Defunct
89-690: Defunct Defunct The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into which it merged, it has been refounded in that state as the Family First Party (2021) , where it contested the state election in 2022, but failed to win
178-588: A constitutional monarchy . In the early 20th century, "Conservatism" was used as a disparaging epithet by detractors of right wing politics and politicians within Australia, often by supporters and members of left leaning movements and parties such as the Australian Labor Party and later the Australian Greens . People on the right often called themselves "liberals". That only changed in the late 20th century; John Hirst says that as
267-407: A monarchy or become a republic was a contentious issue in the 1990s. It has since not been a priority for the government as of 2019. In 1998 when debate peaked, Howard took the monarchist position favoured by most conservatives. Howard argued that the monarchy had provided a long period of stability and while he said there was no question that Australia was a fully independent nation, he believed that
356-449: A victim mentality among Aboriginals. Former Aboriginal conservative politicians include: Steve Fielding Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960) is a former Australian senator for the state of Victoria and the former federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party . He was elected to the upper house at the 2004 federal election on two per cent of the first-preference votes . He failed to gain re-election at
445-401: A conservative outlook is represented by Sky News Australia . and ADH TV . Newspapers and other publications owned by News Corp strongly favour the right wing of Australian politics. The publications owned by News Corp include The Australian , The Daily Telegraph , The Mercury , The Advertiser and The Courier-Mail . Sky News is also owned by News Corp. Whether Australia should remain
534-641: A conservative stance. Since the 1970s, the Financial Review has advocated economic liberalism in Australia, driving a consistent editorial line favouring small government , deregulation , privatisation , lower taxes and trade liberalisation . Major conservative regional newspapers include The Daily Telegraph , The West Australian , The Mercury , The Canberra Times , The Advertiser and The Courier-Mail . The primary conservative magazines in Australia are News Weekly , Quadrant and The Spectator Australia . On television,
623-569: A couple of thousand preference votes. The nationwide Family First Senate vote was 1.4% (up 0.3%). Elected to the 12th and final South Australian Senate spot , he was entitled to a three-year term. Due to the failure of his home construction business, Day resigned from the Senate on 1 November 2016 and a replacement was expected to be selected in the following two to three weeks. In April 2017, the High Court found that he had been invalidly elected to
712-404: A mainstream political player, beyond Family First's ultra-conservative evangelical Christian support base." The reports indicated that Fielding had tried to recruit Tim Costello and others around the beginning of 2008 with a view to forming a new party, but had failed to convince them. The revelations came after Fielding changed his position on abortion, after being rebuffed by his party for taking
801-576: A non-double dissolution election, the 12th and last spot in South Australia at this election came down to a race between Day and Labor's 4th candidate Anne McEwen . McEwen solidly led Day for the overwhelming majority of the count, until count 445 of a total 457. However, upon Edwards and then One Nation candidate Steven Burgess being eliminated at count 445 and 455 respectively, leaving only McEwen and Day remaining, Day had collected enough preferences to overtake and narrowly defeat McEwen − by just
890-405: A position at Hewlett-Packard , and later he moved into management at technology firms NEC and Siemens . Fielding returned to university to undertake a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Monash University , completing it in 1992. He later moved to Wellington , New Zealand, where he worked for Telecom New Zealand in "change management" during a difficult time for the industry, as it
979-549: A primary vote of only 1.88% (56,376 votes), he achieved the 14.3% quota required by a run of preferences including those from the Australian Labor Party . The typically apolitical psephologist Malcolm Mackerras stated "The outlandish result occurred in Victoria in 2004 where the Family First party was able to gather tickets from just about everywhere... this is a fluke. And I’ve always referred to Senator Steve Fielding as
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#17327728296241068-515: A process for selecting a replacement. He resigned on 1 November 2016 creating a vacancy in the senate. In April 2017 the high court ruled that he was invalidly elected in July 2016 and had been ineligible to sit in the senate since February 2016. The vacancy created by Day's resignation was filled by another Family First senate candidate, Lucy Gichuhi . Gichuhi was declared by the court of disputed returns on 13 April 2017 to be elected instead of Day, after
