Liberal Movement (Australia) - Party System

Party System

Before parties became established in the Australian colonies in the later 19th century, all members of the colonial parliaments were independents, occasionally labelled as "liberal" or "conservative", amongst other terms. With the advent of Labor, these groups combined to form anti-Labor parties. "Liberal", in the Australian context, refers to what could be described as classical liberalism, and is distant from the modern meaning that the word has acquired in the United States and some other countries. As a train of thought, Australian liberalism has been less rooted in any defined ideology and more in pragmatism and opposition to Labor. Liberalism in Australia represents the centre-right of the political spectrum, while Labor represents the centre-left.

The first Labor party in South Australia was the United Labor Party in 1890, born out of a trade union association that recommended and supported trade unionist candidates. In response, the National Defence League (NDL) was born three years later. In 1909, the NDL combined with other anti-Labor parties to form the Liberal Union (later known as the Liberal Federation). The ULP morphed into the Australian Labor Party in 1910, and has been known by this name ever since. A Country Party subsequently emerged, representing rural interests, but this was assimilated back into the conservative side of politics with the formation of the Liberal and Country League (LCL) in 1932. The South Australian party system has not deviated from this two-party divide, and all other parties gained negligible representation or influence, until the emergence of smaller parties such as the Australian Democrats in the late 20th century, and the Australian Greens and Family First Party in the 21st century.