The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) is a minor political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism. It is descended from, but not legally the same as, the Democratic Labor Party which existed from 1955 to 1978, and which until 1974 played an important role in Australian politics. At the 2006 Victorian election, the DLP won parliamentary representation for the first time when it won a seat in the Victorian Legislative Council. Social conservatism is a belief in traditional or natural law-based morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. ... The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) was a political party in Australia between 1955 and 1978. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The state election for the 56th Parliament of Victoria is scheduled for 25 November 2006. ... The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia. ...

The old DLP was wound up in 1978, but a small group of DLP activists in Victoria refused to accept the dissolution of the party and formed a new DLP, which has contested Senate elections in Victoria at every election since 1984. The party is largely run by John Mulholland and his family, and its main platform is opposition to abortion, euthanasia, therapeutic cloning and same-sex marriage, and also opposition to economic rationalism. The party no longer has the patronage of the Catholic Church but still has some support among conservative Catholics. Euthanasia (from Greek: ευθανασία -ευ, eu, good, θανατος, thanatos, death) is the practice of terminating the life of a person or an animal because they are perceived as living an intolerable life, in a painless or minimally painful way either by lethal injection, drug overdose, or by the withdrawal of life support. ... Blastocyst. ... Same-sex marriage is the legal union of two people who are of the same biological sex or gender. ... Economic rationalism is an Australian term in discussion of microeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world, in particular during the 1980s and 1990s. ... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ...

At the 2004 Federal Election, the DLP received 58,042 first preference, or 1.94% of all votes, in the Victorian Senate election [1]. These votes assisted in the election of Steve Fielding from Family First to the Senate, even though the DLP vote was higher than the Family First vote. It also contested the federal divisions of Ballarat, [2] and McMillan[3]. Legislative elections were held in Australia on 9 October 2004. ... Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960), Australian politician , is parliamentary leader of the Family First Party. ... The Family First Party is a political party in Australia. ... The Division of Ballarat is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. ... The Division of McMillan is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. ...

The DLP contested the 2006 Victorian State Election, fielding candidates in the eight regions of the reformed Legislative Council, where proportional representation gave the party the best chance of having members elected. It polled 1.97% of the first preference[4] vote. However, in two regions it polled higher, with 2.70% in Western Victoria and 5.11% in Northern Metropolitan. This was enough to elect one member, Peter Kavanagh, on ALP preferences in Western Victoria Region. They briefly looked set to have a second member, John Mulholland, elected in Northern Metropolitan, but this result was overturned after a recount. The state election for the 56th Parliament of Victoria is scheduled for 25 November 2006. ... The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia. ... Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation, or PR), is an electoral system delivering a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates (grouped by a certain measure) obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive (usually in legislative assemblies). ... The Western Victoria Region electoral district should not be confused with the more general term Western District, which describes parts of the same area. ...

Politics of the DLP

Following the suprise election of DLP candidate Peter Kavanagh, many commentators have become interested in what the party stands for. Attention has been given to some of the more controversial of DLP statements, such as the pronouncement by founder, John Mulholland that "In Australia, we need to be told the truth about HIV-AIDS, and it is predominantly a homosexual disease, that is not something that can be disputed."^[1]

However, the party claims to have a more comprehensive policy platform than is represented by such comments, and Peter Kavanagh has referred to the heritage of the historic Democratic Labor Party, saying that "The DLP remains the only political party in Australia which is pro-family, pro-life and genuinely pro-worker."^[2] The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) was a political party in Australia between 1955 and 1978. ...

References

-1... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is the current Australian Collaboration of the Fortnight! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Civic Council (NCC) is an Australian public policy think tank. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

External link

• DLP website