Australia Party
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Australia Party
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|---|---|
| Leader | Reg Turnbull (1969-1970) |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Dissolved | 1977 |
| Preceded by | Liberal Reform Group |
| Merged into | Australian Democrats |
| Ideology | Opposition to conscription, social liberalism |
| Political position | Centrist |
The Australia Party was a minor political party established initially in 1966 as the Liberal Reform Group. As the Australia Party they became influential, particularly in the landmark 1972 federal election when their preferences assisted the Australian Labor Party to victory – ending 23 years of Liberal/Country Coalition government.
The Australia Party grew out of the Liberal Reform Group, a group of members of the Liberal Party of Australia and Independents who opposed the party's policy of conscription and military involvement in the Vietnam War. The leading figure in this group was a businessman, Gordon Barton, who was assisted in the funding by Ken Thomas of TNT Transport and with the party organisation and branch establishment by Nick Gorshenin, Sydney shark meshing contractor and North Sydney council alderman.
Gordon Barton and Ken Thomas sponsored a full page advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 October 1966 when US President Lyndon B. Johnson visited Sydney lamenting the involvement of Australian troops in the Vietnam War. At this time no political party was opposed to Australian involvement in the war. Nick Gorshenin rang Gordon Barton that evening and they decided to form the Liberal Reform Group. They used their various contacts to establish the initial branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle and Gold Coast.
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