New South Wales National Party

The National Party of Australia – N.S.W.,^{[lower-alpha 2]} commonly known as "The Nationals" or the NSW Nationals, is a political party in New South Wales which forms the state branch of the federal Nationals and has traditionally represented graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally.

New South Wales National Party
Leader	Dugald Saunders
Deputy Leader	Gurmesh Singh
Founded	1919; 105 years ago (1919)[citation needed]
Preceded by	Progressive Party
Headquarters	107 Pitt Street, Sydney
Youth wing	Young Nationals
Membership (2020)	3,036[lower-alpha 1]
Ideology	Conservatism (Australian) Agrarianism[3]
Political position	Centre-right
National affiliation	Federal Nationals
Colours	Green and Yellow
Slogan	"It's Your Time"
Legislative Assembly	11 / 93
Legislative Council	6 / 42
House of Representatives	7 / 47 (NSW seats)
Senate	2 / 12 (NSW seats)
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council	1 / 9
Website
www.nswnationals.org.au
Politics of Australia Political parties Elections

The party has generally been the junior partner in a centre-right Coalition with the NSW branch of the Liberal Party of Australia. Since 1927, the Nationals have been in Coalition with the Liberals and their predecessors, the Nationalist Party of Australia (1927–1931), the United Australia Party (1931–1943), and the Democratic Party (1943–1945). During periods of conservative government, the leader of the Nationals also serves as Deputy Premier of New South Wales. 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, and yet has not merged into a unified non-Labor party.

History

Name changes

The movement began as the Progressive Party, 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 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 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 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.^[5]

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 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. 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. John Barilaro, the leader of the NSW Nationals, 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".^[6]

Planned move to crossbench

On 10 September 2020, the Nationals NSW declared that they would no longer support the legislation of the NSW Liberal Party, and would effectively move to the crossbenches in Parliament. This was caused due to a new amendments to planning regulation which looked to class more forested area as koala habitat, restricting land clearing in such areas and increasing compliance for landowners, to which they disagreed with. In response, the Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, threatened to sack Barilaro and his colleagues from cabinet.^[7] Less than 24 hours later, on the morning of 11 September 2020, the Nationals backed down and rejoined the government.^[8]

Leadership

Leaders

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

Leader		Term start	Term end	Time in office	Deputy Premier	Notes
	Michael Bruxner	1921	1925	3–4 years	No	[9]
	Ernest Buttenshaw	1925	1932	6–7 years	No	[10]
	Michael Bruxner	1932	7 May 1958	25–26 years	1932–1941	[9]
	Davis Hughes	7 May 1958	26 March 1959	0–1 years	No	[11]
	Sir Charles Cutler	26 March 1959	16 December 1975	15–16 years	1965–1975	[12]
	Leon Punch	17 December 1975	2 July 1985	9–10 years	1975–1976	[13]
	Wal Murray	2 July 1985	26 May 1993	7–8 years	1988–1993	[14]
	Ian Armstrong	28 June 1993	14 January 1999	5 years, 200 days	1993–1995	[15]
	George Souris	14 January 1999	31 March 2003	4 years, 76 days	No	[16]
	Andrew Stoner	31 March 2003	16 October 2014	11 years, 199 days	2011–2014	[17]
	Troy Grant	16 October 2014	15 November 2016	2 years, 30 days	2014–2016	[18]
	John Barilaro	15 November 2016	6 October 2021	4 years, 325 days	2016–2021	[19]
	Paul Toole	6 October 2021	8 May 2023	1 year, 214 days	2021–2023	[20]
	Dugald Saunders	8 May 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 158 days

Deputy Leaders

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

Deputy Leader		Term start	Term end	Time in office	Leader	Notes
	William Fleming	1922	1922	0 years	Michael Bruxner	[21]
	Ernest Buttenshaw	1922	1925	2–3 years		[10]
	William Missingham	1925	1932	6–7 years	Ernest Buttenshaw	[22]
	David Drummond	1932	1949	16–17 years	Michael Bruxner	[23]
	Roy Vincent	1950	1953	2–3 years		[24]
	Doug Dickson	1953	1958	4–5 years		[25]
	Charles Cutler	1958	1959	0–1 years	Davis Hughes	[26]
	Bill Chaffey	1959	1968	8–9 years	Charles Cutler	[27]
	Davis Hughes	1968	1973	4–5 years		[11]
	Leon Punch	1973	1975	1–2 years		[13]
	Tim Bruxner	1975	1981	5–6 years	Leon Punch	[28]
	Wal Murray	1981	1984	2–3 years		[14]
	Ian Armstrong	4 April 1984	28 June 1993	9 years, 85 days	Wal Murray	[15]
	George Souris	28 June 1993	14 January 1999	5 years, 200 days	Ian Armstrong	[16]
	John Turner	14 January 1999	31 March 2003	4 years, 76 days	George Souris	[29]
	Don Page	31 March 2003	28 March 2007	3 years, 362 days	Andrew Stoner	[30]
	Andrew Fraser	28 March 2007	22 October 2008	1 year, 208 days		[31]
	Adrian Piccoli	22 October 2008	15 November 2016	8 years, 24 days		[32]
					Troy Grant
	Niall Blair	15 November 2016	2 April 2019	2 years, 138 days	John Barilaro	[33]
	Paul Toole	29 March 2019	6 October 2021	1 year, 208 days		[34]
	Bronnie Taylor	12 October 2021	20 June 2024	2 years, 252 days	Paul Toole	[35]
					Dugald Saunders
	Gurmesh Singh	20 June 2024	Incumbent	115 days

