Country Liberal Party
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| Country Liberal Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Terry Mills |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Office | 107 Woods Street Darwin NT 0800 |
| Political Ideology | Liberal conservatism |
| Website | Country Liberal Party |
The Country Liberal Party (CLP) is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties. It is a member of the Coalition.
The party dominated the Northern Territory parliament from its establishment to 2001, but now has only four members.
Senator Nigel Scullion is the CLP's sole representative in federal parliament, and sits with the National Party as part of the Coalition.
[edit] History
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The Country Liberal Party (CLP) was established in the Northern Territory when territories gained voting rights, replacing both as the centre-right party there. The state Country Party members first contested the 1919 federal election, with an established federal Country Party contesting the 1922 federal election. The 1922 election saw the main anti-Labor party, the Nationalist Party of Australia deprived of a majority, and were required to form a coalition in order to command a majority on the floor of parliament. The price for such support was the resignation of Nationalist (ex-Labor) Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, who was replaced by Stanley Bruce.
In 1966, the Country Party was well established in the territory, while the Liberal Party was small. In recognition of this, the local Liberals supported the Country candidate for the sole NT seat from 1969 to 1972. An alliance had formed, primarily against the conservatives' arch-rivals the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
After the 1974 federal election and subsequent Joint Sitting of parliament, legislation was passed which awarded self-government to the Northern Territory in the form of a unicameral Legislative Assembly, as well as members with full voting rights at a federal level. The local Country and Liberal Party members decided to form an independent "Country Liberal Party" (CLP) to field candidates for the Assembly.
In 1979, the CLP formally affiliated with both the Liberal Party and the then-National Country Party. These affiliations remain to this day, and relations with both parties are close. However, the CLP has had no major opportunities to sway the actions of either.
Both the Liberals and the Nationals receive Country Liberal Party delegations, and the party president has full voting rights with the National Party and observer status with the Liberal Party. The party also directs its federal members and senators as to which of the two other parties they should sit with in the parliamentary chamber. The CLP vote is often tabulated together with either of its coalition partners in many election results tables, or included within a single Coalition vote.
At the 2001 NT election, the CLP lost control of the Territory government in a landslide loss, to the ALP. The loss marked a major turning point in Northern Territory politics, a result which was exacerbated when, at the 2005 NT election, the ALP won a second landslide victory, reducing the once-dominant party to a total of just four members in the Legislative Assembly.
[edit] External links
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