1157-491: A result of their relatively poor form in the 2007 election, Family First did not contest the 2008 Gippsland by-election , but in a later by-election for the seat of Mayo they won 11.40% of the vote but only ran fourth in the absence of a Labor candidate, a total that was only 4% above their vote in the 2007 general election. Family First did not stand a candidate in any of the 2008 Lyne , 2009 Bradfield or 2009 Higgins by-elections. The first election Family First contested
1246-578: A seat. Family First had three candidates elected to the Senate during its existence— Steve Fielding (2005–2011), Bob Day (2014–2016), and Lucy Gichuhi (2017; elected on a countback following Day being declared ineligible). At state level, the party won a seat in the South Australian Legislative Council across four consecutive state elections ( 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , and 2014 ). It also briefly had representatives in
1335-424: A significant political movement, conservatism is "a very recent arrival in Australia". John Howard , who became prime minister in 1996, was the first holder of the office to describe himself as a conservative." In the 21st century the term covers similar political issues as found in other Western democracies. In the early 20th century the liberals had connections with reform movements. However, as Howard has argued,
1424-407: A softer approach. Fielding gave conditional support to the mandatory ISP level filtering scheme. A spokesperson for Family First indicated that the party would want X18+ rated and refused classification (RC) content banned for everyone, including adults. Fielding's support for Internet censorship in Australia was not reported on his official website. In June 2010, during the Senate discussion on
1513-527: A softer approach. Fielding denied the claims. At the 2010 federal election , Family First contested the Senate in all states, but were not successful, with the national vote remaining at around 2%. Fielding's term ended on 30 June 2011, after which the Family First Party no longer had federal parliamentary representation. The Queensland Family First Senate candidate Wendy Francis created controversy when she compared allowing same-sex marriage to
1602-496: A special recount of South Australian senate votes. On 26 April 2017, a merger between the Australian Conservatives and the Family First Party was announced, with Family First to be absorbed into the Conservatives. Newly appointed Family First senator Lucy Gichuhi did not join the Conservatives, and became an independent senator when the Family First Party was disbanded. The party formally relinquished its registration with
1691-467: A standstill in the Melbourne CBD, when he and others took their shirts off in the style of the cab drivers who had successfully stripped for increased cab security, to demand $ 70- to $ 100-a-week rise in the pension. Fielding also dressed as a giant beer bottle to promote Family First's proposed policy to introduce a bottle return scheme . Fielding is a Christian and attends CityLife Church ,
1780-625: Is liberal conservatism . On economic issues, conservatives typically support lower taxes and less government spending. Unlike in the United States, mainstream Australian conservatives often support some liberal reforms, such as same-sex marriage (which was legalised by the Coalition government of Malcolm Turnbull ), while typically remaining conservative on other issues such as legalising recreational cannabis . Mainstream Australian conservatives also typically support Australia remaining
1869-787: Is a far-right anti-Muslim association that works closely with the Australian Liberty Alliance . Some of these may have connections to existing political leaders, such as Senator Cory Bernardi 's Conservative Leadership Foundation (which is dedicated to fostering community based conservative leadership) or explicitly reject party politics in favour of cultural restoration, such as the Sydney Traditionalist Forum and Edmund Burke's Club (which are described as "an association of 'old school' conservative, traditionalist and paleoconservative individuals"). In Australia however there are some differences in
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#17327728296241958-466: Is generally regarded as a conservative party, Fielding stated he would not be an automatic supporter of the then Coalition opposition in the Senate. On some issues which he saw as affecting the wellbeing of families, such as the WorkChoices industrial relations policies, he indicated disagreement with government policies. In February 2009, he told a Senate hearing that he believed divorce added to
2047-474: Is not a Christian party and Family First Federal Secretary Dr Matt Burnet issued a press release stating: The party is not a church party or an Assembly of God party, nor is it funded by AOG churches. It does see itself as socially conservative, with Family Values based on Christian ethics. Like any mainstream party we do not have on record the religious affiliations of any of our members. The Board of Reference in South Australia includes business-people, members of
