The Minor Party Alliance (MPA) is a collaborative undertaking of small Australian political parties, created by

Glenn Druery Glenn Druery is an Australian political strategist, electoral campaigner and ultra-distance cyclist. He has played a leading role in the electoral success of various micro and minor parties in Australia since the mid-1990s. He acquired a reputat ...

's "Independent Liaison" business, which assists in organising preference meetings and negotiating preference flows between

minor parties A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great ...

(often referred to as micro-parties) in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The aim of the Alliance is the election of Alliance candidates to Australian

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

s based upon the accumulation of their primary votes and the registered "above-the-line" (or "

group voting ticket A group voting ticket (GVT) is a shortcut for voters in a preferential voting system, where a voter can indicate support for a list of candidates instead of marking preferences for individual candidates. For multi-member electoral divisions with s ...

") party preferences to reach an electoral quota. For the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a t ...

, the quota for a half-Senate election in each State is normally 14.3%. The MPA effectively aims to "game" the electoral system, an act it believes to be justified, based upon their perception that the Australian electoral system is unfair and heavily biased against minor parties. To stop preference deals like those made for the 2013 federal election, when a number of minor party candidates with very small primary votes were elected to the Senate, changes in the group voting rules were made in time for the 2016 federal election. Under the new rules, instead of placing a "1" above the line on Senate ballot papers or numbering every box below the line, voters can number 1 to 6 above the line in order of their preferences. Due to this, minor parties were no longer able to swap preferences in the same manner. As at November 2022, only

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

still has group ticket voting that enable similar preference deals being organised for those state upper house, with a similar preference deal between minor parties standing for the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

made at the

2018 Victorian state election Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

. The proliferation of minor parties is attributable to the law that by contesting an election as a party, rather than as an individual, a candidate can accept votes above as well as below the line. This enables them to be a part of preference deals, which would not be possible as an independent.

1999 NSW preference deals

Druery initiated the MPA at the

1999 New South Wales state election Elections to the 52nd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election. The Labor Party, led by premier Bob Carr won ...

and his then untested theories elected three people to the Legislative Council: Peter Wong from

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a ...

, Peter Breen from

Reform the Legal System Reform the Legal System, later known as the Human Rights Party, was a political party in New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: ...

and Malcolm Jones from the Outdoor Recreation Party. Malcolm Jones was elected to the Legislative Council with a primary vote of 0.19%, or 0.042 of a quota. In 2017, Druery during a ABC report, has said he has a personal vendetta against

Pauline Hanson Pauline Lee Hanson (''née'' Seccombe, formerly Zagorski; born 27 May 1954) is an Australian politician who is the founder and leader of One Nation, a right-wing populist political party. Hanson has represented Queensland in the Australian ...

One Nation, saying he has been directing micro party preferences away from One Nation since 1999.

2013 Senate preference deals

Druery is known as the ''preference whisperer'' of Australian politics, and his Minor Party Alliance was behind the 2013 federal election preference deal successes. These resulted in the election to the Senate of

Wayne Dropulich Wayne Dropulich (born ) is a former member of the Australian Sports Party who was elected to the Australian Senate in the final count of the 2013 federal election prior to the Western Australian Senate count being declared void by the Court of ...

of the Sports Party in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

on a primary vote of 0.2%,

Ricky Muir Ricky Lee Muir (born 25 December 1980) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2014 to 2016. Muir was elected to the Senate at the 2013 federal election, standing for the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AME ...

of the Motoring Enthusiasts Party in

on a primary vote of 0.5% and

Bob Day Robert John Day (born 5 July 1952) is an Australian former politician and businessman who was a Senator for South Australia from 1 July 2014 to 1 November 2016. He is a former federal chairman of the Family First Party. Before entering po ...

of the

Family First Party The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into wh ...

on a primary vote of 3.8% in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, 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 o ...

. However, the Western Australian result was later declared void (for semi-unrelated reasons), necessitating a further election at which the Sports Party candidate was unsuccessful. The fifth Senators in the other States were

Dio Wang Zhenya Wang (; born 20 January 1981), also known as Dio Wang, is a former Australian senator and civil engineer. He was the CEO of Australasian Resources from July 2010 until 20 June 2014, when he resigned in preparation for his role as Senator ...

in Western Australia, Glenn Lazarus in

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 , establishe ...

and

Jacqui Lambie Jacquiline Louise Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to 2017. Lambie, an ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, all from the Palmer United Party, and David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democratic Party elected with a primary vote of 9.5% 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 ...

