The Nuclear Disarmament Party (NDP) is a political party in Australia. The party was formed in 1984 and enjoyed considerable initial success. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The NDP was founded by a Canberra doctor and peace activist, Dr Michael Denborough, in response to the world political situation in the early 1980s, particularly the arms race between the United States under Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union. Such activists were disappointed that the Australian Labor Party government of Bob Hawke, elected in 1983, had not taken a stronger stance against the policies of the U.S. For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... An Arms Race is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... Robert James Lee Hawke AC (born 9 December 1929) is a former Australian trade union leader turned politician who became the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

At the December 1984 federal elections, the NDP recruited high-profile candidates to stand for the Australian Senate, which is elected by proportional representation. The best known of these was Peter Garrett, lead singer of the rock band Midnight Oil, who polled 9.6 % of the vote in New South Wales. Former Labor Senator Jean Melzer polled 7.3 % in Victoria. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Australian Senate chamber Entrance to the Senate The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. ... Proportional representation, also known as full representation, is an electoral system in which the overall votes are reflected in the overall outcome of the body or bodies of representatives. ... Peter Garrett campaigning in Melbourne for the 9 October 2004 Australian election Peter Garrett (born 16 April 1953), Australian musician and politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Kingsford Smith, New South Wales, since October 2004. ... Midnight Oil was an Australian rock band known for their driving hard rock sound, intense live performances and their overt left-wing political activism. ... Emblems: Floral - Waratah (Telopea Speciosissima); Bird - Kookaburra (Dacelo Gigas); Animal - Platypus (Ornithorhynchus Anatinus); Fish - Blue Groper (Achoerodus Viridis) Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Slogan or Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Const. ... Jean Isobelle Melzer (b. ... Emblems: Pink heath (floral) helmeted honeyeater (bird) Leadbeaters possum (faunal) Motto: Peace and Prosperity Slogan or Nickname: Garden State, The Place To Be, On The Move Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ...

Because of the adverse distribution of preferences (see Australian electoral system), neither Garrett nor Melzer was elected. But a little known peace activist, Jo Vallentine, was elected to the Senate from Western Australia with 6.7 % of the vote. A how-to-vote card from the Australian federal election of 2004, showing voters how to fill in the squares on the ballot paper if they wish to vote for the Liberal Party of Australia. ... Josephine Vallentine (b. ... Emblems: Floral - Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos manglesii); Mammal - Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus); Bird - Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Const. ...

In April 1985, however, Vallentine, Garrett and Melzer, along with about 80 other members, resigned from the NDP, claiming that the party had been taken over by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), a Trotskyist group. This article is about the year. ... The Democratic Socialist Perspective (DSP), is a Marxist political tendency within a broad Australian socialist grouping, the Socialist Alliance. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ...

Vallentine said she had resigned because the NDP's party conference had been: "dominated by members of SWP, who attended in order to block a proposal that would have barred members of other parties from membership of the NDP." Vallentine sat as an independent Senator until 1990, when she joined the Greens. This article is about the year. ... The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is the national Greens party in Australia. ...

Garrett said: "We have left behind the Achilles heel. We have left the wrangles of a small left-wing group who came into our organisation piggy-back fashion. The structure of the NDP was dominated and co-opted by the SWP, and it became impossible to work on peace and disarmament." Garrett did not join another political party until June 2004, when he joined the Labor Party and became a candidate at the 2004 federal election. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Legislative elections were held in Australia on 9 October 2004. ...

After this split the NDP consisted of a group of activists led by Denborough. At the July 1987 federal election, the party's Senate vote in New South Wales fell from 9.6 % to 1.5 %. But because of the peculiarities of the Australian electoral system the NDP's Robert Wood was elected after receiving preferences from other parties. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In May 1988, however, Wood was disqualified from membership of the Senate on the grounds that he had not been an Australian citizen at the time of the election. His seat was awarded to the second candidate on the NDP ticket, Irina Dunn. When Wood became eligible for Senate membership, the NDP asked Dunn to resign so that Wood could reclaim his seat. Dunn refused, and was expelled from the NDP. She sat as an independent until being defeated at the 1990 election. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Patricia Irene (Irina) Dunn is an Australian writer, and served in the Australian Senate between 1988 and 1990. ... This article is about the year. ...

The NDP stood candidates at the 1998,2001, and 2004 federal elections and in 2004 its preferences helped unseat Larry Anthony a Federal Minister in the Howard government.

External links

• Nuclear Disarmanent Party website