2136-690: Is seen to be of the New Right . The Menzies Research Centre is an associated entity of the Liberal Party. The Samuel Griffith Society is a legal think tank that advocates constitutional conservatism, federalism and black letter law jurisprudence, and has reportedly been influential in recent Coalition appointments to administrative tribunals and the Judiciary. Apart from political parties, conservative grass-roots movements have also arisen in Australia in recent years. Q Society of Australia
2225-459: Is something we are both proud of and grateful for." The party agreed to share House of Representatives preferences with the Liberal – National Coalition at the 2004 election (with some exceptions discussed below). Family First picked up 1.76% of the vote nationally. Steve Fielding , the lead candidate in Victoria, was successful in picking up the last Senate seat. Although he received
2314-550: Is when the Liberal Party emerged, establishing itself as a big tent party of the right, taking influence from classical conservative thinker Edmund Burke . Mainstream political conservatism is primarily represented by the Liberal Party of Australia , and its coalition partner, the National Party , which historically was the party of the conservative small farmers and espoused agrarianism . The Liberal Party
2403-655: The 2002 state election , when former Assemblies of God pastor Andrew Evans became its first elected member, winning a seat in the South Australian Legislative Council . A second party member, pharmaceutical executive Dennis Hood , was elected to the Legislative Council at the 2006 state election . Robert Brokenshire replaced Evans following the latter's retirement in 2008. At the 2004 federal election , Family First contested seats all over Australia, generally exchanging preferences with Liberal candidates, although in some seats it exchanged preferences with
2492-416: The 2006 South Australian election , Family First's vote increased to 4.98% in the Legislative Council, and a second Member of the Legislative Council was elected – former pharmaceutical executive Dennis Hood . In several rural and outer metropolitan seats, Family First's vote approached 10% – and in the seat of Kavel , Tom Playford, a descendant of former premier Tom Playford , achieved a vote of 15.7%. In
2581-431: The 2006 Victorian state election , Family First's vote increased from 1.9% to 4.3% of first preferences. However, no candidates were elected. In the 2012 Queensland state election the party unsuccessfully contested 38 seats. In the 2017 Western Australian state election , Family First fielded 2 candidates in each of the six Legislative Council regions, and three candidates for Legislative Assembly seats. Voting for
2670-455: The 2010 federal election . His term ended on 30 June 2011. Fielding was born on 17 October 1960, in Melbourne , where he was raised in the suburb of Reservoir . His parents, Shirley and George Fielding, had a large family consisting of 16 children, and Fielding spent much of his childhood sharing a bedroom with five brothers in the family's three-bedroom home. His early education was at
2759-610: The Australian Electoral Commission on 30 August 2017. Psephologist Antony Green suggested the merger could in part be attributed to the abolition of group voting tickets , which makes it more difficult for like-minded parties to swap preferences without a certain amount of "leakage" to other parties. According to John Macaulay, an executive of the Australian Conservatives Board, and the dissolution document of Family First,
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2848-718: The Australian Greens were often at odds, with Family First often referring to the Greens as "extreme" in their media statements. The two parties were in competition for Senate preferences, particularly from the Labor Party , and were ideologically opposed on many issues. In the 2006 Victorian election, Family First's limited television advertising campaign specifically singled out the Greens for criticism. Conservatism in Australia Defunct [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Conservatism in Australia refers to
2937-652: The Australian Greens . Despite this, there are numerous Aboriginal activists, politicians and individuals affiliated with the political right. The most prominent Aboriginal Conservative was Neville Bonner who was the first Aboriginal Australian elected to federal Parliament. In the Northern Territory , the Country Liberal Party has had a fluctuating relationship with the state's Indigenous communities (even providing Australia's first Indigenous head of government, Adam Giles ) and holds several of
3026-433: The Australian Labor Party . In Queensland, the party refused to direct preferences to Liberal candidate Ingrid Tall on the grounds she was openly gay, also refusing to preference Liberal candidate Warren Entsch for his support for same-sex marriage. At that election, Steve Fielding was elected as a senator for Victoria for the party. Fielding, along with independent Nick Xenophon and the five Australian Greens , shared
