National Party of Australia – NSW
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The National Party of Australia – N.S.W., commonly known as "The Nationals" or the NSW Nationals, is 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: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
which forms the state branch of the federal Nationals and has traditionally represented graziers, farmers and rural voters generally. The party has generally been the junior partner in a centre-right Coalition with the NSW branch of the
Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...
. Since 1927, the Nationals have been in Coalition with the Liberals and their predecessors, the
Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Min ...
(1927–1931), the
United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...
(1931–1943), and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(1943–1945). During periods of conservative government, the leader of the Nationals also serves as
Deputy Premier of New South Wales The Deputy Premier of New South Wales is the second-most senior officer in the Government of New South Wales. The deputy premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1932, and the deputy premier is appointed by the Governor on the advice ...
. When the conservatives are in opposition, the Liberal and National parties usually form a joint opposition bench. New South Wales is the only state where the Coalition has never been broken (aside from a brief period in 2020), and yet has not merged into a unified non-Labor party.


History


Name changes

The movement began as the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
, from the 1922 split until 1925. It then used the name the Country Party until 1977, when it became the National Country Party. The party's name was changed to the National Party of Australia in 1982. *13 October 1919 – The Farmers' and Settlers' Association of New South Wales, the NSW Graziers' Association and the People's Party of Soldiers and Citizens meet as the first electoral council of the Progressive Party of New South Wales. *15 December 1921 – Split of the Progressive Party between urban and rural wings. Rural wing (known as the "True Blues") continues as the Progressive Party. *12 August 1925 – Michael Bruxner announces to the NSW Legislative Assembly that the party has changed its name to the Country Party of New South Wales. *24 September 1931 – In order to clarify its support for the
New England New State Movement The New England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Founded as the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek the secession of the New England region and surrounding areas f ...
, the party name changes to the United Country Party of New South Wales. *9 February 1944 – The State Conference agrees to a further name change as the Australian Country Party (N.S.W.). *26 June 1976 – The State Conference held in
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
rejects a proposal to follow the federal party and rename itself as the "National Country Party of Australia – NSW". *26 June 1977 – The following State Conference held in Coffs Harbour approves the name change to the National Country Party of Australia – NSW. *26 June 1982 – The annual State Conference held in
Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...
approves the name change to the National Party of Australia – NSW. The federal party does not make the same change until its Federal Conference on 16 October. *25 October 2003 – The NSW Central Council of the party approves the 11 October decision of the federal executive to use the term, The Nationals, in all state and federal election campaigns.


Government (2010s and 2020s)

As a measure of the Coalition's then-solidity in NSW, the Liberals won enough seats to theoretically govern alone during the Coalition's massive landslide at the 2011 state election. However, new Premier
Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...
kept the Nationals in his government.


Neo-Nazi infiltration

In 2018, the party revealed that approximately 30 members of its youth wing were being investigated for alleged links to
neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
. Federal Nationals leader Michael McCormack denounced these attempts stating that: "The Nationals will not tolerate extremism or the politics of hate. People found to engage with such radicalism are not welcome in our party. We are a grassroots party proudly championing what matters most to our regional and rural communities – always has been, always will be". Several suspected neo-Nazis were expelled from the party and its youth wing. The leader of the NSW Nationals,
John Barilaro Giovanni Domenic "John" Barilaro (born 14 November 1971) is a former Australian politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the National Party from 2016 to 2021. He wa ...
, also denounced racism and fascism within the party stating that: "I have no problems calling this out, this is something I’m very strong on, I do not accept racism".


Exit to crossbench, 2020

On 10 September 2020, the Nationals NSW declared that they would no longer support the legislation of the NSW Liberal Party, and would move to the
crossbenches A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
in Parliament. This was caused due to a new planning proposal which looked to strengthen land clearing for agricultural activities that threatened endangered koala populations, for which they disagreed with. On the morning of 11 September 2020, the Nationals backed down and rejoined the government.


Leadership


Leaders

People who served as the Leader of National Party of Australia in New South Wales are:


Deputy Leaders

People who served as the Deputy Leader of National Party of Australia in New South Wales are:


Election results


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Party of Australia - NSW Lists of political office-holders in New South Wales
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 ...
Political parties in New South Wales