View source for Free Trade Party

{{Short description|Former political party in Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Free Trade Party
| native_name      = Free Trade and Liberal Association
| logo             = 
| logo_size        = 
| caption          = 
| colorcode        = {{party color|Free Trade Party}}
| abbreviation     = 
| leader1_title    = [[#Leaders|Leader]]
| leader1_name     = {{plainlist|
* [[Henry Parkes]]
* [[George Reid]] (1901–1908)
* [[Joseph Cook]] (1908–1909)
}}
| leader2_title    = Deputy Leader
| leader2_name     = [[Joseph Cook]] (1904–1908)
| founder          = 
| founded          = {{start date and age|1889|04}}<ref name=Kemp>{{cite book |last=Kemp |first=David |author-link=David Kemp (politician) |date=2019 |title=A Free Country: Australians' Search for Utopia 1861–1901 |url= |publisher=[[Melbourne University Publishing]] |page= |isbn=9780522873498 }}</ref>
| dissolved        = {{end date and age|1909|05}}
| merger           = {{plainlist|
* {{nowrap|Liberal Political Association}}
* Free Trade Association
}}
| split            = 
| predecessor      = 
| merged           = [[Liberal Party (Australia, 1909)|Liberal]]
| successor        = 
| headquarters     = [[Hunter Street, Sydney|Hunter Street]], [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]<ref name=Kemp/>
| newspaper        = 
| think_tank       = 
| membership_year  = 
| membership       = 
| ideology         = {{plainlist|
* '''1889–1900:'''
* [[Federalism]]
* [[Liberalism in Australia|Liberalism]] ([[Colonial liberalism|Colonial]])<ref name=Kemp/>
* ''[[Laissez-faire]]'' (factions)<ref name=Kemp/>
* '''1901–1909:'''
* [[Federalism]]
* {{nowrap|[[Conservatism]] ([[Conservatism in Australia|Australian]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Brett |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Brett |date=2012 |title=Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class: From Alfred Deakin to John Howard |url= |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |page=21 |isbn=978-0521536349}}</ref>}}
* [[Classical liberalism]]<ref name=Kemp/>
* [[Anti-socialism]]<ref name=griffiths>{{cite thesis |last1=Griffiths |first1=Phil |date=January 1998 |title=The Decline of Free Trade In Australian Politics, 1901–1909 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330512036_The_decline_of_free_trade_in_Australian_politics_1901-1909 |chapter=Chapter 2: Reid's anti-socialist gamble |pages=15–25 |publisher=[[Macquarie University]] |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.12644.01927 }}</ref>
}}
| position         = [[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191823541.001.0001/acref-9780191823541-e-22 |title=Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association |date= |website=oxfordreference.com |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref> to [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]<ref name=griffiths/><ref>{{cite journal|edition=37|last1=Griffiths|first1=Phil|date=2024 |title=White Australia and the Labour Movement|url=http://brisbanelabourhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QJLH-Issue-37.pdf |page=20 |journal=The Queensland Journal of Labour History }}</ref>
| religion         = 
| national         = 
| colours          = {{color box|{{party color|Free Trade Party}}|border=silver}} [[Yellow]]
| seats1_title     = [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|28|75|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}{{small|([[Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901–1903|1901–1903]])}}
| seats2_title     = [[Australian Senate|Senate]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|17|36|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}{{small|([[Members of the Australian Senate, 1901–1903|1901–1903]])}}
| seats3_title     = [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]]
| seats3           = {{Composition bar|79|124|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}{{small|([[Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1887–1889|1887–1889]])}}
| country          = Australia
}}
{{Liberalism in Australia}}

The '''Free Trade Party''' ('''FTP'''), officially known as the '''Free Trade and Liberal Association''' and also referred to as the '''Revenue Tariff Party''' in some states, was an [[Australian political party]]. It was formally organised in 1887 in [[New South Wales]], in time for the [[1887 New South Wales colonial election]], which the party won.

The party advocated the abolition of [[protectionism]], especially [[protective tariff]]s and other restrictions on trade, arguing that this would create greater prosperity for all. However, many members also advocated use of minimal tariffs for government [[revenue]] purposes only. Its most prominent leader was [[George Reid]], who led the [[Reid government]] as the fourth [[Prime Minister of Australia]] (1904–1905).

