History UsefulNotes / AustralianPolitics

* '''Jacqui Lambie Network''': Founded in 2015 by ex-Palmer United Senator Jacqui Lambie [[StartMyOwn to allow her to re-contest her Senate seat at the 2016 election]]. Basically a populist "big tent" party reflecting Lambie's own political stances of Tasmanian regionalism, support for working class "battlers" and veterans' rights, opposition to "Chinese foreign interference" and more recently governmental integrity. At first, it was a bit of a mix of Centre Alliance and One Nation, but has more recently gone under a "leftification" after Lambie was featured on reality shows in which she saw the horrors that refugees face first-hand. Won an additional Senate seat in 2022 with the election of Tammy Tyrrell and is now one of the two Senate "kingmakers" along with David Pocock, meaning the Labor government needs either of their votes along with the Greens in order to pass anything not supported by the Liberals (theoretically, they could also pass legislation by with the suppourt of Pauline Hanson or the UAP, but in practice that's unlikely to happen, and any concessions to them would likely be opposed by the Greens).

* '''Australian Conservatives''': Founded in 2017 by ex-Liberal member Cory Bernardi, whilst riding high on the 2016 election results. Their entire platform is basically opposing anything that could be considered remotely progressive, including LGBT rights, reproductive rights and anything to do with the environment or sustainability. Wants to enforce freedom of religion, so long as said religion is Christian and believe that racial discrimination laws are an attack on free speech (which given Australia's reputation, leaves you wondering exactly what it is that's being kept quiet). Bernardi eventually disbanded the party in 2019 after failing to secure a single seat in the federal election, with media outlets speculating that he might just go crawling back to the Liberals.
* '''Christian Democratic Party''': Even more the Christian Right than Family First, this was a small but rather persistent party under the Reverend Fred Nile, who kept up from his sinecure in the New South Wales Legislative Council. Deregistered in 2022, with Nile briefly joining the Seniors United Party before that party was deregistered as well. He and his wife Silvana subsequently contested the 2023 NSW state election as independents.

* '''Libertarian Party''': Another new party which gained a federal Senate seat in 2013, representing New South Wales (where it notably outpolled the Greens). Currently only holds seats at state and local government level in NSW & Victoria, though they briefly regained representation in the federal Senate from April to May of 2022 when ex-Country Liberal senator Sam [=McMahon=] joined the party. Originally founded in 2001 as the Liberal Democratic Party by economist John Humphreys and allied with the Australian Libertarian Society. Unlike the British Liberal Democratic Party, the LP supports both social liberalism (being socially to the left of even the Greens; supporting ending the drug war, monopolizing the gambling market, and supporting same-sex marriage and freer immigration) and economic liberalism (in the [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies classical liberal]] sense of the term (being economically to the right of the Australian Liberal Party); supporting free markets, deregulation of the labor market, ending barriers to international trade). Roughly the Australian equivalent to the Libertarian Party in the United States or the Free Democratic Party in Germany. Not to be confused with the earlier Libertarian Party of Australia, originally founded in 1977 and now known as Liberty Australia.

Since they're all interchangeable bastards, we don't bother remembering any politician's names, so the only ones the average Aussie will know (apart from Harold Holt above, or WWII PM John Curtin, or Robert Menzies post-WWII) are the last dozen-or-so Prime Ministers: Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese.

* '''Liberal Democratic Party''': Another new party which gained a federal Senate seat in 2013, representing New South Wales (where it notably outpolled the Greens). Currently only holds two state seats in the Victorian Legislative Council, though they briefly regained representation in the federal Senate from April to May of 2022 when ex-Country Liberal senator Sam [=McMahon=] joined the party. Formed in the mid-2000s by economist John Humphreys and allied with the Australian Libertarian Society. Unlike the British party of the same name, the LDP supports both social liberalism (being socially to the left of even the Greens; supporting ending the drug war, monopolizing the gambling market, and supporting same-sex marriage and freer immigration) and economic liberalism (in the [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies classical liberal]] sense of the term (being economically to the right of the Australian Liberal Party); supporting free markets, deregulation of the labor market, ending barriers to international trade). Roughly the Australian equivalent to the Libertarian Party in the United States or the Free Democratic Party in Germany.