Australia Party

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The Australia Party was the name of a minor political party in Australia (not to be confused with the Australian Party, which was set up by Billy Hughes in 1930).

The Australia Party grew out of the Liberal Reform Movement, a group of members of the Liberal Party of Australia who opposed the party's policy of conscription and military involvement in the Vietnam War. The leading figure in this group was a businessman, Gordon Barton.

The "Australia Party" name was adopted in 1969. The party contested state and federal elections, achieving its best results in 1972, but failing to win any seats. Their result declined in 1974 and again in the 1975 federal election. Subsequently, most of the party joined the Liberal Movement and the disaffected Liberal Party's Don Chipp in the formation of the Australian Democrats for the 1977 federal election. Significant figures in the Australia Party were Senator Reginald Turnbull (elected as an independent but Australia Party leader from 1969-1970), and journalist Alan Fitzgerald, then a member of the elected Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council.

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