103-871: Centre Alliance ( CA ), formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team ( NXT ), is a centrist Australian political party based in the state of South Australia . It currently has one elected representative, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Representatives . Since its founding in July 2013, the party has twice changed names. At the time of the 2016 federal election , it was known as the Nick Xenophon Team. After Nick Xenophon founded SA-BEST , an affiliated state-based party, NXT sought to change its name to SA-BEST (Federal) . However, prior to Australian Electoral Commission approval, Xenophon left politics, and
206-606: A Divisional Returning Officer responsible for administration of elections within the division. Each state also has an Australian Electoral Officer responsible for the administration of Senate elections. The AEC has a National Office in Canberra and an office in each state and territory: Adelaide , Brisbane , Darwin , Hobart , Melbourne , Perth , and Sydney . The AEC's main role is to conduct federal elections , by-elections and referendums , maintain up-to-date electoral rolls , and administer redistributions undertaken by
309-578: A fee for registration: $ 500 for the Commonwealth, Victoria and the Northern Territory ; and $ 2,000 for New South Wales. Since 1984, Australian political parties have been publicly funded by the AEC. The objective of public funding is to reduce the influence of private money upon elections, and consequently, the influence of private money upon the shaping of public policy. After each election,
412-623: A former South Australian Liberal leader who had left the Liberal party, and at the time was an independent and part of the state Labor cabinet , declared his support for the NXT candidate Rebekha Sharkie in Mayo for the upcoming federal election . He said "I think Rebekha's a good candidate for Mayo, I live in Mayo so I want a candidate that's going to stick up for SA and the local district and I think she's
515-566: A grey face" led by John Major , and the anti-neoliberalism of Mexican president Vicente Fox . The centre-left adopted Third Way policies, emphasising that it was neither left nor right but pragmatic . This adopted ideas popular among the centre-right, including balanced budgets and low taxes. Among these movements were British New Labour led by Tony Blair . Social democratic parties became more accepting of supply-side economics , austerity policies, and reduction of welfare programs. Some authoritarian powers, such as China and Russia, resisted
618-728: A larger middle class. Following the pink tide that saw several left-wing politicians take office, those in democratic nations adopted relatively moderate policies, including Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Mauricio Funes in El Salvador, and Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica in Uruguay. These nations implemented the Washington Consensus , which mixed deregulation and privatisation with
721-449: A party's ideological stance. Conversely, some centrist parties will only be challenged from one direction instead of facing both left-wing and right-wing challengers, preventing it from taking its typical location in the middle of a party system. What constitutes the middle of a political system is unique to each nation, while ideological centrism is a political stance that exists internationally. Coalition building typically occurs around
824-487: A plurality in most European countries. Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission ( AEC ) is the independent statutory authority and agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management of federal Australian elections , by-elections and referendums. The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902 set up the framework for the Commonwealth electoral system, which
927-496: A political system designed to encourage centrism in an ethnically divided nation as it transitioned away from colonial rule in 1965. Each voter was to vote for four candidates, each for a distinct ethnic group. This failed to produce a centrist government, as in effect it solidified the ethnic division in government. As post-colonial party systems developed in the Middle East, the influence of one-party states varied. Parties like
1030-569: A political system, opposing the right's adherence to the status quo and the left's support for radical change. Support for a middle class is a defining trait of centrism, holding that it is preferable to reactionary or revolutionary politics. In contemporary politics, centrists generally support a liberal welfare state . Centrist coalitions are associated with larger welfare programs, but they are generally less inclusive than those organised under social democratic governments. Centrists may support some redistributive policies , but they oppose
1133-515: A result where Kingston ended up as the only South Australian seat to record an increase to a major party primary vote. Kingston also recorded the highest major party primary vote of just 49 percent. In NXT's presence, no party won a majority of the primary vote in any of the eleven seats. NXT's lower house primary vote was highest in Mayo (34.9%) and lowest in Adelaide (12.9%). While Mayo has always polled strongest for minor parties, Adelaide's result
SECTION 10
#17327719216601236-743: A retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia ), the Electoral Commissioner, and a non-judicial member (usually the Australian Statistician ). The Electoral Commissioner has the powers of a secretary of a department under the Public Service Act 1999 and Financial Management and Accountability Act 1998 . The chairperson and the third, non-judicial member both hold their offices on a part-time basis. Each House of Representatives electorate has
