The Australian Democrats is a minor Australian political party formed in 1977 by a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, under the leadership of Don Chipp.
The party has a unique approach to managing itself. Rather than having a traditional party hierarchy make major decisions, decisions are made in an open environment, with all members eligible to vote by postal ballot. Changes to the party's constitution require a 70% vote.
Positions
The party describes itself as "the People's watchdog", and in its 30 year history, has focused on environmental concerns, social welfare, animal rights, and opposition to nuclear power and weapons.
Current Status
Over the past several decades, the party achieved Parliamentary representation from all six Australian states, and had representation in 5 of the six state legislatures.
Popular support ranged from 5-10%, and they never were able to win a seat in the House. The party had a very poor showing in the 2007 election, winning approximately 1% of the popular vote.
As a result, there will be no Australian Democrats in Parliament as of June 30, 2008. There will be one state representative in the South Australian legislature, and no representatives in the other states. The party leadership has indicated that they do intend to stand for election again.
Fast Facts:
2007 Election Results
- Received 162,975 out of 12,656,805 Senate first preference votes
- Received 89,810 out of 12,419,863 House first preference votes
Active Campaigns
The Australian Democrats are currently working to address the following issues:
- Mental health services
- Fighting [Media Sexualization of Children] in the media
- Addressing the Stolen Wages of Indigenous People
- Proposing 14 weeks paid Maternity Leave
- Opposing Desalinization plants
- Advocating Energy Efficiency
- Supporting an Integrated Health Care system
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Australian Democrats Timeline
1966: Liberal Reform Group splits from the conservative Liberal Party of Australia.
1969: Renames itself the Liberal Reform Movement.
1969: Renames itself the Australia Party.
1975: New Liberal Movement breaks away from the South Australian Liberals.
1977: Australia Party, New Liberal Movement and discontented Liberals form the Australian Democrats.
1980: Achieve representation of 5 senators in Parliament.
1990: Democrats receive over 1,000,000 votes in the general election.
2007: Lost all seats in parliament in the election.
