Australian Conservatives | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Cory Bernardi[a] |
| Founder | Cory Bernardi |
| Founded | 7 February 2017[b] |
| Dissolved | 25 June 2019 |
| Split from | Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | King William Street, Kent Town, South Australia 5067 |
| Membership (2017) |  22,000[c] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[2][6][7] |
| Colours | Light blue |
| Slogan | ...a better way |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 151 (2017–2019) |
| Senate | 1 / 76 (2017–2019) |
| SA Legislative Council | 2 / 22 (2017–2018) |
| Victorian Legislative Council | 1 / 40 (2017–2018) |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in Australia |
|---|
 |
The Australian Conservatives was formed in July 2016 as a conservative political activist group in Australia and as a political party in February 2017. It was led by Cory Bernardi, who had been elected to the Senate for the Liberal Party,[8] but resigned citing disagreements with the Liberal/National Coalition, its policies and leadership under Malcolm Turnbull.
The Family First Party and its two state parliamentarians, Dennis Hood and Robert Brokenshire, joined and merged with the Australian Conservatives in April 2017. Brokenshire was not re-elected at the 2018 state election; Hood left the Conservatives to join the Liberal Party on 26 March 2018,[9] leaving Bernardi as the sole remaining member in federal parliament, whose present term in the senate ran until 30 June 2022. In September 2017, the leaders of the Victorian branch of the Australian Christians agreed to merge the Victorian branch with the Conservatives.[10][11]
On 20 June 2019, Bernardi announced that he would deregister the party following the re-election of the Coalition Morrison government at the 2019 Australian federal election, citing a lack of political success and poor financial position.[12] The party was deregistered on 25 June 2019.[13]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Cory Bernardi to quit Liberals to form own conservative party". The Guardian. 5 February 2017.
- ^ a b Murphy, Katharine; Karp, Paul (6 July 2016). "Cory Bernardi establishes rightwing movement Australian Conservatives". The Guardian.
- ^ Sheridan, Greg (17 July 2017). "Bernardi building his power base". The Australian.
Senator Bernardi said his party had about 2,500 members in Victoria. Its total national membership was approaching 13,000. Each member pays a $25 fee and there are no discounted or free memberships.
- ^ Grattan, Michelle (20 June 2019). "Cory Bernardi to disband Australian Conservatives". The Conversation.
The fact that over 22,000 people formally joined the Australian Conservatives in our first year demonstrated just how badly the Coalition were haemorrhaging supporters who wanted their enduring values and traditional principles upheld. However, the decision to make Scott Morrison prime minister truly changed the political climate and our political fortunes. Rather than punish the Coalition for another new leader, many Conservatives breathed a sigh of relief that a man of faith and values was leading the Liberals back to their traditional policy platform.
- ^ a b "Cory Bernardi to split with Coalition to form Australian Conservatives party". ABC News. 6 February 2017.
- ^ "Cory Bernardi: Australia senator launches right-wing party". BBC. 7 February 2017.
- ^ Bourke, Latika (19 November 2019). "Right-wing warrior Cory Bernardi calls time on his political career". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "About". conservatives.org.au. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ Harmsen, Nick (26 March 2018). "Dennis Hood dumps Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives to join SA Liberals". ABC News. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ "Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives about to get more than 500 new Christian members". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Australian Christians disbanding in Vic". News.com.au. 30 August 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ Doran, Matthew (20 June 2019). "Bernardi cites 'lack of political success' as he calls time on his breakaway party". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- ^ "Australian Conservatives Voluntary Deregistration" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
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