1339-467: A set of moderate political beliefs between left-wing politics and right-wing politics . Individuals who describe themselves as centrist may hold strong beliefs that align with moderate politics, or they may identify as centrist because they do not hold particularly strong left-wing or right-wing beliefs. In some cases, individuals who simultaneously hold strong left-wing beliefs and strong right-wing beliefs may also describe themselves as centrist. Although
1442-412: A side, causing political instability . Maurice Duverger argued that politics naturally drifts away from the centre into a two-party system and that a centrist party is an unnatural combination of the centre-left and centre-right. Giovanni Sartori argued that centrism is the default in a political system, but that the existence of a centrist party prevents the left and the right from moving toward
1545-483: A three-year term; while Rebekha Sharkie won the lower house seat of Mayo . Xenophon resigned from the Senate in 2017 and was replaced by Rex Patrick . Kakoschke-Moore resigned from the Senate in 2017 and was replaced by Tim Storer , although Storer had resigned from the party at that stage, so sat as an independent. Skye Kakoschke-Moore was announced as the lead Senate candidate for the 2019 election. Rebekha Sharkie
1648-438: Is a form of centrism defined by its rejection of the left–right dichotomy or of ideology in general. Liberal scepticism and neo-republicanism can both be elements of radical centrism. Third Way politics is a radical centrist approach taken by centre-left parties to find a middle ground between capitalism and socialism . Though populism is commonly associated with strong left-wing or right-wing beliefs, centrist populism
1751-555: Is also a former member of the Liberal Party and formerly worked as a researcher and staffer for Liberal party figures from 2006. At the 2016 Federal Election Rebekha Sharkie won the lower house seat of Mayo, previously a safe Liberal seat. Sharkie's win delivered the party's first and only seat in the House of Representatives. Centre Alliance claims to support Australian industry, often citing economic nationalism on matters before
1854-427: Is also responsible for registering political parties intending to field candidates at federal elections, monitoring the activities of those political parties, including receiving returns from parties of donations and expenditures, and the publication of the information. The AEC also plays an electoral education role, aiming to educate citizens about the electoral process by which representatives are elected, and by which
1957-481: Is an offence to fail to vote without valid or sufficient reason, at any federal or state election, and may be punishable by a nominal monetary penalty. The amount varies between federal and state jurisdictions. Usually, people are issued with warnings when it is found they have not voted, and are given an opportunity to show cause. Acceptable reasons for not voting may include being illness, being overseas on election day, religious belief, being incarcerated, etc. "I forgot"
2060-417: Is commonly associated with liberalism , radical centrism , and agrarianism . Those who identify as centrist support gradual political change, often through a welfare state with moderate redistributive policies . Though its placement is widely accepted in political science , radical groups that oppose centrist ideologies may sometimes describe them as leftist or rightist. Centrist parties typically hold
2163-603: Is commonly associated with the political centre. Both left-leaning and right-leaning variants of liberalism may be grouped within a broader understanding of centrism. In Europe, left-leaning liberalism emphasises social liberalism and is more common in nations with strong conservative movements, while right-leaning liberalism emphasises economic liberalism and is more common in nations with strong Christian democratic movements. Social liberalism combines centrist economic positions with progressive stances on social and cultural issues. Left-leaning liberalism generally sits closer to
SECTION 20
#17327719216602266-469: Is critical of the political system independently of social, economic, and cultural issues. Centrist populist parties often do not have a strong ideological component, instead making anti-establishment politics the core of their message to capitalise on voter dissatisfaction and receive protest votes . These parties are most common in Central and Eastern Europe. Centrism advocates gradual change within
2369-712: Is in contrast to 2007 where the Xenophon Senate ticket polled better in Adelaide than in most other seats. NXT candidates in Barker and Grey both placed second to the Liberal incumbents and placed second in Port Adelaide to the Labor incumbent. NXT's South Australian lower house vote was 21.3 percent. NXT did not poll as highly in other states. The overall nationwide NXT primary vote was 3.3 percent (456,369 votes) in
2472-633: Is not considered acceptable. Section 245 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act provides that if an elector has been asked the reason for failing to vote and declares a religious belief, this statement shall be regarded as conclusive with no further action being taken. Traditionally, voters could not register after the Close of Roll for an election. In 2004, the Howard government passed legislation that prevented registration after 8 pm on
2575-475: Is required before a party can field candidates , receive public funding , have party identification on ballot papers and use above-the-line voting in Senate elections. In all jurisdictions, conditions relating to a party name require party names to have a maximum of six words, not be obscene and not to resemble the name of another, unrelated party, be likely to cause confusion with another party nor contain
