Protectionist Party

The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in the rural areas of New South Wales. Its most prominent leaders were Sir Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin, who were the first and second prime ministers of Australia.

In the main, the Protectionists formed government with the support of the Labor Party, on the understanding that they would implement social reforms desired by Labor. Labor's program, however, was frequently too radical for the Protectionists, and compromises had to be made. Several changes of minority governments occurred.

The Protectionist vote had declined considerably by the 1906 federal election. Having formed its first government in 1904, Labor formed its second in 1908 under Andrew Fisher. A scandalised establishment, believing an anti-socialist alliance was necessary to counter Labor's growing electoral dominance, pressured Deakin and Anti-Socialist Party leader Joseph Cook, to begin merger talks. The more liberal Protectionists, such as Isaac Isaacs and H. B. Higgins, opposed a merger. The party wound up splitting as a result. The main body, including Deakin and his supporters merged with the Anti-Socialist Party to become the Commonwealth Liberal Party, popularly known as "the Fusion," while the more liberal Protectionists supported Labor. The Fusion would form another minority government before Fisher and Labor achieved Australia's first federal majority government, and the first Senate majority, at the 1910 election.

In 2007, a new political party was set up under the same name.

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