Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats (in regular parlance, just the Democrats), is an Australian social liberal party formed in 1977 from the earlier Australia Party by Don Chipp, who left the Liberal Party of Australia to do so. His stated aim was to "Keep the Bastards Honest" (the "bastards" being politicians in general). Despite its name (and the name of the rival and conservative Liberal Party of Australia), the Australian Democrats can be considered the counterpart of European liberal parties. After a poor performance at the 2004 federal election, the Australian Democrats' future as a political force is in question.

Support

Support for the Democrats has tended to fluctuate between about 5 and 10 percent of the population and is geographically concentrated around the wealthy dense urban neighbourhoods (known in Australia as the "inner-suburbs and CBD") of the capital cities (especially Adelaide). They have therefore never managed to win a House of Representatives seat (despite coming close on a number of occasions). During the 80's and 90's they typically held one or two of the Federal Senate seats in each state, as well as a handful of representatives in state parliaments and local councils. But the rise of the Greens and internal bickering in the early 00's changed this, and the Democrats are now in heavy decline - receiving less than 3% of the vote at all but a handful of booths, even in their Adelaide heartland. Their voters are turning to the Liberals and Greens in almost equal numbers.

Related Topics:
Urban neighbourhoods - Capital cities - Adelaide - House of Representatives - Senate

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