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Canberra Liberals

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Canberra Liberals
Liberal Party of Australia (A.C.T. Division)
LeaderElizabeth Lee
Founded27 January 1949; 75 years ago (1949-01-27)
Headquarters4/50 Geils Court, Deakin ACT 2600
Youth wingYoung Liberals
Women's wingLiberal Women's Council
Norfolk Island wingNorfolk Island Interest Branch
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationLiberal Party of Australia
Colours  Blue
Legislative Assembly
9 / 25
House of Representatives
0 / 3
(ACT seats)
Senate
0 / 2
(ACT seats)
Website
canberraliberals.org.au
Twitter logo of Canberra Liberals prior to 2021

The Canberra Liberals, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Australian Capital Territory Division), is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001.[1]

History

[edit]

The first Liberal branch in Canberra was formed in order to field a candidate in the newly created Division of Australian Capital Territory at the 1949 federal election. The first meeting of the branch was held at the Albert Hall on 27 January 1949. The inaugural meeting of the Canberra women's branch was held on 29 June 1949. By 1961, there were three branches of the Liberal Party in the ACT, and a branch of the Young Liberals was created around the same time.[2]

The party held a number of seats in the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly throughout its existence. In the first election under self-government in 1989 the Liberal Party won four seats.[3] The Liberals were led in the Assembly by Trevor Kaine, initially in opposition but in December 1989 the party formed a coalition known as the Alliance with the Residents Rally that lasted from December 1989 until June 1991 when a dispute over school closures broke up the coalition and returned the parties to opposition.[4] Kaine was briefly replaced as leader by Gary Humphries,[5] but regained the position a month later.[6] Two years later he was replaced by Kate Carnell.[7]

At the 1995 election the Liberals won 7 seats[8] and Carnell formed a minority government with the support of independent members Michael Moore and Paul Osborne. Carnell served as Chief Minister until October 2000 when she resigned in advance of a no confidence motion over the increased costs of the Canberra Stadium.[9] She was succeeded by Humphries but the party lost power in the 2001 election.[10] It has been in opposition ever since, having installed and removed multiple leaders including Brendan Smyth, Bill Stefaniak, Zed Seselja, Jeremy Hanson and Alistair Coe. The current leader of the party is Elizabeth Lee.[11]

In the 2022 federal election, Seselja, who was the sole Canberra Liberals parliamentarian in federal parliament, lost his Senate seat to independent David Pocock.[12] This left the Canberra Liberals with no representation in the 47th Parliament. A review into the territory division's defeat at the election would be headed by former WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan and former Victorian Liberal senator Helen Kroger. The review would include an examination of the Canberra Liberals and its electoral performance among different voter segments, and would propose strategies to regain federal representation.[13]

Leaders

[edit]
Leader Date started Date finished Chief Minister
Trevor Kaine 11 May 1989 21 June 1991 1989–1991
Gary Humphries 21 June 1991 22 July 1991
Trevor Kaine 22 July 1991 21 April 1993
Kate Carnell 21 April 1993 17 October 2000 1995–2000
Gary Humphries 17 October 2000 25 November 2002 2000–2001
Brendan Smyth 25 November 2002 16 May 2006
Bill Stefaniak 16 May 2006 13 December 2007
Zed Seselja 13 December 2007 11 January 2013
Jeremy Hanson 11 February 2013 25 October 2016
Alistair Coe 25 October 2016 27 October 2020
Elizabeth Lee 27 October 2020 present

Deputy Leaders

[edit]
Deputy Leader Date started Date finished Deputy Chief Minister
Tony De Domenico 1992 9 January 1997 1995-1997
Gary Humphries 9 January 1997 31 January 1997 1997
Trevor Kaine 31 January 1997 17 February 1997 1997
Gary Humphries 17 February 1997 17 October 2000 1997-2000
Brendan Smyth 17 October 2000 25 November 2002 2000-2001
Bill Stefaniak 25 November 2002 2004
Richard Mulcahy 2004 16 May 2006
Jacqui Burke 16 May 2006 13 December 2007
Brendan Smyth 13 December 2007 11 February 2013
Alistair Coe 11 February 2013 25 October 2016
Nicole Lawder 25 October 2016 27 October 2020
Giulia Jones 27 October 2020 January 2022
Jeremy Hanson February 2022 7 December 2023
Leanne Castley 7 December 2023 present

Election results

[edit]
Election Seats won ± Total votes % Position Leader
1989
4 / 17
Increase4 21,088 Increase14.87% Opposition Trevor Kaine
1992
6 / 17
Increase2 45,203 Increase29.03% Opposition Trevor Kaine
1995
7 / 17
Increase1 66,895 Increase40.48% Minority government Kate Carnell
1998
7 / 17
Steady0 68,221 Decrease37.83% Coalition Kate Carnell
2001
7 / 17
Steady0 60,390 Decrease31.64% Opposition Gary Humphries
2004
7 / 17
Steady0 71,083 Increase34.81% Opposition Brendan Smyth
2008
6 / 17
Decrease1 66,861 Decrease31.56% Opposition Zed Seselja
2012
8 / 17
Increase2 86,032 Increase38.90% Opposition Zed Seselja
2016
11 / 25
Increase3 89,632 Decrease36.72% Opposition Jeremy Hanson
2020
9 / 25
Decrease2 90,955 Decrease33.8% Opposition Alistair Coe
2024
0 / 25
TBD TBD TBD TBD Elizabeth Lee

References

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  1. ^ CONSTITUTION of the LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA (AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY DIVISION) Archived 21 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, as amended November 2018
  2. ^ "Our History". Canberra Liberals. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. ^ "List of elected candidates - 1989 Election". Elections ACT. 6 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. ^ "'The accidental chief minister': Trevor Kaine 25 years on". Canberratimes.com.au. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  5. ^ "15 Jun 1991 - Kaine defers to Humphries after all - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au. 15 June 1991. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  6. ^ "21 Jul 1991 - Humphries ditched - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au. 21 July 1991. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  7. ^ "22 Apr 1993 - The ten-minute coup that stopped a hemorrhage - Trove". Canberra Times (Act : 1926 - 1995). Trove.nla.gov.au. 22 April 1993. p. 1. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  8. ^ "List of elected candidates - 1995 Election". Elections ACT. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  9. ^ "ACT's controversial former chief minister Kate Carnell has returned to the main game selling a forceful message". Canberratimes.com.au. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Liberals Analysis. ACT Election Guide 2004". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  11. ^ Green, Antony. "Election Preview". ABC News. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  12. ^ "David Pocock officially declared first independent senator for the ACT, unseating Liberal Zed Seselja". ABC News. 14 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Review into Canberra Liberals election defeat to tackle independents 'challenge'". Riotact. 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.