The No Goods and Services Tax Party (usually called No GST), previously the Abolish Child Support and Family Court Party, was a minor

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n political party registered between 1997 and 2006 which fielded candidates between the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

federal elections. The change of name in 2001 was largely a response to the

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

Government's implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. It polled low totals. One Nation founder

David Ettridge David William Ettridge (born 8 June 1945 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian businessman who co-founded Pauline Hanson's One Nation in 1997 with Pauline Hanson and David Oldfield. Ettridge was One Nation's professional fundraiser and admin ...

contested 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 ...

in Queensland in 2001 for the party. At the 1998 federal election the party fielded 11 candidates for the House of Representatives and 6 for the

. A campaign tactic used by the party at this election was to have a candidate adopt the name of a political slogan which therefore appeared on the ballot paper. This included "Justice Abolish Child Support and the Family Court" who was a candidate for a Senate seat in NSW, "Prime Minister John Piss the Family Court and Legal Aid" who was a candidate for Bennelong and "Bruce the Family Court Refuses My Daughter's Right to Know Her Father" who was a candidate for a Senate seat in Queensland. The ''Electoral Act'' was subsequently amended to prevent this tactic. The party gained 0.02% (2,312) first preference votes nationally for the House of Representatives and 0.14% (15,276) first preference votes nationally for the Senate. While David Ettridge was a high profile candidate in 2001, attracting 1.13% (24,319) first preference votes in Queensland, it was Mick Gallagher who came close to being elected in New South Wales, despite receiving only 0.66% (25,734) first preference votes, due to preference swaps with other parties. This was the peak of the party's electoral popularity, gaining 0.12% (14,164) first preference votes nationally for the House of Representatives and 0.43% (50,053) first preference votes nationally for the Senate. The party also fielded candidates at the

1999 Victorian state election The 1999 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 18 September 1999, was for the 54th Parliament of Victoria. It was held in the Australian state of Victoria to elect the 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44 ...

, various by-elections and the

2002 South Australian state election State elections were held in South Australia on 9 February 2002. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election, along with half of the 22 seats in the South Australian Legislative Council. The incumbent Liberal Party ...

. The final election contested by the party was the 2004 federal election in which the party gained 0.07% (7,802) first preference votes nationally for the House of Representatives and 0.08% (9,713) first preference votes nationally for the Senate. The party was automatically de-registered in 2006, along with all non-parliamentary political parties, as a result of the ''Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2006''. The party did not apply for re-registration.

References

{{Defunct Australian political parties Defunct political parties in Australia Taxation in Australia Single-issue political parties Political parties with year of establishment missing Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Tax resistance

See also

References