than third way, highlighting its "small-l" liberal stance. For many years, the party's centrist role made it subject to criticism from both the right and left of the political spectrum. In particular, Chipp's former conservative affiliation was frequently recalled by opponents on the left, such as the then Socialist Workers' Party and early green-left parties such as the United Tasmania Group.

The party was based on the principles of honesty, tolerance, compassion and direct democracy. It was due to the fundamentally democratic nature of the party that saw the Janine Haines as the first female leader of a parliamentary party in Australia, and allowed for younger adults to become parliamentarians. Karin Sowada (30) [6] and Natasha Stott Despoja, (25)[7] both set records as the youngest Australians elected to the Senate, while Roslyn Dundas [8] was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly at 23.

Policy

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The party aimed to combine liberal social policies with centrist, particularly neo-Keynesian and interventionist economic policy.They would later oppose the primacy of economic rationalism. Their progressive environmental platform made the Australian Democrats the first representatives of green politics at the federal level in Australia. They played a key role in the cau célèbre of the Franklin River Dam.

They intitially supported reconciliation with Australia's indigenous population through such mechanisms as formal treaties. They advocated pacifist approaches to international relations, open government, constitutional reform, progressive approaches to social issues such as sexuality and drugs, strong support for human rights, and civil liberties. Other policies

By 1980, the Australian Democrats had employed the postal-ballot method at both national at state levels to develop an extensive body of written policy. Their scope was broad, innovative and with far-sighted policies wich included environmental and economic sustainability, water and energy conservation, alternative energy sources, expanded public transport, rejection of nuclear weapons and technology. The party added finely detailed policies on animal welfare, species preservation and human rights in response to growing community concern.

In 2009, the party began an extensive reconstruction program including review of policies and internal processes coupled with a drive to rebuild the membership base and run effective campaigns with quality candidates.[9] The Party restated what it stands for as five core beliefs of Freedom, Equality, Sustainability, Representation and Responsibility.[10]

Party Structure

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All members can engage in a participatory non-hierarchical structure through postal ballots of all members, to avoid an "elite [that] could make decisions for the members" and allow citizen-initiated referenda. [11] From the outset, members' participation was fiercely protected in national and divisional constitutions prescribing internal elections, regular meeting protocols, annual conferences and pre-selection. Monthly journals were used for open discussion and balloting. Dispute resolution procedures were etablished with a final recourse to a party ombudsman and membership ballot.

Many of the policies brought to parliament during the height of party in the Senate were determined by their unique participatory method. The parliamentarians however, were granted extensive freedom in their interpretation.

The membership structure and the priority of participation clashed with the emerging 'electoral objective' of the leaders and strategies in the 1990s. The first substantive reason given by rebellious senators for deposing leader Janet Powell in 1991 was her alleged failure to develop a media profile which would attract more electoral support. The first conclusive constitutional abandonment of founding principles was probably the July, 1993, decision of the party's national executive to terminate monthly publication of the members' National Journal and to replace it with less frequent publication of glossy promotional material.

Representation

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See also A history of the parliamentary Australian Democrats

Over three decades, the Australian Democrats achieved representation in the legislatures of the ACT, South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania as well as Senate seats in all six states. However, at the 2004 and 2007 elections, all seven of its Senate seats were lost.[1]

Federal parliamentary leaders of the Australian Democrats.

Former Senators

Former members in the states and territories

References

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  1. ^ a b 2007 Senate election: (National tally of) First Preferences by Group
  2. ^ Chipp D and Larkin J The Third Man Rigby, Melbourne (1978) ISBN 0 7270 0827 7
  3. ^ Warhurst, J. (1997) "1977: Don Chipp's New Party" in Warhust, J (ed) Keeping the Bastards Honest, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, pp 53-57
  4. ^ Hewat T & Wilson D Don Chipp (1978) p. 84
  5. ^ a b c Rout, M 'How Don Chipp spoke up for the disenchanted' The Australian, Jan 1, 2008, last accessed Dec 24 2009 [1]
  6. ^ Anglican Archdiocese of Sydney, Inspiring People last accessed 24 DEC 2009 [2]
  7. ^ Career Faqs last accessed 24 DEC 2009 [3]
  8. ^ The National Women's Archives Project last accessed 24 DEC 2009 [4]
  9. ^ What are you doing to rebuild the party FAQ Australian Democrats official website, December 2009
  10. ^ Core Beliefs of the Australian Democrats Australian Democrats official website, December 2009
  11. ^ Chipp D & Larkin J The Third Man Rigby, Melbourne 1978 ISBN 0 7270 0827 7

Further reading

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  • Beyond Our Expectations—Proceedings of the Australian Democrats First National Conference, Canberra, 16-17 February, 1980. [Papers by: Don Chipp, Sir Mark Oliphant, Prof. Stephen Boyden, Bob Whan, Julian Cribb, Colin Mason, John Siddons, A. McDonald]
  • Chipp D (ed. Larkin J) Chipp, Methuen Haynes, North Ryde NSW, 1987 ISBN 0 454 01345 0
  • Paul A and Miller L The Third Team July 2007 A historical essay in 30 Years—Australian Democrats Melbourne 2007. (A 72-page anthology of historical and biogaphical monographs about the state and federal parliamentary experiences of the Democrats, for the party's 30th anniversary.)
  • Sugita H Challenging 'twopartism'—the contribution of the Australian Democrats to the Australian party system, PhD thesis, Flinders University of South Australia, July 1995
  • Warhurst J (ed.) Keeping the bastards honest Allen & Unwin Sydney 1997 ISBN 10 1864484209

See also

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{{Politics of Australia}}

Category:Liberal parties Category:Political parties established in 1977 Category:Political parties in Australia Category:Organisations based in Adelaide

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