3115-683: The Democratic Labor Party , One Nation Party , Liberal Democratic Party , Family First Party , Australian Christians , Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party , and Katter's Australian Party , although some would not champion the classical liberal approach to economics adopted by the Liberal Party. In the 45th Australian Senate , the Liberal Democratic Party's David Leyonhjelm , the Independent Cory Bernardi , Independent Fraser Anning and
3204-492: The Federal Parliament . Fielding's election was not expected – Family First had only been founded two years before the election, and it was not expected to succeed in its first federal election in Victoria. Like many senators, Fielding gained a quota under the Senate's proportional representation system by receiving preferences from other parties (see Australian electoral system ). The Australian Democrats and
3293-615: The Institute of Public Affairs advocates free market economic policies such as privatisation and deregulation of state-owned enterprises , trade liberalisation and deregulated workplaces, climate change scepticism , the abolition of the minimum wage, and the repeal of parts of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 . The H. R. Nicholls Society focuses on industrial relations , and advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and
3382-426: The Labor Party agreed to swap preferences with Family First, but Fielding benefited from the larger-than-expected surplus of Liberal preferences. He was able to stay in the count long enough to receive Democrat and Labor preferences, defeating Greens candidate David Risstrom for the last Senate place in Victoria. As a result, Fielding was elected although his party as a whole received just 56,376 votes (1.9%) for
3471-599: The Liberty and Democracy Party , a libertarian political party one of whose policies was to legalize recreational drug use, stating "They gave their preferences to the enemy, the anti-Christian party." This was suggested as a reason for their poor election result. Fred Nile's own Christian Democratic Party had also preferenced the Liberty and Democracy Party before any other major party in the Senate. In 2008, some newspapers claimed that Fielding wanted to "relaunch himself as
3560-560: The National senate candidate for Queensland, to publicly slam the party the day before the election, calling them "the lunatic Right", and stating that "these are not the sort of people you do preference deals with". Joyce's comments came in response to a pamphlet published by one of the party's Victorian Senate candidates, Danny Nalliah who in his capacity as a church pastor had criticised other religions and homosexuality. In September 2004, party leader Andrea Mason said that Family First
3649-745: The Navy (1969–1971), James Killen , was considered to be a Tory, or a "Tory Liberal", especially in his younger years. Unlike the various forms of conservatism across the world, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States , Australian conservatism has a short history. In the late 19th century, the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party were the two major parties in Australia. The Free Trade Party
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3738-659: The New South Wales Legislative Council and Western Australian Legislative Council , as a result of defections from other parties. The party was generally considered to be part of the Christian right . Though it had no formal affiliation with any particular religious organisation, Family First was strongly linked to the Pentecostal church in South Australia, and nationally from smaller Christian denominations. Family First in South Australia
3827-486: The balance of power in the Senate from July 2008 to July 2011. He lost his seat at the 2010 federal election . In June 2008, sitting MP and former Liberal Party member, Dan Sullivan , joined the Western Australian state branch of Family First as an executive member. When three former One Nation MPs attended the public launch of the branch, it fuelled media speculation that they might try to influence
3916-462: The "separation of the ceremonial and executive functions of government" and the presence of a neutral "defender of constitutional integrity" was an advantage in government and that no republican model would be as effective in providing such an outcome as the Australian constitutional monarchy . Despite opinion polls suggesting Australians favoured a republic, the 1999 republic referendum rejected
4005-480: The 1990s, the label "conservative" had rarely been used in Australia, and when used it tended to be used by pro-Labour forces as a term of disparagement against their opponents. Electorally, conservatism has been the most successful political brand in Australian history. Like other countries with a Westminster system of government (but unlike the United States ), the mainstream form of conservatism in Australia
4094-476: The Australian usage refers to free markets and small government ). Moser and Catley state, "In America, 'liberal' means left-of-center, and it is a pejorative term when used by conservatives in adversarial political debate. In Australia, of course, the conservatives are in the Liberal Party." Jupp points out that, "[the] decline in English influences on Australian reformism and radicalism, and appropriation of