2678-403: Is the maintenance of the electoral roll , which in some other countries are called electoral registers. In Australia the process of getting onto the electoral roll is called "enrolment". The AEC maintains Australia's federal electoral roll, which is used for federal elections, by-elections and referendums. Australia has maintained a permanent federal electoral roll since 1908 and, by amendment to
2781-467: Is typically a junior partner that has little ability to enact its own policy goals. Party systems with a strong centrist element are associated with lower interparty conflict. The overall effect of centrist parties on a political system is a subject of debate in political science, and it is not always clear whether they encourage or discourage political polarisation, or whether they benefit or suffer from it. One unanswered question in political philosophy
2884-412: Is whether centrist parties create centripetal or centrifugal party systems. When centrist parties exert a centripetal force on other parties, it causes left-wing and right-wing parties to move closer to the centre and creates political stability . Alternatively, they may exert a centrifugal force in which left-wing and right-wing parties move away from the centre to pressure the centrist party into choosing
2987-554: The Sydney Morning Herald argued that NXT's debut national election had been undermined by the rise of Turnbull . However, polling conducted after the change of Prime Minister indicated NXT support had only fallen by 0.2% in votes for the lower house, while support rose by 4% in the Senate. Multiple seat-level opinion polls in the South Australian rural Liberal seats of Mayo , Grey and Barker during
3090-479: The 2016 election campaign found NXT leading the Liberals on the two-candidate vote in all three seats. ABC psephologist Antony Green indicated NXT had a "strong chance of winning lower house seats and three or four Senate seats". Centre Alliance has attracted strong criticism from the Liberal Party. In 2015, soon after becoming Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull intimated that NXT would struggle to overcome
3193-451: The 2016 federal election was called "exhaustive", with senate candidate for South Australia and campaign manager Stirling Griff being largely responsible. In a later article, however, Richardson called it "a two-man team" of selectors (Griff and Xenophon). According to Griff, NXT aimed to field candidates that had "real life experience" as opposed to "celebrities [...] academics [...] [or] political groupies". These comments were reflected in
Centre Alliance - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-716: The Arab Socialist Union in Egypt and the General People's Congress in Yemen acted as restraints on political elites to keep them from deviating from the political centre. Anwar Sadat became president of Egypt, and in 1976 he split the ruling Arab Socialist Union into three parties based on its left, centre, and right factions. Rule was maintained through what became the centrist National Democratic Party , effectively controlling Egyptian politics and marginalising
3399-706: The Australian 2016 federal election for the upper house with two candidates in each of the six states, a candidate in all eleven lower house seats in South Australia, and additionally a candidate in seven lower house seats in three other states – Calare , Lindsay , Macarthur and Warringah in New South Wales, Groom and Moreton in Queensland, and Higgins in Victoria. As the election
3502-579: The Australian Constitution is changed ( referendums ). It also plays a role in industrial voting and protected action ballots (e.g., votes on industrial action ). The rules for federal elections are contained in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 , while the rules for referendums are contained in the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 . The AEC is required to maintain a register of political parties . Such registration
3605-728: The Australian Intelligence Community , action on climate change , support for military veterans, affordable tax cuts, Australian-made manufacturing (including defence-industry spending), and legalising euthanasia . Nick Xenophon ran for election as an independent candidate in Australia under a " No Pokies " ticket that ran in South Australian state elections from 1997 to 2006. He was elected in 1997 and 2006. The 2013 Australian federal election saw independent "Nick Xenophon Group", with Xenophon as
3708-557: The Australian Labor Party , which was the opposition party to the governing Liberal Party of Australia . A February poll for the next South Australian Election indicated a similar amount of support (20.5%), but with NXT third behind Labor. ABC election analyst Antony Green believes that NXT could attract some 10-12% of the vote in the eastern states. Griff believes that a double dissolution election could see as many as six NXT senators elected. A 15 January 2016 article in
3811-521: The Coalition total of $ 27.2 million, while the Labor Party received $ 20.8 million. Other significant recipients were Australian Greens with $ 5.5 million, Palmer United Party with $ 2.3 million, and Liberal Democratic Party with $ 1.0 million. In 2016, $ 62.7 million was distributed, with the funding rate being 262.784 cents per vote. One of the functions of the AEC
3914-672: The Colorado Party of Uruguay. Christian democracy, usually a conservative movement, serves a similar role in Latin America as its opposition to more rightward politics moves it toward a centrist or centre-left position. Some political parties label themselves as centrist but do not hold centrist positions. These are typically more right-wing parties such as the centre-right Union of the Democratic Centre in Spain and
