Independent Labor (Australia)

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This article is about the political affiliation in Australia. For the political grouping in New South Wales, see Independent Labor Group. For other uses, see Independent Labour Party (disambiguation).

Independent Labor (or Independent Labour) is a description used in Australian politics, often to designate a politician who is a Australian Labor Party (ALP) member but not endorsed by the party at elections. The label has also been used to describe candidate who identify with the labour movement, but not the ALP.[1]

The label is often used at local government elections, especially in states where the ALP does not endorse any candidates.

Currently, the only Independent Labor MP in a state parliament is David O’Byrne, who resigned from the party caucus in 2021.[2]

History

The first Independent Labour MP in federal politics was James Wilkinson, who was elected at the 1901 election. He had been a member of the ALP previously, and rejoined the party in 1903.[3]

Charlie Mutton was expelled from the Victorian Labor Party after contesting the 1940 Victorian state election as an Independent Labor candidate.[4] He was readmitted to the party in 1956.[4]

Doris Blackburn, a prominent socialist, was elected as the first female federal independent MP in 1946, standing as an Independent Labor candidate in the seat of Bourke.[5]

The Independent Labor Group was a grouping in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1959 to 1977, after a number of Labor MLCs were expelled from the party for voting against the abolition of the Legislative Council, which was then party policy.[6]

In more recent years, the label has been rarely used outside of local elections. Former MP Brenton Best nominated as an Independent Labor candidate in 2017, and Territory Labor MP Jeff Collins used the label after resigning from the party in 2019, before later joining Territory Alliance.[7][8]

On 23 August 2021, former Tasmanian Labor leader David O’Byrne resigned from the party caucus and now sits in parliament as an Independent Labor MP.[2][9]

Similar political descriptions

Australian politicians have also been elected under other independent labels, including Independent Liberal, Independent Free Trade, Independent UAP and Independent Socialist.[10]

See also

References

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