Election results

Election	Seats won	±	Total votes	%	Position	Leader
1927	13 / 90	4	100,963	8.89%	NP-CP Coalition government	Ernest Buttenshaw
1930	12 / 90	1	126,779	9.56%	Opposition
1932	23 / 90	11	175,862	13.16%	UAP-CP Coalition government	Michael Bruxner
1935	23 / 90	–	162,178	12.92%	UAP-CP Coalition government
1938	22 / 90	1	164,045	13.86%	UAP-CP Coalition government
1941	12 / 90	10	153,639	11.05%	Opposition
1944	10 / 90	2	131,950	10.41%	Opposition
1947	15 / 90	5	162,467	10.22%	Opposition
1950	17 / 94	2	144,573	8.97%	Opposition
1953	14 / 94	3	179,680	11.6%	Opposition
1956	15 / 94	1	172,020	10.16%	Opposition
1959	16 / 94	1	148,738	8.71%	Opposition	Charles Cutler
1962	14 / 94	2	180,640	9.37%	Opposition
1965	16 / 94	2	208,826	10.23%	LP-CP Coalition government
1968	17 / 94	1	229,656	10.62%	LP-CP Coalition government
1971	17 / 96	–	193,509	8.65%	LP-CP Coalition government
1973	18 / 99	1	261,504	10.48%	LP-CP Coalition government	Leon Punch
1976	18 / 99	–	270,603	10.03%	Opposition
1978	17 / 99	1	276,984	9.90%	Opposition
1981	14 / 99	3	314,841	11.21%	Opposition
1984	15 / 99	1	266,095	8.85%	Opposition
1988	20 / 109	5	440,482	13.74%	LP-NP Coalition government	Wal Murray
1991	17 / 99	3	324,214	10.52%	LP-NP Minority government
1995	17 / 99	–	378,878	11.10%	Opposition	Ian Armstrong
1999	13 / 93	4	331,343	8.87%	Opposition	George Souris
2003	12 / 93	1	368,004	9.63%	Opposition
2007	13 / 93	1	396,023	10.05%	Opposition	Andrew Stoner
2011	18 / 93	5	521,864	12.56%	LP-NP Coalition government
2015	17 / 93	1	464,653	10.55%	LP-NP Coalition government	Troy Grant
2019	13 / 93	4	436,806	9.60%	LP-NP Coalition government	John Barilaro
2023	11 / 93	2	403,962	8.59%	Opposition	Paul Toole

Notes

1. The membership figures were reportedly 7,779 in 2011 and dropped to 5,802 by June 2019.^[1] In 2021 it was reported by Crikey, citing supplied figures from the Grattan Institute, that the party's membership was numbered at 3,036, as of 2020.^[2] The total membership figures of the Liberal–National Coalition in New South Wales are 14,942 as of 2020.
2. The party name includes the periods in "N.S.W." according to the Australian Electoral Commission.^[4]

References

1. Hannam, Peter (4 October 2020). "'Shocked': quarter of Nationals members quit since coming to power". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
2. Hardaker, David (30 July 2021). "National party membership tumbles in NSW, Greens now have more". Crikey. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
3. "National Party Constitution" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
4. "Current register of political parties". Australian Electoral Commission. 22 March 2017.
5. Davey, Paul (2006). The Nationals: The Progressive, Country, and National Party in New South Wales 1919–2006. Leichhardt: Federation Press. pp. 452–453.
6. An abridged list of articles discussing neo-Nazi infiltration:

   • "'These guys are crazy': Barnaby Joyce backs 'Nazi' expulsions after backtrack". The Guardian. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
   • "Nationals clear man accused of leading alleged neo-Nazi branch stacking". The Guardian. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
   • Hutchins, Gareth (29 October 2018). "Far right extremists 'not welcome' in Nationals, leader says amid investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
   • Michael, McGowen (15 October 2018). "NSW Young Nationals expel and suspend members over far-right links". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
7. "NSW Government in turmoil as 'betrayed' Nationals effectively leave Coalition over koala bill". abc.net.au. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
8. Smith, Alexandra (11 September 2020). "NSW Nationals back down after Berejiklian's ultimatum". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
9. Aitkin, Don. "Bruxner, Sir Michael Frederick (1882–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
10. Kingston, Beverley. "Buttenshaw, Ernest Albert (1876–1950)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
11. "Sir Davis Hughes (1910–2003)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
12. "Sir Charles Benjamin Cutler (1918–2006)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
13. "The Hon. Leon Ashton Punch (1928–1991)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
14. "Mr (Wal) Wallace Telford John Murray (1931-2004)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
15. "The Hon. Ian Morton Armstrong". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
16. "The Hon. George Souris". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
17. "The Hon. Andrew John Stoner (1960- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
18. "The Hon. Troy Wayne Grant (1970- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
19. "The Hon. (John) Giovanni Domenic Barilaro, MP". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
20. "The Hon. Paul Lawrence Toole, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
21. Piggin, Stuart. "Fleming, William Montgomerie (1874–1961)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
22. "Mr William Thomas Missingham (1868–1933)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
23. Belshaw, Jim. "Drummond, David Henry (1890-1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
24. Sturma, Michael. "Vincent, Roy Stanley (1892–1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
25. "Mr Samuel Douglas Dickson (1894-1960)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
26. "Sir Charles Benjamin Cutler (1918–2006)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
27. Connors, Tom. "Chaffey, William Adolphus (Bill) (1915–1987)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
28. "The Hon. James Caird Bruxner". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
29. "Mr John Harcourt Turner (1949- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
30. "The Hon. Donald Loftus Page". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
31. "Mr Andrew Raymond Gordon Fraser, MP (1952 - )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
32. "Mr Adrian Piccoli (1970 - )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
33. "The Hon. Niall Mark Blair MLC". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
34. "The Hon. Paul Lawrence Toole MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
35. "The Hon. (Bronnie) Bronwyn Taylor, MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2019.

External links

• Official website