Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Bill Shorten |
| Deputy Leader | Tanya Plibersek |
| President | Wayne Swan[1] |
| National Secretary | Noah Carroll |
| Founded | 8 May 1901 |
| Headquarters | 161 London Circuit, Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2600 |
| Youth wing | Australian Young Labor |
| Ideology | Social democracy Democratic socialism Third Way |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | Progressive Alliance Socialist International (Formerly) |
| House of Representatives | 69 / 150 |
| Senate | 26 / 76 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is one of the two major political parties in Australia. The party was formed in 1891, and is the oldest political party in Australia. It is a social democratic party with strong links to the Trade Union movement. Since 1944, their main opponents have been the Liberal Party. The Labor Party most recently formed the Government from 2007 to 2013. This was under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, who became the first female Prime Minister of Australia. Labor lost the election to the Liberal Party in September 2013. It currently holds 69 seats in the House of Representatives and 26 seats in the Senate.
In the state and territory parliaments, Labor governs in South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
History[change | change source]
In the 1860s the trade unions in Australia began to try to get better wages and working conditions for their members. They were defeated by employers, the legal system, and the governments of the Australian colonies. Workers soon decided that they needed to become active in politics, and make changes through parliament. The first meeting of the ALP is said to have taken place in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891.[2] A group of shearers, who were involved in a big strike action, held a meeting in the shade of a large ghost gum (eucalyptus) tree, Corymbia aparrerinja.[3] This tree became known as the "Tree of Knowledge".[2]
Prime Ministers of Australia[change | change source]
- Chris Watson, 1904.
- Andrew Fisher, 1908–1909 and 1910–1913 and 1914–1915.
- Billy Hughes, 1915
- James Scullin, 1929–1932.
- John Curtin, 1941–1945.
- Frank Forde, 1945.
- Ben Chifley, 1945–1949
- Gough Whitlam, 1972–1975.
- Bob Hawke, 1983–1991.
- Paul Keating, 1991–1996.
- Kevin Rudd, 2007–2010.
- Julia Gillard, 2010–2013.
- Kevin Rudd, 2013.
Current leaders of States and Territories of Australia[change | change source]
- Leader of the Opposition (New South Wales) – Luke Foley, since 2015.
- Premier of Victoria – Daniel Andrews, since 2014.
- Premier of Queensland – Annastacia Palaszczuk, since 2015.
- Premier of South Australia – Jay Weatherill, since 2011.
- Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania) – Bryan Green, since 2014.
- Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia) – Mark McGowan, since 2012.
- Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Michael Gunner, since 2016.
- Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Andrew Barr, since 2014.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Wayne Swan elected Labor national president". 18 June 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Australian Labor- History". alp.org.au. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
- ↑ "Eucalypts...but not Eucalyptus". anpsa.org.au. Retrieved 19 August 2010.