The Industrial Labor Party or Heffron Labor Party was a short-lived but influential political party active in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

between 1936 and 1939. It was a splinter group of the Labor Party (ALP) and was formed by

Bob Heffron Robert James Heffron (10 September 189027 July 1978), also known as Bob Heffron or R. J. Heffron, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, union organiser and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1959 to 1964. Born in New Zealand ...

after he and

Carlo Lazzarini Carlo Camillo Lazzarini (; 24 April 1880 – 26 November 1952), also known as Charlie Lazzarini, was an Australian politician affiliated with the Labor Party. He was elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, where he serv ...

attempted to depose the

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

Jack Lang (who had been Premier of New South Wales 1925-27 and again 1930-32). Both Heffron and Lazzarini subsequently lost their party endorsements for the 1938 election. At the 1938 election the ILP stood candidates in 6 of the 90 seats and won 3.7% of the popular vote. Heffron and Lazzarini retained their seats in the Legislative Assembly.
The party was successful at two subsequent by-elections in the seats of

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Ri ...

, won by

Clive Evatt Clive Raleigh Evatt (6 June 1900 – 15 September 1984) was an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1939 until 1959. At various times he sat as a member of the Industr ...

, and Waverley, won by

Clarrie Martin Major Clarence Edward Martin (2 February 1900 – 5 September 1953) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1930 until 1932 and from 1939 until his death in 1953. He was variously a member of ...

. These victories were seen as evidence of Lang's diminishing political power. Three other MLAs, Mat Davidson (

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier H ...

), and

Ted Horsington Edward Matthew Horsington (2 May 1878 – 23 July 1947) was an Australian politician. Biography He was born at Lower Alma, Timor, Victoria, to Julia, ''née'' Farrell, of Portarlington, Ireland, and farmer John Waygood Horsington, of S ...

( Sturt) joined the ILP in April 1939 while Frank Burke ( Newtown) joined the ILP in June 1939. Under pressure from the federal executive of the ALP, the ILP was readmitted into the ALP at a unity conference on 26 August 1939. Heffron and

William McKell Sir William John McKell (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947 ...

then successfully combined to depose Lang on 5 September 1939.

Parliamentarians

References

* Nairn, Bede (1995) ''Jack Lang the 'Big Fella': Jack Lang and the Australian Labor Party 1891-1949'', Melbourne University Press, Melbourne , . {{New South Wales political parties Australian Labor Party breakaway groups Australian labour movement Defunct political parties in New South Wales