The Kidstonites or Kidston party were a political party in the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n state of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
in 1907 to 1908, formed by
William Kidston
William Kidston (17 August 1849 – 25 October 1919) was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911.
Early life
William Kidston was born in Fa ...
. The party resulted from a split in the
Queensland Labor Party
The Queensland Labor Party (QLP) was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair. In 1962 the party became the Queensland se ...
and spent most of its existence in government, before merging with the conservative faction of
Robert Philp
Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.
Early life
Philp was born in ...
in October 1908, to form the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
.
History
In 1903, Queensland's long-running
Continuous Ministry fell and was replaced by a coalition of liberals and
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
. The government was headed by
Arthur Morgan Arthur Morgan may refer to:
* Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856) (1856–1916), Premier of Queensland, Australia
* Arthur Ernest Morgan (1878–1975), American administrator, educator and engineer
* Arthur Morgan (Australian politici ...
and included two Labor members, though not the party leaders.
In 1906, Morgan was succeeded as
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
by
William Kidston
William Kidston (17 August 1849 – 25 October 1919) was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911.
Early life
William Kidston was born in Fa ...
, one of the Labor members of the government. However, Kidston grew increasingly dissatisfied with the official direction of the Labor Party as set by the 1905 party convention on the issues of collective ownership and Crown land sales, which he felt to be impractical and electorally unrealistic.
The
1906 federal election saw Labor do badly in Queensland at the hands of the
Anti-Socialist Party
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, ...
, confirming Kidston's views as conflict grew between pursuing an efficient reformist government and the pursuit of Labor's stated interests and ideology. Kidston demanded greater loyalty to himself but the 1907 party convention reaffirmed the socialist objective, resulting in a split.
All but fourteen members of the Labor parliamentary party rallied to Kidston's banner, and in the 1907 state election, the Kidstonites won twenty-four seats. Because neither they nor Labor nor Robert Philp
Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.
Early life
Philp was born in ...
's Conservative group had a majority, a three-party system operated in the state over the next two years, with no party able to govern alone.[ Kidston secured some support from Labor on common issues, but the conservative ]Queensland Legislative Council
The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...
obstructed much legislation.[ Kidston tried to appoint more supportive members to the council but the ]Governor of Queensland
The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...
Lord Chelmsford
Viscount Chelmsford, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford, the former Viceroy of India. The title of Baron Chelmsford, of Chelm ...
refused, leading to Kidston's resignation. Philp formed a government which was promptly denied supply
Supply may refer to:
*The amount of a resource that is available
**Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers
**Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission
*Supply, as in confidenc ...
by parliament, and was forced to a new election in February 1908 at which the balance in the parliament was barely altered.
Kidston resumed office and, with the support of Labor, passed reforms including the Parliamentary Bills Referendum Act, which allowed for bills blocked repeatedly in the Council to be submitted to a referendum. Other legislation passed involved pensions, wages boards and electoral reform, but the alliance with Labor came to an end, and later bills, such as to allow private railway construction, were passed with the support of Philp's Conservatives.[ Increasingly, the Kidstonites and the Conservatives were drawn together and, in October 1908, they merged,] reviving the name Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. Not all Kidstonite parliamentarians accepted the merger, and a group called the "Independent Opposition" emerged, headed by former Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
James Blair James Blair may refer to:
*James Blair (Australian judge) (1870–1944), Australian judge, lawyer, and politician
*James Blair (cricketer) (1900–1961), Australian-born New Zealand cricketer
* James Blair (farmer) (1825–1901), Scottish-born farm ...
, which included former Labor leaders Peter Airey
Peter Airey (9 January 1865 – 10 August 1950) was a Treasurer of Queensland, a member of the Queensland Legislative Council, and a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Airey was also known as a poet and as a short story writer, publ ...
and George Kerr.
Election results
References
Bibliography
*
*
* {{cite encyclopedia , last=Murphy , first=Denis Joseph , editor1-last=Murphy , editor1-first=Denis Joseph , title=Labor in Politics: the state Labor parties in Australia 1880-1920 , date=1975 , publisher=University of Queensland Press , isbn=9780702209390 , pages=127–228
Defunct political parties in Queensland
Political parties established in 1907
Political parties disestablished in 1908
1907 establishments in Australia
1908 disestablishments in Australia