In New South Wales, it was succeeded by the Liberal and Reform Association in 1902, and federally by the '''Anti-Socialist Party''' in 1906.<ref>{{cite web |title=FREE TRADE PARTY |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/14754628 |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=8 January 2025 |page=7 |date=11 February 1906}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=PROTECTION AND THE LABOR PARTY |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110183242 |publisher=Herald |access-date=8 January 2025 |page=9 |date=26 May 1906 |quote=The Anti-Socialistic Party is the Free-trade Party; protection is socialistic.}}</ref> In 1909, the Anti-Socialist Party merged with the [[Protectionist Party]] to form the [[Commonwealth Liberal Party|Liberal Party]].

==History==
[[Image:George Reid crop.jpg|upright|thumb|[[George Reid]], Prime Minister of Australia 1904–1905]]

The party was centred on [[New South Wales]], where its leaders were [[Henry Parkes|Sir Henry Parkes]] and [[George Reid|Sir George Reid]]. It dominated New South Wales colonial politics before [[Federation of Australia|federation]]. It first contested the [[1887 New South Wales colonial election|1887 New South Wales election]].

At the [[1901 Australian federal election|1901 elections]] for the first [[Parliament of Australia|Commonwealth Parliament]], the Free Traders, who campaigned in some states as the Revenue Tariff Party, formed the second largest group in the [[Australian House of Representatives]], with 25 seats. Reid became the Parliament's first [[List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition|Opposition Leader]] with [[William McMillan (Australian politician)|William McMillan]] as his deputy, later becoming [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] in 1904–05. [[Dugald Thomson]] became deputy leader of the party in early 1904 following McMillan's retirement. Thomson would himself hand over the Deputy position to [[Joseph Cook]] on 28 July 1905 following the fall of the [[Reid government]].

A separate [[Revenue Tariff Party (Tasmania)|Tasmanian Revenue Tariff Party]] contested the [[1903 Australian federal election|1903 federal election]] in Tasmania and won two seats. However, the Tasmanian party sat and merged with the Free Trade Party in federal Parliament.

After the question of tariffs had largely been settled, Reid cast around for another cause to justify his party's existence. He settled on opposition to socialism, criticising both the [[Australian Labour Party]] and the support offered by it to the [[Protectionist Party]], led by [[Alfred Deakin]]. Reid adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs non-Labour lines – prior to the [[1906 Australian federal election|1906 election]], he renamed the Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the [[Westminster system|Westminster tradition]] and regarded a [[two-party system]] as very much the norm.<ref>[https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2015/04/images/stories/policy-magazine/2009-autumn/25-1-09-charles-richardson.pdf Fusion: The Party System We Had To Have? - by Charles Richardson CIS 25 January 2009]</ref>

The Labor Party and the FTP/ASP continued to grow in electoral strength at the expense of the Protectionist vote. Some Protectionists continued their exodus to Labor and the ASP.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

When Deakin proposed the [[Commonwealth Liberal Party]], a "Fusion" of the two non-Labour parties, Reid announced his intention to resign as party leader on 16 November 1908. [[Joseph Cook]] was elected leader unopposed on 26 November,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10163230?searchTerm=Cook%20leader|title=The Direct Opposition: Mr. J. Cook Chosen Leader|newspaper=Argus |date=27 November 1908 }}</ref> and he led the party until the merger with the Protectionists. No deputy leader was elected under Cook.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229101881?searchTerm=Cook%20deputy%20leader|title=Federal Opposition: No Deputy-Leader To Be Appointed|newspaper=Australian Star |date=December 1908 }}</ref>