4183-504: The Conservatives, and became an independent senator when Family First was disbanded. Gichuhi was invited to join the Australian Conservatives' voting bloc in the Senate, but ultimately chose to join the Liberal Party. Brokenshire was not re-elected at the 2018 state election , and Hood left the Conservatives to join the Liberal Party on 26 March 2018. The party was founded 2002 in South Australia , in time to contest
4272-534: The Fluke Senator". The party also came close to picking up other Senate seats in Tasmania (largely due to preferences from surplus Liberal votes) and in South Australia where the then party leader Andrea Mason narrowly missed out (polling 3.98% and receiving Liberal preferences). Family First contested the 2007 federal election , in particular seeking to increase its Senate representation. Nationwide,
4361-607: The Legislative Council Dennis Hood , the party's state parliamentary leader, is a member of the Rostrevor Baptist Church . When Sunday Mail columnist Peter Goers stated that Hood was an anti-evolution Creationist , Hood did not deny this in his response, while he did attempt to set the record straight on issues of policy. Family First's preferencing agreement with the Coalition in the 2004 federal election led Barnaby Joyce ,
4450-610: The Legislative Council uses group voting tickets . At the 2017 election, Family First participated with four other parties in a set of preference deals orchestrated by Glenn Druery . The other parties were Fluoride Free WA , Liberal Democrats , Flux the System and the Daylight Saving Party . The deals were arranged so that the ticket votes for these five parties would roll up to a different party in each region. The system collected votes so that Family First's best chance
4539-435: The Legislative Council, Family First shares the balance of power with the other minor parties and independents. In the 2006 Queensland state election, Family First received a primary vote of 7% in contested seats (many seats were not contested), with a high of 14.5% and several other seats posting results of 10%. Queensland does not have an upper house, and these results were insufficient for any candidates to be elected. In
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#17327728296244628-547: The Liberal Party became the trustee of both the classical liberal and conservative traditions. That is, it combines liberal (market-based, pro-business, anti-union) economic policies with conservative social policies. Although used much less than the term conservative, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison ( Liberal ) described himself as a traditionalist upon his ascent to party leader and appointment as Prime Minister (2018–2022). Similarly, former Liberal MP for Moreton (1955–1983) and Minister for Defence (1975–1982) and
4717-535: The Party did not merge with the Australian Conservatives. The Family First executive voted to dissolve the party, and in accordance with Australian law, they donated all their assets to the Australian Conservative Party. Although officially eschewing religious labels, many of its candidates and members were from conservative Christian backgrounds. Family First co-founder Pastor Andrew Evans
4806-465: The Senate at the 2016 election because the leasing arrangements for his electoral office had breached section 44 of the Constitution making him ineligible for the Senate, leading to a special recount of South Australian senate ballots to find a replacement. On 13 April 2017 Lucy Gichuhi was declared the new South Australian senator in place of Day, following a recount of ballots. Her appointment
4895-541: The Senate in Victoria. When first elected, the Howard government held a slim majority in the Senate, sufficient that Fielding would only hold the balance of power if one of the government senators chose to cross the floor . This changed after the 2007 federal election (the changes of which took effect in 2008), when the balance of power in the Senate shifted to a combination of Fielding, the five Australian Greens senators and independent Nick Xenophon . While Family First
4984-599: The South Australian Senate Family First vote was reduced to just 2.9% (down 0.9%), as the election was a double dissolution , the quota to be elected was halved. Day got to the 7.7% quota largely from Liberal preferences when the Liberal's 5th candidate Sean Edwards was eliminated from the count, largely due to the fact the Liberal how-to-vote card recommended Liberal voters to preference Family First. Electing only six Senators per state at
5073-652: The United Australia Party's Brian Burston formerly formed a "conservative bloc". Since the 2010s, an increasing number of prominent conservative members of the Liberal/National coalition have left the party, such as in 2017 with Senator Cory Bernardi and in 2022 with MP George Christensen . Some think tanks in Australia have a conservative focus. The Centre for Independent Studies , for example, focuses on classical liberal issues such as free markets and limited government , while