4017-547: The dissolution of the Soviet Union as it spread through Europe and the Americas, but it declined in favour of populism after the 2007–2008 financial crisis . As with all ideological groups, the exact boundaries of what constitutes centrism are not perfectly defined, but its specific placement on the left–right political spectrum makes its position clearer relative to other ideologies. Centrism most commonly refers to
4120-419: The 1950s and 1960s, this declined to approximately 15% by 2020. Centrist dictatorships rarely occur. Most political party systems lean toward the centre, where centre-left and centre-right parties compromise with centrist parties. Centrist parties are typically found in the middle of a party system, leading to mixed use of the term centre to refer to centrist parties and to this middle position regardless of
4223-496: The 1960s as polarisation grew and radical parties developed. Industrialisation reduced the appeal of agrarianism in the post-war era. The Agrarian Parties of Sweden , Norway , and Finland changed their names to the Centre Party in 1958, 1959, and 1965, respectively. This left Denmark as the only nation with a major self-proclaimed Agrarian Party , but it also described itself as liberal beginning in 1963. Fiji implemented
Centre Alliance - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-478: The 1960s. Taiwan's political system, already inclined toward centrism, saw its two major parties move closer to the centrism in the late 1990s as newer parties developed on either side. After a long period of strong left-wing and right-wing movements, Latin American nations trended toward centrism in the 2000s. This came about as the nations' economies strengthened and the reduction of wealth inequality created
4429-417: The 19th century, but it did so less than its primary advocates, and it rejected the related concept of social Darwinism . Instead of the idea that non-white races could not achieve European-style civilisation, centrist liberals believed that they could but it would take them longer to do so. Centrist liberalism was one of the two major global ideological groups at the beginning of the 20th century, where it
4532-482: The 19th century. As research universities became more common, advocacy for centrist reform was taken up by academics. Instead of engaging in direct activism, they considered social issues and presented their conclusions as objective science. Other ideological groups did not have success in this endeavour, as taking strong partisan stances risked one's reputation. Centrist liberals in Europe accepted scientific racism in
4635-619: The 2016 federal election, with Xenophon citing the government's ambiguity on the Collins class submarine replacement project as motivation. NXT fielded two senate candidates in every state, with four in South Australia. It fielded candidates in all eleven of the South Australian House of Representatives seats, along with Calare , Lindsay , Macarthur and Warringah in New South Wales, Groom and Moreton in Queensland and Higgins in Victoria. In June 2014, polling in
4738-403: The AEC distributes a set amount of money to each political party, per vote received. A candidate or Senate group needs 4% of the primary vote to be eligible for public funding. After the 2013 election , political parties and candidates received $ 58.1 million in election funding, with the funding rate being 248.800 cents per vote. The Liberal Party received $ 23.9 million, as part of
4841-651: The AEC’s running of the Commission's work, the highest trust rating of any government authority. The AEC is accountable to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Parliament of Australia , and must report on how elections were carried out and the success of elections in general. As specified under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 , the AEC consists of a chairperson (a judge or
4944-503: The Australian Electoral Commission investigate questionable loans given to Xenophon by businessman Ian Melrose. In the presence of NXT candidates in all eleven South Australian seats, both major parties recorded a suppressed primary vote, resulting in a reduction of the major party primary vote in all but one South Australian seat. Though Labor picked up a two-party swing in all eleven, NXT's presence produced
5047-584: The Christian Democrats expressed centrist positions but were the rightmost of Italy's major parties and took on a more conservative role. Turkey developed a two-party system with two centrist parties in the 1950s. The parties were instead motivated by demographics: the Republican People's Party was supported by urban voters and the military while Democrat Party was the party of rural voters and businessmen. This system fell apart by
5150-572: The Commission’s counting process was “rigged”, on the basis that the AEC would count ticks as "yes" votes but would not count crosses as "no" votes. Dutton’s comments were criticised as undermining faith in Australia’s electoral system and of echoing Trumpian misinformation regarding election integrity. Later in 2023, the Commission topped an annual Commonwealth government trust survey, with 87 per cent of respondents indicating some level of trust in
5253-533: The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and is currently known as the Australian Electoral Commission. After the loss of 1,400 ballots during the recount for the 2013 Western Australia Senate election and the subsequent 2014 special election , the AEC came under significant scrutiny, leading to the resignation of Commissioner Ed Killesteyn. During the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum , Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claimed that
SECTION 50
