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 family life, focusing on reform of family law and child support. The party's core policies centred on the issue of family law reform, emphasising legislative changes in order to ensure children maintain a relationship with both parents. The policies focused on assisting non-custodial parents, grandparents and spouses of non-custodial parents, particularly those not granted contact with their children.

History

The Non-Custodial Parents Party was formed in Australia in 1998 by Andrew Thompson and other concerned citizens. The NCPP ran 20 candidates for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

and two candidates for 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 ...

in the 1999 state election. The NCPP contested six seats and 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 New South Wales for the

2001 Australian federal election The 2001 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minis ...

. A NCPP candidate, John Flanagan, contested the

2002 Cunningham by-election The 2002 Cunningham by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Division of Cunningham, Cunningham in New South Wales on 19 October 2002. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the Australian Labor Party ...

and received 556 votes, representing 0.83% of the total vote. In the 2004 federal election, the NCPP fielded candidates in states other than in New South Wales for the first time. The party ran for the Senate in

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, Victoria,

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_ ...

and

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 th ...

, and nationally received a total of 12,207 votes, representing 0.10% of the national vote. The party also contested two seats in the House of Representatives,

Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C *Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player *Abe Cunningham, American drummer * Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...

and Parramatta, receiving 1,132 votes total. 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 NCPP successfully re-applied for registration under the name Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting). In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, the NCPP again contested four states in the Senate, and ran in Cunningham and Macarthur in the House. The Senate candidates received 6,385 first preference votes, or 0.05% of the total vote, while the House of Representatives candidates received 795 first preferences votes representing 0.01% of the national vote At the 2010 Federal Election, the NCPP contested the Senate only in New South Wales, winning 0.09% of the total New South Wales votes. and 0.03% of the national vote. The party also ran candidates in Cunningham and Throsby, receiving 2,835 votes. The NCPP ran for the Senate in New South Wales at the 2013 federal election, and also ran in three House of Representatives seats: Cunningham, Throsby, and

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

in Victoria. The party ran again in Cunningham and

Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

(formerly Throsby), and for the Senate in New South Wales, in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. The party nominated

Anthony Fels Anthony James Fels (born 19 November 1964) is a former Australian member of parliament and perennial candidate for public office. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council representing the Agricultural Region from 2005 to 2 ...

, a former member of the WA Legislative Council, for the

2017 Bennelong by-election A by-election for the House of Representatives (Australia), Australian House of Representatives seat of Division of Bennelong, Bennelong was held on 16 December 2017. Previous incumbent and Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal candidate John Ale ...

. Fels came last of 12 candidates with a primary vote of less than 0.2 percent. At the 2019 federal election, the party ran only in Cunningham, receiving 1,213 votes. The NCPP voluntarily de-registered in May 2020.

Notes

External links

Homepage
{{Australian political parties 1998 establishments in Australia Defunct political parties in Australia

History

See also

Notes

External links