5162-603: The West Australian branch. During the 2009/10 financial year, party chairman Bob Day made two loans totalling $ 405,000 to Family First. After gaining 4% of the vote in several House of Representatives seats in the 2010 federal election , the party also received around $ 400,000 in Commonwealth election funding. Family First returned to the Australian Senate at the 2013 federal election , when Day
5251-451: The coalition to defeat the government's proposed changes to the youth allowance system. He said the changes were unfair to rural and regional students and that it would leave 26,000 students worse off. Fielding opposed the Rudd government's alcopops tax. He argued that taxing ready to drink alcohol beverages wouldn't put an end to binge drinking. He campaigned for the government to act against
5340-525: The date of Australia Day , describing the proposal as " virtue-signaling ". Kerrynne Liddle is a former journalist and Arrernte woman originally from Alice Springs. At the 2022 she was elected as a Liberal Senator for South Australia . Originally a member of Labor, former Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC) member Warren Mundine has since shifted toward the political right. Mundine has criticised what he describes as efforts to introduce " critical race theory " in Australian schools, arguing it promotes
5429-723: The defeat of the Howard government's proposed tightening of asylum seeker laws. In mid-2009, Fielding flew to the US on a self-funded trip to discover more about climate change. He came back unconvinced that man-made carbon dioxide emissions were the main driver of climate change. He subsequently voted against the Rudd government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Fielding also attended the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009. In 2009 Fielding teamed up with
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#17327728296245518-526: The executive, determine party policy and ratify candidate pre-selection. A National Conference occurred every two years, with delegates from state party licensees. Federal and State branches held Annual General Meetings that were open to all members. David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democratic Party and Day announced their intention to vote as a bloc in the Senate on economic issues, but separately on social issues. Family First and
5607-586: The impact of global warming because it resulted in people switching to a "resource-inefficient lifestyle". With some backbenchers being willing to cross the floor , Fielding's vote was important on some of the Howard government's more controversial legislation. His vote ensured the passage of Voluntary student unionism , the overturning of civil unions legislation in the Australian Capital Territory , and changes to media ownership laws. Conversely, his intention to vote "no" ensured
5696-723: The interests of farmers. After the 1922 federal election , which produced a hung parliament, the Country Party and the Nationalist Party (the successor to the Commonwealth Liberal Party) formed a conservative coalition . The Nationalist Party later became the United Australia Party in 1931. After the United Australia Party collapsed in 1945, conservative forces within Australia were in disarray and were seen as irrelevant. This
5785-621: The local Keon Park Primary School, He later attended the nearby Merrilands High School . Academically, Fielding suffered setbacks through an undiagnosed case of dyslexia , and this led to problems studying subjects such as English. Nevertheless, he excelled in mathematics, and his high marks in this subject allowed him to graduate with sufficiently high scores to gain entry into the Bachelor of Engineering degree at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), where he studied electronic engineering . Upon graduating in 1983, Fielding accepted
5874-518: The luxury car tax was defeated in the Senate on 4 September 2008, with Fielding joining the coalition in blocking the budget legislation. It was passed after Fielding negotiated exemptions for farmers and tourism operators. In early 2008, Fielding reportedly considered breaking away from Family First to establish a new political party, inviting Tim Costello and other "big names" to join him. The revelations came after Fielding changed his position on abortion, after being rebuffed by his party for taking
5963-484: The medical profession, as well as ministers and people from Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Uniting and other church groups. The rapid national growth of the party leading into this election and the late decision to contest in all seats possible, has meant that in some states there are candidates, with strong family values, who have been introduced to the party through the personal relationships they have from their involvement in community/church networks. A 60-minute documentary
6052-410: The model proposed by the 1998 convention involving appointment of the head of state by Parliament. Conservatives generally support keeping the current flag (with its British insignia) and are proud of the nation's British heritage. Traditionally, Aboriginal Australians in cities have been known to predominantly vote for parties of the political left, such as the Australian Labor Party or
