The Parliamentary Labor Party (also known as the Premiers' Plan Labor Party or Ministerial Labor Party) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

active in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from August 1931 until June 1934. The party came into existence as a result of intense dispute, especially within the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

, about the handling of the response to the

Great Depression in Australia Australia suffered badly during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. As in other nations, Australia suffered years of high unemployment, povert ...

. In June 1931, a meeting of state premiers agreed on the

Premiers' Plan The Premiers' Plan was a deflationary economic policy agreed by a meeting of the Premiers of the Australian states in June 1931 to combat the Great Depression in Australia that sparked the 1931 Labor split. Background The Great Depressio ...

, which involved sweeping austerity measures combined with increases in revenue. When the Premiers' Plan came up for a vote in South Australia, 23 of Labor's 30

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

members and two of Labor's four Legislative Council members voted for it. In August 1931, the South Australian state conference of the Labor Party expelled all of the MPs who supported the Premiers' Plan, including Premier

Lionel Hill Lionel Laughton Hill (14 May 1881 – 19 March 1963) was an Australian politician who served as the thirtieth Premier of South Australia, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Early life Born in Adelaide, So ...

and his entire Cabinet. Expelled MPs (23) in the

: * Frederick Birrell * Alfred Blackwell *

Thomas Butterfield Thomas Butterfield (circa 1871 – 13 October 1943) was an Australian politician and minister in the South Australian Parliament. Political career In 1910/11 Butterfield was a councillor for the Tumby Bay ward in the Tumby Bay Council and was ...

* Clement Collins * George Cooke *

Jack Critchley John Owen Critchley (18 April 189227 April 1964) was an Australian politician who served as a Labor member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1930 to 1933 and then the Australian Senate from 1947 to 1959. Born at Callington in th ...

* Bill Denny * Thomas Edwards *

Even George Even Ernest George (1 February 1875 – 1 June 1969) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Burra Burra in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1930 to 1933. George was born at Quorn and educated locally, the son ...

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...

Leonard Hopkins Leonard Anver Hopkins JP (22 October 1891 – 11 December 1950) was a bootmaker and politician in the State of South Australia. Hopkins was born at Rosewater to James Robert Hopkins (died 1901) and his wife Charlotte, née Booth (died 1933). ...

* Robert Hunter * Beasley Kearney *

Arthur McArthur Jeremy McArthur (born October 29, 1988), known professionally as Arthur McArthur, is a Grammy-nominated Canadian record producer from Toronto, Ontario. A classically trained piano and guitar player, he has been involved in music producing since 2 ...

* Sydney McHugh * John McInnes * John Pedler * Robert Richards *

Eric Shepherd Eric John Shepherd (19 June 1894 – 30 August 1967) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Victoria in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1924 to 1933. From 1930 to 1933 he was Speaker of the House. Shepherd h ...

* Frank Staniford * Albert Thompson * Walter Warne Expelled MPs (2) in the Legislative Council: *

James Jelley James Jelley (18 October 1873 – 4 March 1954) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was a Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch), Labor member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1912 to 1933, representi ...

* Stanley Whitford Upon the failure of a November appeal to the federal executive of the Labor Party, the expelled MPs definitively constituted themselves as a separate parliamentary party. Having soundly lost its majority, the PLP ministry stayed in office until the 1933 election with the support of the conservative opposition—the

Liberal Federation The Liberal Federation was a South Australian political party from 16 October 1923 to 1932. It came into existence as a merger between the rival Liberal Union and National Party, to oppose Labor. Encouraged by the overwhelming success of the ...

to 1932 and the

Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

afterward. Hill, facing increasing political challenges, had himself appointed Agent-General in London and abruptly quit politics in February 1932. Robert Richards briefly succeeded him as Premier, and led the party into the 1933 election. The party, along with the official Labor Party and the rival splinter Lang Labor Party, performed poorly at the 1933 election. Of the 23 MPs the party had going into the election, only five – Blackwell, McInnes, Pedler, and Richards in the House of Assembly, and Whitford in the Legislative Council, were reelected. The three Labor factions won only 13 seats between them, against 29 for the LCL. Two of the three Lang Labor Party MHAs elected at the 1933 state election, Bob Dale and Tom Howard, left the party in 1933 post-election after falling out with leader

Doug Bardolph Douglas Henry Bardolph (18 February 1893 – 2 February 1951) was an Australian journalist, trade unionist and politician. History Henry Bardolph (ca.1854 – 22 June 1933) and Mary Bardolph (née Taggart) had five sons, and lived at Manly, New ...

and formed their own party, the South Australian Lang Labor Party (SALLP). The four Labor parties merged back into the official Labor Party in June 1934 under the leadership of

Andrew Lacey Andrew William Lacey (19 October 1887 – 24 August 1946) was the 22nd Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia from 1933 to 1938, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Lacey was previousl ...

of the official Labor faction, following a successful unity conference. Whitford, the party's sole upper house member, had left the party to sit as an independent by the time of the conference, and was not re-admitted.

References

{{Reflist Defunct political parties in South Australia Political parties established in 1931 Political parties disestablished in 1934 Politics of South Australia Australian Labor Party breakaway groups

See also

References