Western Australian National Party

Western Australian National Party
National Party of Australia (WA) Inc
Abbreviation
  • NWA
  • NPWA
  • NAT
LeaderShane Love
Deputy LeaderPeter Rundle
PresidentTony Crook
Founded12 March 1913; 111 years ago (12 March 1913)
Headquarters1 Graylands Road, Claremont, Western Australia 6010
Youth wingYoung Nationals
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationNational
Colours    Green and yellow
SloganFor Regional WA
Legislative Assembly
3 / 59
Legislative Council
2 / 36
House of Representatives
0 / 15
(WA seats)
Senate
0 / 12
(WA seats)
Website
www.nationalswa.com

The Western Australian National Party, officially known as the National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, and branded as Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia.[4] It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia, but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election, the Nationals have been the senior party in an opposition alliance with the WA Liberal Party in the state parliament.

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,[5] the Nationals have re-fashioned 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.

Prior to the 2021 election, the National Party was sitting on the crossbench, and the Liberal Party was the sole opposition party. The election resulted in the National Party winning more seats than the Liberal Party, and gaining official opposition status.[6] Under the opposition alliance, the National Party leader and deputy leader would be the opposition leader and deputy opposition leader, respectively, the first since 1947, and each party would maintain their independence from each other.[7][8]

  1. ^ Cockfield, Geoff; Curtin, Jennifer (2016). "The National Party of Australia's Campaign: Further 'Back from the Brink'" (PDF). press-files.anu.edu.au. Australia National University.
  2. ^ Merlan, Francesca; Raftery, David (2009). Tracking Rural Change: Community, Policy, and Technology in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. ANU Press.
  3. ^ Gauja, Anika; Chen, Peter; Curtin, Jennifer; Pietsch, Juliet, eds. (2018). Double Disillusion: The 2016 Australian Federal Election. ANU Press. pp. 687–688. doi:10.22459/DD.04.2018. hdl:10072/415462. ISBN 9781760461867.
  4. ^ "Current register of political parties". Australian Electoral Commission. 22 March 2017.
  5. ^ "ELECTORAL AMENDMENT AND REPEAL ACT 2005 (NO. 1 OF 2005) - SECT 4". Austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2021election was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference apr2021_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference apr2021_2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).