. These last four were not part of the MPA. Muir's primary vote was 0.5% and achieved the 14.3% quota from 23 "above the line" party preferences: Bank Reform Party,

Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party The Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party (AFLP) was a minor Australian political party, formed in 2006 from the Queensland branch of the Fishing Party and federally registered in 2007. It opposes any bans on recreational fishing, the use of f ...

HEMP Party Legalise Cannabis Australia, formerly the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party, is an Australian political party. It has a number of policies that centre around the re-legalisation of cannabis for personal, medicinal and industrial uses i ...

Shooters and Fishers The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFF) is an Australian political party. It primarily advocates for increased funding and services for rural and regional Australia, protecting the right to farm, enhancing commercial and recreational fish ...

Australian Stable Population Party The Sustainable Australia Party (officially registered as Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption), formerly the Sustainable Population Party, is an Australian political party. Formed in 2010, it describes itself as being ...

, Senator Online,

Building Australia Party The Advance Australia Party, formerly the Building Australia Party, was a minor political party in Australia, advocating the rights of the building industry. First registered in New South Wales, it achieved federal registration in June 2010, but ...

Bullet Train For Australia Bullet Train for Australia was an Australian political party, registered from 2013 to 2017. It was a single-issue party campaigning for a fast implementation of high-speed rail. It advocated that the first stage of the bullet train should run fro ...

Rise Up Australia Party Rise Up Australia Party was a far-right political party in Australia. The party's policy platform was focused on nationalist and Christian conservative issues, such as opposing Islamic immigration and religious freedom for Australian Muslim ...

, No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics,

Citizens Electoral Council The Australian Citizens Party (ACP), formerly the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia (CEC), is a minor political party in Australia affiliated with the international LaRouche Movement which was led by American political activist and conspir ...

, Palmer United Party, Democratic Labour Party,

Katter's Australian Party Katter's Australian Party (KAP) is an agrarian political party in Australia. It was founded by Bob Katter, an independent and former Nationals MP for the seat of Kennedy, with a registration application lodged to the Australian Electoral ...

, Socialist Equality Party, Australian Sex Party, Australian Voice Party,

Wikileaks Party The WikiLeaks Party was a minor political party in Australia. The party was created in part to support Julian Assange's failed bid for a Senate seat in Australia in the 2013 election, where they won 0.66% of the national vote. At the time Assa ...

, Drug Law Reform, Stop CSG,

Animal Justice Party Animal Justice Party (AJP) is a political party in Australia founded in 2009. The party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 3 May 2011. The party is also registered in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, ...

, and the Australian Independents Party. Day's primary vote was 3.8% (down 0.3% since the previous election), and achieved the 14.3% quota from 19 "above the line" party preferences: Australian Independents Party,

, Liberal Democratic Party, Smokers' Rights Party, No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics,

, One Nation,

Australian Christians Christianity is the largest religion in Australia, with a total of 43.9% of the nation-wide population identifying with a Christian denomination. The presence of Christianity in Australia coincided with the foundation of the first British colony ...

Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party was a political party in Australia from 2013 to 2017. Ricky Muir held a seat for the party in the Australian Senate from 2013 to 2016. The party voluntarily de-registered with the AEC on 8 February 2017. ...

, Democratic Labour Party,

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and t ...

, Palmer United Party,

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 t ...

. Druery also helped the Shooters and Fishers Party,

and the Fishing and Lifestyle Party. After the 2013 federal election Druery was hired by the newly elected Motor Enthusiast Party Senator Ricky Muir as Chief of Staff, but later parted company with Muir.

2017 Western Australian preference deals

continues to use

s for the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

. At the

2017 Western Australian state election The 2017 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 11 March 2017 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, including all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 36 seats in the Legislative Council. The eight-a ...

, five parties participated in preference deals orchestrated by Druery. The parties were Family First,

Fluoride Free WA Fluoride Free WA Party was a political party registered for elections in Western Australia. Its main policy is to end mandatory water fluoridation in Western Australia. The party is a distinct legal entity from an advocacy organisation named Fluo ...