#17327719216605356-578: The Commonwealth Electoral Act, enrolment has been compulsory for federal elections since 1924. Though each state and territory also has its own electoral commission or office, voters need to register only with the AEC, which shares the registration details with the relevant state electoral bodies. The federal roll also forms the basis of state (except in Victoria and Western Australia, which maintain their own roll) and local electoral rolls. AEC registration covers federal, state and local election voter enrolment. In Australia and in each state or territory, it
5459-592: The Electoral Commission announced that the application had been withdrawn. Party supporters were advised on 10 April that a new application had been lodged to change the name to Centre Alliance . The application to change the name and logo was advertised for objection by the Australian Electoral Commission on 7 May 2018. Xenophon himself ceased to be directly involved with the party. The name and logo change were registered by
5562-572: The Parliament: "When it comes to Australian made, successive governments have abandoned Australian industries and jobs by failing to stand up for Australian farming and manufacturing." It states that better outcomes can be achieved by requiring Australian governments to buy Australian goods and services, which may amount to A$ 60 billion a year. It supports introducing labelling laws to provide customers with information on ingredients and their country of origin. In October 2020, Centre Alliance supported
5665-409: The Senate and 1.9 percent (250,333 votes) in the House. Though NXT's South Australian Senate primary vote was reduced to 21.7 percent (–3.1 from 2013), the reduced Senate quota allowed more candidates to be successful. In the end, three NXT senators and one lower house MP were elected. In the senate, Xenophon and Stirling Griff were elected to six-year terms, and Skye Kakoschke-Moore was elected for
5768-633: The Senate with the party in 2016, left the party in August 2020. He ran as the lead candidate of the Rex Patrick Team , but failed to win re-election. Centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum . It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policies and people who are not strongly aligned with left-wing or right-wing policies. Centrism
5871-484: The capture of specific voters instead of the general population. The popularity of centrism in the Western World is contradicted by the relative electoral weakness of centrist parties. One possible explanation for the paradox is that centrists may be perceived as lacking the leadership or capability demonstrated by leaders of other ideologies. Another is that centrists are unable to increase their vote share because
5974-501: The centre and encourages polarisation. Anthony Downs proposed a model in which a centrist party emerges after the left-wing and right-wing parties diverge from a centrist-leaning public. Hans Daalder [ nl ] rejected the concept of a singular political centre entirely. When parties become more extreme, disaffected moderates may be enticed to join centrist parties when they would otherwise have been unwilling to join an opposing party. More broadly, polarisation can lead to
6077-601: The centre in the 1990s and 2000s. The centre-right, previously dominated by neoliberalism , became more accepting of the welfare state, and it showed more support for combatting poverty and inequality. This included the "kinder, gentler America" championed by George H. W. Bush in the United States, Die Neue Mitte ( transl. The New Centre ) of Gerhard Schröder in Germany, the British " Thatcherism with
6180-404: The centre is challenged by parties that seek to undermine the legitimacy of the political system. These parties come from both the left and the right and have different positions on how the government should function, which prevents them from unifying against the centre, giving the centre an opportunity to retain power. According to the median voter theorem , parties are incentivised to move toward
6283-444: The centre than right-leaning liberalism. Parties associated with social democracy and green politics commonly adopt the liberal position on social issues. Green parties , usually associated with left-wing politics, have a history of centrist economic policies in Central and Eastern Europe. Christian democracy , often considered a centre-right ideology, is sometimes grouped with the centre. Agrarianism may also be grouped with
SECTION 60
#17327719216606386-542: The centre when it maintained an element of working class revolution. Empires were forced to maintain the political centre, avoiding reactionary or revolutionary politics that could have affected their stability. Centrist liberalism was slower to develop outside of the great powers of Western Europe. By the 1830s, conservatism and radicalism in Western Europe began a shift toward moderation as they accepted ideas associated with centrist liberalism. The United Kingdom
6489-488: The centre, depending on how they seek votes. Some populist parties take centrist positions, basing their political position on opposition to the government instead of left-wing or right-wing populism . Centrism developed with the left–right political spectrum during the French Revolution , when assemblymen associated with neither the radicals nor the reactionaries sat between the two groups. Liberalism became
6592-697: The centre-right to form a rightward flank. Centrist liberalism has only a minor presence in the Middle East, where it is overshadowed by leftism and Islamism . More developed countries in Latin America often have prominent centrist parties supported by the middle class. These have historically included the Radical Civic Union of Argentina, the Brazilian Democratic Movement , the Radical Party of Chile , and
6695-457: The centre. Agrarian parties are associated with the interests of farmers and other people associated with agriculture . Decentralization and environmental protection are also major agrarian ideals. These parties often developed in European countries where there was not a strong liberal movement, and vice versa, but they became less relevant by the mid-20th century. Radical centrism