6141-528: The party received 1.62% of the primary vote in the Senate, and 1.99% in the House of Representatives, both down slightly on the 2004 result. In Victoria, however, both the lower and upper house vote increased by 0.64%, to 2.52 and 3.02% respectively. No Family First candidates were elected. Sitting senator Steve Fielding's term did not expire until 2011. Before the 2007 federal election, Fred Nile criticized Family First for giving preferences (in some states) to
6230-548: The party system this way. This was welcomed by politicians who were influenced by the Westminster tradition and who regarded a two-party system as the norm. In 1909, the two parties merged to form the Commonwealth Liberal Party to more effectively oppose the new Labor Party . In 1920, the Country Party (now known as the National Party ) was formed as an agrarian conservative party representing
6319-537: The political landscape in which conservatism exists, compared to what is found in other countries, especially in economics. Australia undertook in the mid-1980s significant economic reforms – faith in markets, deregulation, a reduced role for government, low protection and the creation of a new cooperative enterprise culture – under the centre-left Australian Labor Party and especially under social liberal Paul Keating ." Two national newspapers in Australia, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review , take
6408-518: The political philosophy of conservatism as it has developed in Australia. Politics in Australia has, since at least the 1910s, been most predominantly a contest between the Australian labour movement (primarily the Australian Labor Party ) and the combined forces of anti-Labour groups (primarily the Liberal - National Coalition ). The anti-Labour groups have at times identified themselves as " free trade ", " nationalist ", " anti-communist ", "liberal", and " right of centre ", among other labels; until
6497-458: The practice. Following the global financial crisis the Rudd government passed an economic stimulus package with the help of Family First. As part of the deal Fielding secured a $ 200 million jobs fund called 'Get Communities Working'. At the end of his campaign in support of the Howard government's Voluntary Student Unionism legislation, which was passed, the walls of Fielding's office were vandalised with pro-union graffiti. An increase to
6586-527: The proposed Paid Parental Leave Scheme , Fielding suggested "some women may rort the scheme by deliberately falling pregnant and then having a late-term abortion". He was subsequently criticised by all sides of Australian politics for these comments. Fielding introduced the following legislation into Parliament: Fielding's use of publicity stunts was commented on by The Sydney Morning Herald . in May 2008, he joined protesting pensioners, who brought traffic to
6675-933: The stolen generations and to "legalising child abuse". Bob Day ran as a Family First Party South Australia Senate candidate at the 2013 federal election and was successful. The South Australian Senate Family First vote was 3.8% (down 0.3%), getting to the 14.3% quota through Glenn Druery 's Minor Party Alliance from 19 group voting ticket party preferences: Australian Independents Party , Australian Stable Population Party , Liberal Democratic Party , Smokers' Rights Party , No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics , Building Australia Party , Rise Up Australia Party , Katter's Australian Party , One Nation , Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party , Australian Christians , Shooters and Fishers , Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party , Democratic Labour Party , Animal Justice Party , Australian Greens , Palmer United Party , HEMP Party , Australian Labor Party . The nationwide Family First Senate vote
6764-488: The symbols of Empire by conservatives continued under the Liberal Party leadership of Sir Robert Menzies , which lasted until 1966." Beecher comments that, "across the economic and cultural landscape, Howard proved that the centre of politics in Australia is inherently conservative." There are also other minor parties which may be perceived to be conservative in orientation on account of some of their policies - and even some are regarded as right wing or extreme right, such as
6853-631: The territory's electorates with large Aboriginal populations. Jacinta Price is a well-known conservative activist of Warlpiri descent who was elected to the Senate for the Country Liberal Party representing Northern Territory in 2022 . Price has argued against claims of systemic racism against Aboriginals in the criminal justice system, instead arguing that " black-on-black violence " is most pressing in Aboriginal communities. Unlike many Aboriginal activists, Price opposes changing
6942-415: Was 1.1% (down 1.0%). Day assumed his seat on 1 July 2014. As Family First's sole incumbent, Bob Day was unexpectedly successful at the 2016 federal election , despite having unsuccessfully mounted a High Court challenge against newly implemented Senate voting reforms which included the removal of group voting tickets , a feature which was crucial to the election of Day at the previous election. Though
