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Tasmanian National Party

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The National Party of Australia, using variously the names the Country Party, the Centre Party, the National Country Party and the Tasmanian Nationals, has had a limited history of organising and standing in the state of Tasmania compared to mainland states. First organising in the state in 1922, a succession of parties have functioned with limited electoral results.[1]

History

1920s

No state country party organisation yet existed in Tasmania prior to 1922, although in the 1919 federal election former MP Norman Cameron sought to regain the Division of Wilmot as a country candidate.[2] In 1920 members of the Australian House of Representatives elected from other state country parties came together to form the Country Party, with longserving Tasmanian MP William McWilliams, the sitting member for the Division of Franklin, assisting in the formation of the party and serving as its initial leader. The party was also joined by Llewellyn Atkinson, the sitting member for Wilmot. McWilliams was replaced as leader in 1921 and defeated in the 1922 election but the Country Party gained Darwin with Joshua Whitsitt.[3]

1922 saw the creation of a state party by the Tasmanian Farmers, Stockowners and Orchardists' Association.[4] It was joined by several sitting members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly including Nationalists Ernest Blyth (Division of Lyons) William Dixon (Franklin), Edward Hobbs (Darwin), and independent Joshua Whitsitt (Darwin). At the 1922 state election Whitsitt stood down to transfer to federal politics and Dixon was defeated but Blyth led the to party gain three further members Richard Franks (Darwin, holding Whitsitt's seat), John Piggott (Franklin, taking Dixon's seat) and Albert Bendall (Wilmot). The overal result gave the Country Party the balance of power and they were able to force the replacement of Premier Walter Lee with John Hayes at the head of a coalition with Blyth as minister for lands and mines.[5]

However the party was to soon fall apart during the Assembly's term, with Piggott sitting as an Independent, Blyth and Bendall moving to the Nationalists and Hobbs joining a "Liberal" grouping based on Lee. Franks retired at the 1925 election. At the federal level Whitsitt retired in 1925 with no Country Party candidate defending Darwin. Atkinson continued to sit for the Country Party as late as at least 1926, but by the 1928 election he had joined the Nationalists.[6] The Country Party ceased to exist in the state.[7]

1960s to 1970s

Main article: Centre Party (Tasmania)

For the next few decades there was virtually no Country Party electoral activity in the state bar a single candidacy in Franklin in the 1934 federal election.[8] In 1962 a new Country Party organisation was formed in the state which would last until 1975.[9] It contested the 1964 state election but won no seats. In the run up to the 1969 election Kevin Lyons, a former Liberal turned independent member of the Assembly for Braddon, became the party's leader and reorganised it as the Centre Party. Lyons retained his seat at the election, which resulted in a hung parliament. He threw his support to his former Liberal colleagues, and served as Deputy Premier under Angus Bethune until 1972 when Lyons withdrew support, collapsing the coalition.[1] The Centre Party did not contest the resulting election.[10]

The party contested the Senate in the 1974 federal election[11] and then stood for both the Senate and House in the 1975 federal election (by now as the National Country Party)[12][13] but had no success. The party disappeared that year.[9]

Later appearances

The party was formed again in 1994 and in 1996 contested the state election,[14] and the federal election in both the House[15] and Senate[16] but once again secured only a small vote with rural interests preferring the Liberals instead.[1] The party deregistered in 1998.[17]

The party reorganised and registered in the state in 2013[18] and were subsequently joined by former Labor minister Allison Ritchie.[19] However disagreements with the federal party over strategy led to the latter distancing itself.[20] Following poor results in the 2014 state election, the party changed the name to the Tasmania Party,[21] but are no longer registered in the state.[22]

In May 2018 Steve Martin, a Senator originally elected for the Jacqui Lambie Network who had subsequently been expelled, joined the Nationals, giving them their first federal representative in the state in ninety years.[23] Martin declared he was seeking to relaunch the party in the state.[24]

State election results

Election Seats won ± Total votes % Position Leader
1922
5 / 30
 Increase5 9,498 13.98% Coalition Ernest Blyth
1964
0 / 35
 Steady0 9,280 5.26% Not in chamber
1969
1 / 35
 Increase1 8,160 4.31% Coalition Kevin Lyons
1996
0 / 35
 Steady0 6,476 2.20% Not in chamber
2014
0 / 25
 Steady0 2,655 0.81% Not in chamber

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Petrow, Stefan: Country Party, The Companion to Tasmanian History (University of Tasmania).
  2. ^ Carr, Adam. "1919 House of Representatives: Voting by Constituency, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  3. ^ Carr, Adam. "1922 House of Representatives: Voting by Constituency, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  4. ^ Davey, Paul (2010). Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920-2010. UNSW Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-1742231662.
  5. ^ Scott Bennett, 'Hayes, John Blyth (1868–1956)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1983, accessed online 31 May 2018.
  6. ^ Davey, Paul (2010). Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920-2010. UNSW Press. pp. 431–432. ISBN 978-1742231662.
  7. ^ Davey, Paul (2010). Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920-2010. UNSW Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-1742231662.
  8. ^ Carr, Adam. "1934 House of Representatives: Voting by Constituency, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  9. ^ a b Davey, Paul (2010). Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920-2010. UNSW Press. p. 432. ISBN 978-1742231662.
  10. ^ Parliament of Tasmania. "Assembly Elections results, 1972". Parliament.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  11. ^ Carr, Adam. "1974 Senate: Voting by State, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  12. ^ Carr, Adam. "1975 House of Representatives: Voting by Constituency, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  13. ^ Carr, Adam. "1975 Senate: Voting by State, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  14. ^ Carr, Adam. "1996 Tasmanian House of Assembly: Voting by Division". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  15. ^ Carr, Adam. "1996 House of Representatives: Voting by Constituency, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  16. ^ Carr, Adam. "1996 Senate: Voting by State, Tasania". Psephos Election Archive. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  17. ^ "Tasmanian state election 2014: an overview – Parliament of Australia". Aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  18. ^ "National Party registers in Tasmania". ABC News. 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  19. ^ Matt Smith (2013-11-27). "Former Labor MLC Allison Ritchie to lead Tassie National Party". Mercury. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  20. ^ Matt Smith (2014-01-30). "Federal National Party director expresses concern over non-aligned party running in Tasmanian poll". Mercury. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  21. ^ "Moves underway to set up a Tasmania Party to contest future elections". ABC News. 2014-11-26. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  22. ^ "Party Register". Tasmanian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  23. ^ Elton, James (2018-03-28). "Tasmanian independent senator Steve Martin joins the Nationals". SBS News. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  24. ^ Sue Bailey (2018-05-29). "Senator Steve Martin will struggle to get elected at the next poll says a Tasmanian academic". Examiner. Retrieved 2018-05-31.

Bibliography

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