6798-543: The composition of NXT candidates for the election, with one third of them coming from a small business, grassroots background. Xenophon confirmed in December 2014 that by mid-2015 Nick Xenophon Team would announce candidates in the South Australian Liberal seats of Sturt , Hindmarsh and Mayo , along with seats in all states and territories, and preference against the government in the upper house, at
6901-510: The day the writs were issued. This can be up to 10 days after the election has been announced. The legislation was considered controversial by some Australians, who contended it disenfranchised first-time voters, or those who forgot to update their enrolment. The law was repealed prior to the 2010 federal election , when advocacy group GetUp! obtained a High Court ruling the changes unconstitutional. 16 and 17 year olds can provisionally enrol and able to vote when they turn 18. Prior to
7004-579: The deficiencies of its leader, adding "Nick’s track record to date is that when he last ran with a running mate, he and Ann Bressington split up". Education Minister Simon Birmingham attacked NXT candidate for the seat of Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie , for seeking the support of a farming group who had previously supported One Nation founder Pauline Hanson . Xenophon rejected these claims as the group in question had not endorsed One Nation, but merely spoke "at an event". In 2016, Martin Hamilton-Smith ,
7107-492: The dominant centrist ideology in the 18th century with its support for anti-clericalism and individual rights , challenging both conservatism and socialism . Agrarianism briefly existed as a major European centrist movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The eugenics associated with the Holocaust caused centrists to abandon scientific racism in favour of anti-racism . Centrism became more influential after
7210-408: The electoral commission on 8 June 2018. In August 2020, Senator Rex Patrick left the party, and went on to form the Rex Patrick Team . Centre Alliance is generally perceived as a centrist party. Some prominent party members are former Liberal Party members or staffers. Senator Rex Patrick was a staffer for Liberal Senator David Johnston before joining the party. Federal MP Rebekha Sharkie
7313-534: The far-right Centre Party in the Netherlands. Relative to left-wing and right-wing parties, centrist parties are infrequently studied in political science. Centrism is part of the left–right political spectrum that developed during the French Revolution . When the National Assembly was organised, reactionary conservatives coalesced in the seats to the speaker's right, while the radicals sat on
7416-568: The fragmentation of the left and right into multiple parties, allowing a centrist party to perpetually be the Condorcet winner . Polarisation may also weaken a centrist party if both ends of a polarised society are made to oppose centrism. Centrist parties make up a specific party family and have commonalities across different nations and political systems. In the Nordic countries where social democracy dominates politics, centrism competes with
7519-503: The government's university reform bill. The government stated that: “(the) reforms will create 30,000 (university) places next year, while cheaper fees in certain fields will deliver more graduates in areas of expected job growth”. The student cost of humanities, law and commerce degrees increased, while teaching, nursing, English, languages, maths, agriculture, science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering degrees decreased. The selection process for NXT candidates at
7622-711: The ideals that would accompany liberalism as it became the predominant centrist ideology in Europe. The political centre became a major force in England and France after the Napoleonic Wars . English centrism came from the Whigs , such as Henry Peter Brougham and Thomas Babington Macaulay . French centrism was supported by the Doctrinaires , such as Pierre Paul Royer-Collard and François Guizot . The Bonapartism of Napoleon III brought French conservatism to
7725-569: The ideological space around them is already occupied by other parties. Politicians with high approval might move to the centre to capitalise on their popularity with a larger voter base, while those seen as uncharismatic or incompetent may shift away from the centre to capture more reliable activist voters who will invest more into the politician's campaign. Opponents of centrism may describe it as opportunistic. Centrist-controlled governments are much rarer than left-wing or right-wing governments. While approximately 30% of world leaders were centrist in
7828-541: The immediate aftermath of the war. Under the leadership of Alcide De Gasperi , it absorbed the centre-left and centre-right to create a centrist grouping and combat the Italian Communist Party . The group fractured during a leftward shift in the 1950s and 1960s as the leadership invited socialists into the party, hoping to deprive the Communist Party of an ally. This created a scenario in which
7931-590: The late-19th century through the Mugwumps of the Republican Party . The radical movement gave way to centrism after the 1870s as they both coalesced around ideals of republicanism , secularism , self-education , cooperation , land reform , and internationalism . Toward the end of the 19th century, agrarianism became a significant political movement in Europe to represent farmers' interests. Western social science intertwined itself with centrism in