, Liberal Democrats,

Flux the System Flux (also known as Liberals For Climate - The Flux Network in Western Australia), is a political movement which aims to replace the world's elected legislatures with a new system known as issue-based direct democracy (IBDD). Flux originated in an ...

and the

Daylight Saving Party The Daylight Saving Party is a registered political party in Western Australia. History The Daylight Saving Party was founded in September 2016 by brothers Brett and Wilson Tucker. It was registered as a political party on 29 November 2016. An ...

. The deals were arranged so that the ticket votes for these five parties would roll up to a different party in each region. At the election only the Liberal Democrat candidate,

Aaron Stonehouse Aaron Stonehouse (born 29 June 1990) is an Australian politician. He was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council at the 2017 state election, as a Liberal Democratic Party member in South Metropolitan Region. His term began on 22 ...

, with 1.77% of primary votes was elected with MPA preferences.

2018 Victorian preference deals

continues to use

s for the

. Preference deals were also organised by Druery for the Victorian Legislative Council at the

. All but one of the 18 parties standing appear to have been involved in some way in the deals. Ultimately, 10 candidates from seven micro-parties were elected. In the Eastern Metropolitan Region, Rod Barton of the Transport Matters Party was elected on a primary vote of 0.62%. In the

Southern Metropolitan Region Southern Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was crea ...

Clifford Hayes Clifford Hayes (born 13 August 1951) is a former Australian politician. He was a Sustainable Australia member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 2018 and 2022, representing Southern Metropolitan Region. He was not re-elected at the ...

of the

Sustainable Australia The Sustainable Australia Party (officially registered as Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption), formerly the Sustainable Population Party, is an Australian political party. Formed in 2010, it describes itself as being ...

was elected on a primary vote of 1.32%. One candidate was elected from the Shooters and Fishers Party, the Reason Party and the

, two from the Liberal Democratic Party and three from the Justice Party.

2022 Victorian preference deals

On November 16, 2022, Angry Victorians Party party leader

Heston Russell Heston Russell is an Australian retired Special Forces officer. Early life and education Russell joined the Australian Army at the age of 17 and graduated from the Royal Military College of Duntroon in 2006. While at the Australian Defen ...

leaked a video to the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald ...

'' of him to talking to

about a potential preference deal, declaring that the AVP felt the co-ordination of the

system used by Druery was immoral and needed to be exposed. During

2022 Victorian state election The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house) were up for el ...

Druery was reported to be working with the Democratic Labour party (DLP),

Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, also known as the Justice Party, is a political party in Australia, registered for federal elections since 14 April 2016. The party is named after its founder, Derryn Hinch, an Australian media personality. The pa ...

, Health Australia, the Liberal Democrats, the

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers,

party and Transport Matters Party, and the Angry Victorians party. He was working with the Animal Justice party but they tricked him, by leaving the alliance.

Members

The parties that are or have been involved in the Minor Party Alliance: The Minor Party Alliance has involved more than 30 minor parties, including: *

Australia First Party The Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, often shortened to the Australia First Party (AFP), is an Australian far-right political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell. The policies of Australia First have been described as ultranat ...

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

* Natural Medicine Party *

Non-Custodial Parents Party The Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting) (originally known as the Non-Custodial Parents Party) was a minor political party in Australia registered between 1999 and 2020. It supported less government control of many aspects of daily famil ...

* One Nation *

* Senator Online * Shooters and Fishers Party *

* Transport Matters Party * Voluntary Euthanasia Party

Former parties

* The Wikileaks Party *

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 Austral ...

Australian Independents Patricia May Petersen is an Australian academic from Ipswich, Queensland. Education Petersen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland in 2002. Pe ...

Australian Protectionist Party The Australian Protectionist Party (APP) is a minor Australian far-right anti-immigration party, focused on economic protectionism and white nationalism. and opposes refugees and asylum seekers and often participates in rallies such as the ...

* Australian Voice Party *

Drug Law Reform Australia Drug Law Reform Australia is a deregistered political party in Australia. The aims of the party are to create a new regulatory system for illegal drugs in Australia, and influence the political debate around drug use towards decriminalisation an ...

Mutual Party The Mutual Party (previously the Bank Reform Party) is a de-registered minor political party in Australia. The party has been involved in Glenn Druery's Minor Party Alliance. The party's lead candidate for the Senate in Western Australia at the ...

* No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics * Stop CSG Party * Uniting Australia Party

References

External links

Independent Liaison website - archive.org
{{2013 Australian federal election Political organisations based in Australia