The Conservative Party of Australia was a registered political party in 1984, but was deregistered by the AEC on 21 October 1998 as membership had fallen below the required 500 members. The party was established by Fast Bucks (formerly John Christopher Anderson and born Johannes Van De Knapp), who ran a banana and avocado farm in Byron Bay, New South Wales. It primarily campaigned on environmental issues and derived its name from

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

rather than

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. Bucks stated that the party's name was "as honest as the Labor Party representing the workers, the Liberal Party representing liberality, or the National Party representing the national interest". Although its "world headquarters" were in Byron Bay, the party chose to run in Queensland at the 1984 federal election, standing for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. During the campaign, Bucks was charged with cultivating marijuana and remanded in custody by the Byron Bay Magistrates Court. It was reported that he had a long criminal record in Victoria, including convictions for assault, resisting arrest, larceny and criminal damage.

References

1984 establishments in Australia 1998 disestablishments in Australia Conservative parties in Australia Defunct political parties in Australia Political parties established in 1984 Political parties disestablished in 1998 {{Australia-party-stub