Independent Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Raphael Cilento |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Dissolved | 1954 |
TheIndependent Democratic Party (IDP), sometimes referred to as theIndependent Democratic Group, theQueensland Democratic Party or simply theDemocratic Party, was anAustralian political party that was active in the mid-1950s. It was led by public health administratorRaphael Cilento.
Ahead of the1953 Senate election, the party merged with theNew South Wales-basedDemocratic Party of Australia (DPA).[1] However, they split following the election.[2] The party was also separate from theNorth Queensland Democratic Party.[3]
The party merged with theDemocratic Party several months before the 1953 Senate election, with the DPA'sCharles Russell (a formerCountry Party MP) saying the decision was made because both parties had similar aims and ideologies.[4] The party endorsed Cilento as its lead candidate in Queensland.[5][6] Not long after the Senate election, which saw the Democratic ticket fail to win a seat, the parties split.[7]
At the1954 federal election, Cilento ran as the IDP's candidate in thedivision of McPherson, held byCountry Party leaderArthur Fadden. He was unsuccessful, receiving 34% of the vote.[8][9]
The party pledged to "restore representative government" in Australia, with Cilento criticising thetwo-party-system and stating that "uncontrolled competition between parties, and machine politics generally, can only lead to totalitarianism".[10]
The Democratic team was announced in a joint statement tonight by the chairman of the Democratic Party (Mr Lance Jones) and the chairman of the Independent Democrats (Sir Raphael Cilento).
The North Queensland Democratic Party had been invited to associate itself with the Independent Democrats, but had decided not to run candidates for the Senate
The Queensland Democratic Party chairman today said that his party had dissociated itself from the organisation calling itself the New South Wales branch of the Democratic Party.
