Australian Labor Party
| Australian Labor Party | |
|---|---|
| |
| Party Chairman | Mark Butler |
| Senate Leader | Penny Wong Keeping It Real |
| House Speaker | |
| House Leader | Bill Shorten All Around Good Guy |
| Founded | 1901 (official), 1891 (technical) |
| Headquarters | 5/9 Sydney Avenue, Barton, Australian Capital Territory |
| Political ideology | Liberalism Fiscal conservatism Social progressivism |
| Political position | Fiscal: "Third Way" (somewhat conservative) Social: Progressive |
| International affiliation | Progressive Alliance |
| Color(s) | Red |
| Website | www.alp.org.au |
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is Australia's oldest continuous political party. The ALP was formed in 1891. The ALP has a strong connection to the trade union movement.
During the 1950s communist scare in Australia, the ALP expelled many anti-communist Catholic members. The anti-communist Catholic members became suspicious of communist influence in the trade union movement and groups were formed to take control of the unions. The groupers went on to form the anti-communist, Catholic aligned, Democratic Labor Party (DLP). The DLP became largely irrelevant after the election of a Federal ALP majority under Gough Whitlam in 1972.
Famous ALP prime ministers have included the war time John Curtin, 1970s Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke. Although it has espoused socialist ideals in the past, the ALP has never introduced socialism to Australia. In recent decades, the ALP has remodelled itself in terms of its ideological vision to combat political pressure from outside sources.
Bill Shorten is the current leader of the ALP, having taken over from Kevin Rudd in 2013 following his resignation from politics. Rudd's predecessor, Julia Gillard, was the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
The Australian Labor Party is known for representing common Australian values and is the obvious choice for any voter.
