Country Party of Western Australia
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The Nationals
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|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Mia Davies |
| President | James Hayward |
| Founded | 1913 (as Country Party of Western Australia) |
| Headquarters | Level 1, 3 Ord Street, West Perth WA 6005 |
| Ideology | Agrarianism |
| Political position | Centre to Centre-right |
| Colours |
Green and Yellow |
| Legislative Assembly |
5 / 59
|
| Legislative Council |
4 / 36
|
| Website | |
| The Nationals WA | |
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity.
Founded in 1913 as the Country Party of Western Australia to represent the interests of farmers and pastoralists, it was the first agrarian party in Australia to contest and win seats at the 1914 state election. Since then, it has continuously held seats in the state's Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, particularly in the state's Wheatbelt region, and for many years it also held federal seats. While the party had historically functioned as part of a two-party coalition with the centre-right Liberal Party (and its predecessors) for most of its existence, tensions have existed over the coalition arrangement, and on two occasions the party split over the issue.
Since the passage of reforms to the electoral system initiated by the Labor Party reducing the number of non-metropolitan seats, the Nationals have refashioned themselves as an independent third party in Western Australian politics in an effort to ensure their survival and continued representation for agrarian interests in Parliament.
In 2005 the party confirmed its intention to maintain parliamentary independence from the Liberal Party. In 2007, leader Brendon Grylls stated that the party "took a significant step and said no to a traditional coalition with the Liberal Party and will contest the (next, 2008) election as a stand-alone conservative party". Following the unexpected hung parliament produced by the election, the Nationals found themselves holding the balance of power in both houses of the Western Australian parliament, opting ultimately to support the Liberals without establishing with them a coalition of one political force.
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