8034-644: The lead candidate, win 24.9 percent of the statewide upper house vote in South Australia. This was an unprecedented result for a non-major party with Nick Xenophon Group outpolling the Australian Labor Party to come in second behind the Liberal Party of Australia , which won office. Although Xenophon was re-elected, his running mate Stirling Griff narrowly missed out to Bob Day of the Family First Party . In 2014, Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) emerged from Nick Xenophon Group. Its management committee
8137-445: The left-centre-right trichotomy is well established in political science , individuals far from the political centre may occasionally reframe it, with the far-right alleging that the centre is leftist and the far-left alleging that the centre is rightist. Likewise, they may allege that their more moderate counterparts, the centre-left and the centre-right , are actually centrists because they are insufficiently radical. Liberalism
8240-636: The middle position between major left-wing and right-wing parties, though in some cases they will hold the left-leaning or right-leaning vote if there are no viable parties in the given direction. Centrist parties in multi-party systems hold a strong position in forming coalition governments as they can accommodate both left-wing and right-wing parties, but they are often junior partners in these coalitions that are unable to enact their own policies. These parties are weaker in first-past-the-post voting and proportional representation systems. Parties and politicians have various incentives to move toward or away from
8343-477: The only nations to retain strong agrarian parties. The Holocaust ended support for any scientific racism and eugenics espoused by centrist liberals, as they instead adopted antiracism as scientific truth. Following World War II, middle class centrist parties in developed countries became less common as they moved leftward or rightward. Italy was dominated by the Christian Democracy party in
8446-405: The other factions. The fall of dictatorships in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Portugal in the 1980s was met by centrist parties that became the primary forces in transitioning the nations to democracy. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, centrist liberalism was seen as the dominant force in politics. The centre-left and the centre-right both moved closer to
8549-482: The party due to "breaches to party rules". Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST therefore contested the 2018 election without state parliamentary representation. The party submitted an application to change its name, abbreviation and logo to SA-BEST (Federal) to the Australian Electoral Commission in February 2018. The application was open for public objection until 7 March 2018 before a decision would be made, but on 9 April 2018
8652-455: The party withdrew its application and changed its name to Centre Alliance. In 2018, Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff stated that SA-BEST is "a separate entity, a separate association, a separate party" from Centre Alliance. The party's ideological focus is a combination of socially liberal and populist policies, drawing from the positions of Xenophon. Its present members have variously declared support for same-sex marriage , reform of
8755-447: The party. He said: "There are many things I could say as to why I have resigned. However, it is not my place to speak publicly about internal party matters". Though it was stated that there had been months of conflict between Darley and the party, it came to a head a week prior when Darley voted with the Labor government to back Legislative Council voting reforms. Xenophon indicated the resignation had averted Darley's imminent expulsion from
8858-434: The political centre to maximise votes and to have the final say on closely-contested policies. Centrist parties face some intrinsic disadvantages when competing with left-wing and right-wing parties. Elections based on first-past-the-post voting or proportional representation provide less incentive for parties to hold centrist positions. Proportional representation systems weaken centrist parties because they incentivise
8961-399: The political centre, giving centrist parties hold a strong position in the formation of coalition governments, as they can accommodate both left-wing and right-wing parties. This gives them additional leverage in the formation of a minority government . When radical parties become viable, forming a coalition with the centre can force them to moderate. Once in a coalition, the centrist party
9064-415: The right person". He also stated that he was not considering a run with NXT in the future, rather believed that the NXT candidate was the best person for the job in his electorate. Sharkie's main opponent in Mayo, sitting Liberal member Jamie Briggs said, "I think what it reveals is you just can't trust these independents". Primary vote % ( SA 2016 ) The nascent Nick Xenophon Team ran candidates at
9167-539: The seat of Sturt held by Christopher Pyne –a major figure in the Liberal Party–indicated that an NXT candidate would have beaten him 38% to 31% in primary vote. This was before Tony Abbott was replaced by Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister following the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot . A January 2016 opinion poll conducted in South Australia by Roy Morgan found that NXT was slightly ahead of
9270-428: The seat of Mayo with 34.19% of the primary vote, and a two-party preferred vote of 55.14%. The Centre Alliance ran only one candidate in the 2022 federal election , Rebekha Sharkie in the seat of Mayo . She was re-elected. Stirling Griff , while remaining with the party, ran as an independent "Group O" candidate for the Senate, in a ticket led by Nick Xenophon . Both were unsuccessful. Rex Patrick , elected to
