Federal Labor | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1931 |
| Dissolved | 1936 |
| National affiliation | Australian Labor Party |
TheFederal Labor Party were the members of theAustralian Labor Party in the state ofNew South Wales who supported the federal party leadership inthe split with thestate Labor party which broke away in 1931. Federal Labor retained some seats in theParliament of Australia but was a minor party in state elections. The dispute was healed in 1936.
The Australian Labor Party was badly divided over how to respond to theGreat Depression in Australia. In 1931 the federal government ofJames Scullin and most of the state premiers agreed thePremiers' Plan, adeflationary economic policy.[1] HoweverJack Lang, thePremier of New South Wales, opposed the plan and instead advocated defaulting on debt payments and an inflationary approach. Lang was highly dominant in theNew South Wales branch of the party and thus much of the organisation supported him in disputes with the federal leadership.[2] In early 1931Eddie Ward, a supporter of Lang, wona by-election for Labor but was refused entry to the federal Labor caucus; in response Ward and other Lang supporters formed a "Lang Labor" group on the crossbenches.[3] Labor had also split on the right, withJoseph Lyons leading a section into the newUnited Australia Party.[4] In November 1931 the Lang Labor MPs joined the opposition in defeating the Scullin government in parliament, causing the1931 federal election.[1] At the election the state and federal branches fielded rival candidates, with the state pro Lang candidates known asAustralian Labor Party (New South Wales) and the federal pro Scullin candidates known asFederal Labor and headed by future Prime MinisterBen Chifley. Labor was heavily defeated at the election, losing most of its seats in New South Wales. Of the survivors, four supported Lang and three Scullin.[5]
In the state Labor party, Lang had secured heavy support and thus the entire state caucus remained loyal. Lang wascontroversially dismissed from office in May 1932 and Labor would not return to power until 1941.[2] Federal Labor candidates contested the1932 and1935 state elections but won no seats.[6][7] In February 1936 new federal Labor leaderJohn Curtin oversaw a reunification of the rival Labor parties.[8]
Results are for New South Wales only.
| Election | Seats won | ± | Total votes | % | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 3 / 28 |  17 | 214,973 | 16.8% | Opposition |
| 1934 | 1 / 28 | 2 | 140,700 | 10.3% | Opposition |
| Election | Seats won | ± | Total votes | % | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 0 / 90 |  0 | 56,641 | 4.24% | Not in chamber |
| 1935 | 0 / 90 | 0 | 59,694 | 4.75% | Not in chamber |