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Participatory democracy was a founding principle for the Australian Democrats.For instance, the inaugural leader Don Chipp stated in 1977 that the Australian Democrats were founded on the premise that members be given the opportunity “for a greater say in the decisions that affect them”, [1] and the importance of participatory democracy is also a theme in Chipp’s 2004 memoirs. [2]
The Australian Democrats is a centrist [6] [7] political party in Australia. [10] Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's largest minor party from its formation in 1977 through to 2004 and frequently held the balance of power in the Senate during that time.
The country has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system under its Constitution, the world's tenth oldest, since Federation in 1901. Australia is the world's sixth oldest continuous democracy and largely operates as a two-party system in which voting is compulsory.
Since it was formed in 1977, the Australian Democrats have had a number of elected representatives at the federal, state and local level in Australia. [1] As of 2025, the Democrats do not have any elected representatives. [2] Robin Millhouse is recognised as the party's first parliamentarian, while David Winderlich is the last member of the ...
The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. Federally, 17 of the 151 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as well as 21 of the 76 members of ...
Control of policy and platforms are wholly determined within the party. [1] Candidate selection, in Australia typically called preselection, is a significant factor in the democratic process in Australia because the majority of voters base their decision at election time on the party rather than the candidate. In Australia the decision of who ...
The Libertarian Party (LP), formerly known as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is an Australian political party founded in Canberra in 2001. The party espouses smaller government and supports policies that are based on classical liberal , libertarian principles, [ 10 ] such as lower taxes, opposing restrictions on civil liberties ...
Ridgeway joined the Australian Democrats in 1990. [3] During 1997–98 he served as the state policy convener for the New South Wales Branch of the Democrats. He was subsequently selected in the first position on the Democrats' Senate ticket at the 1998 election. [citation needed] He has served on a number of parliamentary and senate committees ...