9373-504: The separate Redistribution Committee (the Australian Electoral Commission is not directly involved in electoral boundary changes). Under a joint roll arrangement with the states and territories, the AEC maintains enrolment for the whole of Australia, for rolls used in state and local government elections, other than Western Australia, The AEC publishes detailed federal election results and investigates electors who appear to fail to vote, or may have voted multiple times in an election. The AEC
9476-476: The speaker's left. The moderates who were not affiliated with either faction sat in the centre seats, and they came to be known as the centrists. While liberalism began as a centre-left challenger to conservatism, it came to occupy the political centre of Western politics at the beginning of the 19th century as it also opposed radicalism and socialism. Liberal support for anti-clericalism and individual rights developed in opposition to conservatism, establishing
9579-556: The total abolition of the upper class . Centrist liberalism seeks institutional reform, but it prioritises prudence when enacting change. European centrist parties are typically in favour of European integration and were the primary movers in the development of the European Union . Whether political positions are considered centrist can change over time; when radical positions become more widely accepted in society, they can become centrist positions. In multi-party systems ,
9682-455: The use of social programs. In many Latin American nations, opposing presidential candidates campaigned on similar platforms and often supported retaining their predecessors' policies without any significant changes, shifting the focus of elections to personality over ideology. Support for centrism declined globally after the 2007–2008 financial crisis as it was challenged by populism and political polarisation . As of 2015, centrists made up
9785-491: The western liberal consensus. In the Pacific, New Caledonia did not form a strong centrist movement until the 1990s as a consequence of the independence question. Conservative groups had actively suppressed centrist figures like Caledonian Union leader Maurice Lenormand [ fr ] , who was accused of being a communist and prosecuted for allegedly organising the bombing of his own party newspaper's headquarters in
9888-786: The word "independent" or "independent party". All Australian jurisdictions also have a minimum membership requirement, which differs widely, especially when compared with the total number of people enrolled in the jurisdiction. These range from 100 in the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania , 200 in South Australia , 500 in Victoria and Western Australia , 1,500 for the Commonwealth and 750 in New South Wales . Four jurisdictions require
9991-439: Was a double dissolution the Senate electoral quota of 14.3 percent was reduced to 7.7 percent. During the campaign, Xenophon and the NXT were the subject of numerous attacks from both major political parties. This included an attack levelled at his failure to declare a directorship of Adelaide Tower Pty Ltd, which involved his father. Xenophon accused proponents of this attack of a "partisan and personal campaign". Labor requested
10094-686: Was administered until 1916 as a branch of the Department of Home Affairs , by the Department of Home and Territories until 1928, back to Department of Home Affairs to 1932, and then Department of the Interior until 1972. The Australian Electoral Office was created in 1973 by the Australian Electoral Office Act 1973 . In 1984 the Australian Electoral Office was reformed through amendments to
10197-426: Was announced as the candidate for Mayo. Kelly Gladigau was announced as the candidate for Barker. Andrea Broadfoot was announced as the candidate for Grey. The SA Senate vote collapsed from 21.8% to 2.6%, and no Centre Alliance senator was elected. Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick kept their Senate seats, because they were not up for re-election. Rebekha Sharkie was the only Centre Alliance candidate elected, retaining
10300-478: Was challenged by right-wing conservatism and Catholicism. Centrism faced increased pressure beginning in the interwar period as left-wing politics saw a resurgence, meaning centrism was challenged from both directions. Agrarianism lost much of its influence in the 1930s as nations fell under right-wing dictatorships, and its return in the 1940s was short-lived as nations fell under communist rule. The Nordic countries, which were mostly spared from both movements, were
10403-457: Was composed of Xenophon, John Darley , Griff, and Connie Bonaros . In the 2014 South Australian state election , John Darley, who took Nick Xenophon's place in the state parliament in 2007, ran under the banner of Independent Nick Xenophon Team. Without Xenophon as a candidate, being in the national senate, John Darley won 12.9 percent of the statewide upper house vote. John Darley , who was appointed in 2007 to succeed Xenophon for "No Pokies",
10506-492: Was re-elected. On 5 March 2017, Xenophon announced that he would launch a new party in South Australia in time for the March 2018 state election to enable them to focus on domestic South Australian issues as opposed to wider Australia. The party was registered on 4 July as Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST . The independent John Darley left the management committee of the Nick Xenophon Team party on 17 August 2017 to avoid expulsion from
10609-412: Was spared from the many revolutions during the early 19th century as its conservatives took a decisively centrist position, enlightened conservatism, and expressed willingness to compromise with the nation's strong radical element. As radicalism declined in Western Europe, liberalism and conservatism became the two dominant political movements. The United States saw a centrist liberal movement develop in
#659340