The Australian Progressive Alliance (APA) was a minor "small-l-liberal" party in Australia, formed by

Meg Lees Meg Heather Lees (née Francis, born 19 October 1948) is a former member of the Australian Senate from 1990 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia. She represented the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 2002, and was her party's le ...

, an independent senator and former leader of the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...

, in April 2003. The party ceased to operate and was deregistered in June 2005 following Senator Lees's defeat at the 2004 election and the expiry of her term.

History

Meg Lees resigned from the Democrats in July 2002 after being deposed as the party's leader in April 2001. She sat as an independent in the Senate before forming the APA in 2003. Other APA members included the former Democrat

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_ ...

Senator

John Woodley John Woodley (born Brisbane, Queensland, 9 February 1938) is an ordained Methodist minister and was a Senator representing the state of Queensland, Australia, in the Australian Senate. Life before politics Woodley was briefly in the Australia ...

and

Elisabeth Kirkby Elisabeth Wilma Burton Kirkby (born 26 January 1921), alternatively Elizabeth Kirkby, is a British Australian retired politician. Kirkby entered politics serving with the Australian Democrats in the New South Wales Legislative Council as Stat ...

, a former Democrat member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

Policy

Lees sought to position the APA as a party of the moderate centre, arguing that the Democrats, under the leadership of

Cheryl Kernot Cheryl Zena Kernot (née Paton, formerly Young; born 5 December 1948) is an Australian politician, academic, and political activist. She was a member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland for the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 199 ...

Natasha Stott Despoja Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician, diplomat, advocate and author. She is the founding Chair of the Board of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their childr ...

and

Andrew Bartlett Andrew John Julian Bartlett (born 4 August 1964) is an Australian politician, social worker, academic, and social campaigner who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1997 to 2008 and from 2017 to 2018. He represented the Australian Democrats ...

, had moved too far to the left. In a 2003 opinion article, she claimed the party would appeal to "voters who cannot be dragged to the extremes by the Greens in any enduring way."Lees
''The Progressive Alliance will fill the political vacuum in Australia's centre''
Retrieved on 12 September 2006. The party's "guiding principles" were described as: *To act with integrity, tolerance and compassion. *To respect the freedom of the individual particularly the freedoms of association, expression and religion. *To uphold a system of constitutional checks and balances in government, particularly the separation of powers and the rule of law. *To commit to a socially just, environmentally responsible and economically sustainable Australia, working for a balance between, and the integration of, social needs, the protection and care of Australia’s unique biodiversity and the equitable collection and spending of revenue. *To work for positive solutions for all Australians and not be controlled by any one particular group in the community.

2004 Senate election

At the 2004 federal election, the party stood Senate candidates in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT in addition to Meg Lees (South Australia). Lees achieved 11,061 votes (1.14%) in her state, losing her seat, while the others brought the national total to 18,856 (0.16%).

References

External links

Official website
(from archive.org)
The Progressive Alliance will fill the political vacuum in Australia's centre
- opinion piece by Meg Lees

History

Policy

2004 Senate election

References

External links

See also