7031-530: Was challenged by the Australian Labor Party but the High Court rejected the challenge as to whether she has renounced her Kenyan citizenship or retained a dual Kenyan and Australian citizenship. Following the resignation of Mark Latham and their acquisition of a Senate seat in 2004, Family First contested the 2005 Werriwa by-election and in the absence of a Liberal candidate received 2,890 first preference votes. They had not contested Werriwa in 2004. As
7120-400: Was elected as a senator for South Australia. He was re-elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election . A few months later, his family-owned building company, Home Australia Group, ran into financial difficulties and was wound up. Day announced immediately that he would resign from the senate as a consequence, however he did not resign immediately, allowing time for the party to develop
7209-399: Was formed in 1944 as a successor of the United Australia Party , which had been formed in 1931 as a successor of the Nationalist Party and ideologically similar parties that preceded it. The Liberal Party's ideology has been described as conservative, liberal-conservative , conservative-liberal , and classical liberal . The Liberal Party tends to promote economic liberalism (which in
7298-643: Was generally more conservative while the Protectionist Party was generally more liberal (though both parties contained liberal and conservative factions). When the Australian labour movement emerged, both parties began attempting to form a united alliance against it. George Reid , the leader of the Free Trade Party between 1901 and 1905, and Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, imagined an Australian political spectrum that ran from socialist to anti-socialist, and attempted to reframe
7387-483: Was in the North Metropolitan region . However, the party did not gain any seats at the election. The party has benefited from a series of high-profile defections. Family First was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and managed by an executive committee comprising the board of directors. Decision making was tightly held within the executive group, including the capacity to elect new members to
7476-507: Was made for the ABC-TV Compass program in 2005 and called "Family First – A Federal Crusade". It was produced by Dr Bruce Redman from The University of Queensland. By August 2010, the party maintained its non-denominational stance and affirmed its affinity towards Christianity in stating "Family First in 2010 is independent of any church or denomination...like so many other Australian institutions, at Family First our Christian heritage
7565-461: Was the 2002 South Australian state election . Dr Andrew Evans received a primary vote of 4.02% which, along with preferences from other parties, was sufficient to obtain the 8.3% quota and get elected to one of the 11 seats in the South Australian Legislative Council . In the 2005 Western Australian election , Family First polled 21,701 votes in the Legislative Council where it contested 34 candidates compared to 57 candidates in major parties. In
7654-668: Was the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Australia for twenty years. In the 2002 South Australian election and the 2004 federal election , a number of Family First candidates were church members. In New South Wales , 11 of their 23 candidates for the 2004 federal election were from an Assemblies of God church, the Hawkesbury Church in Windsor . South Australian Family First Member of
7743-634: Was undergoing deregulation . He returned to Australia three years later, in 1995, and worked for United Energy , the Australian Yellow Pages and as a marketing manager at Vision Super . Fielding entered politics in 2003 when he successfully stood as an independent candidate for the Knox City Council . He has described the decision to stand as "very last-minute", but others, such as then-Knox mayor Jenny Moore and then- Victorian Labor MP Peter Lockwood said Fielding
7832-417: Was very open about his intent to move into federal politics. Both Lockwood and Labor MP Bob Stensholt described how Fielding later made inquiries about the possibility of running for one of the major parties, before eventually joining Family First in 2004. Fielding was elected to represent Victoria in the Senate at the 2004 federal election . He was the first representative of Family First to be elected to
7921-620: Was viewed as an infusion of ex- Liberals via Robert Brokenshire and Day. Originally advocating a moral and family values agenda, Day, who would become Family First's major donor, later reoriented Family First to begin to emphasise issues such as industrial relations reform, free speech and smaller government, which brought Family First closer to Cory Bernardi 's Australian Conservatives . Family First and its two state parliamentarians Dennis Hood and Brokenshire joined and merged with Bernardi's Australian Conservatives on 25 April 2017. Newly appointed Family First senator Lucy Gichuhi did not join
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