From 1977 onward — the years the Australian Democrats kept the bastards honest, and the people who made it happen.
Drag, scroll or step through the moments that made the Democrats — and the ones still to come.
Former minister Don Chipp launches the Australian Democrats. At the December election the new party polls 11.1% of the Senate vote and wins its first two seats — and Janine Haines becomes the first Democrat in federal parliament.
Holding the balance of power, the Democrats block a sales-tax rise and shield students and families from the harshest measures of the 1980/81 budget — three years into the party’s existence.
Green before it was mainstream: unequivocal opposition to damming the Franklin River, with Don Chipp and Tasmania’s Norm Sanders playing crucial parliamentary roles in keeping it wild.
Janine Haines becomes the first woman ever to lead an Australian federal parliamentary party — a full generation ahead of the major parties.
The Democrats hit their peak popularity under Haines — eight senators holding the balance of power, keeping both big parties honest.
More than a million Senate votes — and Natasha Stott Despoja becomes the youngest woman ever elected to the federal parliament, at 26.
Nine of the Senate’s 76 seats — Democrats elected in every state, scrutinising and improving legislation no matter who governed.
Lyn Allison’s bill removes the ministerial veto over RU486 — carried with women senators from across the political spectrum, 93% of whom voted for it.
Three decades in the Senate, 25 senators, and a party that pioneered participatory democracy — leaders and policies decided by the members themselves.
Re-registered with the AEC for federal elections. In WA, Lisa Griffiths outpolls One Nation in her seat. In NSW, the party is registered for local government elections.
Victoria’s registration is underway and divisions are mobilising in every state. The next milestone on this timeline could have your fingerprints on it.
Write it with us →Our first major achievement came in the form of the 1980/81 Budget. While Don Chipp had committed to not block the budget, other voices prevailed because it was so unpopular. John Howard, the treasurer at the time, had proposed a budget which included an increase of 2.5 percent in the sales tax. The Democrats blocked this measure, along with other proposals unpopular with the public, such as the re-introduction of higher education fees and the denial of dole payments to the spouses of strikers.
“The Democrats is a perfect party for me. I don’t like extremism and I won’t be told by any group that their ideas are 100% right and everybody else’s are 100% wrong, because that is patently not true.”
Janine Haines, An inspirational woman, Leader of the Democrats 1986–90
“I think it can be said of the Democrats, frankly, that they have been, if you assess their record over the years, very responsible in the exercise of that great influence… They have generally taken their balance of power role very seriously and have practised to great effect one of the great arts of politics: the art of compromise, which is required of us all…”
Senator Nick Minchin, Government Leader in the Senate, 25 Jun 2008
We always stood up for women. Lyn Allison introduced a bill to remove the Health Minister’s veto over RU486 – the medical alternative to surgical abortion – which led to a collaboration by four female Senators from across the political spectrum. The bill passed the Senate with 93% support from women.
The Australian Democrats are registered as a Federal political party with the Australian Electoral Commission and looking forward to re-entering the parliaments of Australia.
“The Australian Democrats have made a unique contribution to Australian political life over the past 30 years. Among the many contributions, five stand out for me:
The first is longevity. No minor party has made such a parliamentary contribution over 30 years. The Democrats have now surpassed the Democratic Labor Party in this regard.
The second is balance of power. There is no equivalent to the role the Democrats have played in the Senate for more than 25 years balancing the two major parties and improving their legislation by moving it away from the extremes.
The third is the Democrats’ substantial contributions to many policy areas, including the environment, equal opportunity, education, war and peace, and government honesty and transparency.
The fourth is internal party democracy. No other party has done more to empower its members through participatory democracy in policy development and leadership selection.
The fifth is through giving party leadership positions to many women. The record is remarkable in an environment in which men dominate the leadership positions in the major parties.”
Professor John Warhurst, ANU
“I was enthralled by the new party’s impacts and achievements. Many of its too many leaders became friends – and on a good day, and the party had many good days, the Democrats were great for democracy. Without them, Australian politics would have been even more mendacious and mediocre, more sleazy and cynical. That’s why I’d like the Dems to rise again, refreshed from their sabbatical. You’ll never keep the bastards honest – that’s an impossible task – but you can dramatise their deceits and duplicities.”
Phillip Adams, Journalist
“It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Democrats since their foundation. They provided a real alternative to the two major parties during periods when there was a danger that the position of the individual would be subsumed by machine-like politics. The Democrats have also been instrumental in calling public attention to human rights issues, which the present government in particular has not only ignored but effectively abandoned in so many areas. During my term as Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, it was my practice to brief major parties on family law issues and through I found the Democrats to be the most receptive to discussion on these important matters. It is to be hoped that they will continue to play their important role in the future.”
Retired Family Court Judge, Alastair Nicholson
The Australian Democrats have also been elected to upper houses of parliament in South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia and the ACT.
*Heather Southcott was the first woman to lead a political party in South Australia.
The story isn’t over. Help us return a principled, compassionate voice to parliament.