==Leaders==
===New South Wales Parliament===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" 
! No.
! Leader<br /><small>(birth–death)</small>
! Portrait
! Electorate
! Took office
! Left office
! Term
! colspan="2"|Premier {{small|(term)}}  
|-
! rowspan="3"|1
| rowspan="3"|[[Henry Parkes]]<br /><small>(1815–1896)</small>
| rowspan="3"|[[File:Henryparkes.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="3"|[[Electoral district of St Leonards|St Leonards]], NSW
| rowspan="3"|1887
| rowspan="3"|22 October 1891
| rowspan="3"|{{age in years|4 February 1887|22 October 1891}} years
| height=10 style="background-color: {{party color|Free Trade Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|'''''[[Parkes ministry (1887–1889)|Parkes]]''''' <small>{{nowrap|(1887–1889)}}</small>
|-
| height=5 style="background-color: {{party color|Protectionist Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[Dibbs ministry (1889)|Dibbs]] <small>{{nowrap|(1889)}}</small>
|-
| style="background-color: {{party color|Free Trade Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|'''''[[Parkes ministry (1889–1891)|Parkes]]''''' <small>{{nowrap|(1889–1891)}}</small> 
|-
! rowspan="3"|2
| rowspan="3"|[[George Reid]]<br /><small>(1860–1947)</small>
| rowspan="3"|[[File:George Reid cph.3c31684.jpg|100px]]
| [[Electoral district of East Sydney|East Sydney]], NSW
| 18 November 1891
| 17 July 1894
| rowspan="3"|{{ayd|18 November 1891|29 March 1901}}
| height=5 style="background-color: {{party color|Protectionist Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[Dibbs ministry (1891–1894)|Dibbs]] <small>{{nowrap|(1891–1894)}}</small>
|-
| rowspan="2"|[[Electoral district of Sydney-King|Sydney-King]], NSW
| rowspan="2"|17 July 1894
| rowspan="2"|29 March 1901  
| style="background-color: {{party color|Free Trade Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|'''''[[Reid ministry (New South Wales)|Reid]]''''' <small>{{nowrap|(1894–1899)}}</small> 
|-
| height=5 style="background-color: {{party color|Protectionist Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[Lyne ministry|Lyne]] <small>{{nowrap|(1899–1901)}}</small>
|}

===Australian Parliament===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" 
! No.
! Leader<br /><small>(birth–death)</small>
! Portrait
! Electorate
! Took office
! Left office
! Term
! colspan="2"|Prime Minister {{small|(term)}}  
|-
! rowspan="6"|(2)
| rowspan="6"|[[George Reid]]<br /><small>(1860–1947)</small>
| rowspan="6"|[[File:George Reid cph.3c31684.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="6"|[[Division of East Sydney|East Sydney]], Aus
| rowspan="6"|29 March 1901
| rowspan="6"|16 November 1908
| rowspan="6"|{{ayd|29 March 1901|16 November 1908}}
| height=5 style="background-color: {{party color|Protectionist Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[Barton ministry|Barton]] <small>{{nowrap|(1901–1903)}}</small>
|-
| style="background-color: {{party color|Protectionist Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[First Deakin ministry|Deakin]] <small>{{nowrap|(1903–1904)}}</small> 
|-
| height=5 style="background-color: {{party color|Australian Labor Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[Watson ministry|Watson]] <small>{{nowrap|(1904)}}</small>
|-
| style="background-color: {{party color|Free Trade Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|'''''[[Reid ministry|Reid]]''''' <small>{{nowrap|(1904–1905)}}</small> 
|-
| style="background-color: {{party color|Protectionist Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal"|[[Second Deakin ministry|Deakin]] <small>{{nowrap|(1905–1908)}}</small> 
|-
| rowspan="2" height=5 style="background-color: {{party color|Australian Labor Party}}; border-bottom:solid 0 gray"|
! style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[First Fisher ministry|Fisher]] <small>{{nowrap|(1908–1909)}}</small> 
|-
! 3
| [[Joseph Cook]]<br /><small>(1860–1947)</small>
| [[File:Joseph Cook - Crown Studios 03.jpg|100px]]
| [[Division of Parramatta|Parramatta]], Aus
| 26 November 1908
| 26 May 1909
| {{age in days|26 November 1908|26 May 1909}} days
|}

==Electoral results==
===Parliament of New South Wales===
{| class=wikitable
|+[[New South Wales Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]]
|-
! Election year
! # of<br />overall votes
! % of<br />overall vote
! # of<br />overall seats won
! +/–
! Leader
|-
! [[1887 New South Wales colonial election|1887]]
| 78,238 (#'''1''')
| 60.75  
| {{Composition bar|79|124|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|–}}
| {{center|[[Henry Parkes]]}}
|-
! [[1889 New South Wales colonial election|1889]]
| 73,348 (#'''1''')
| 48.63
| {{Composition bar|66|137|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 13}}
| {{center|[[Henry Parkes]]}}
|-
! [[1891 New South Wales colonial election|1891]]
| 65,850 (#2)
| 36.49
| {{Composition bar|44|141|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 22}}
| {{center|[[Henry Parkes]]}}
|-
! [[1894 New South Wales colonial election|1894]]
| 60,966 (#'''1''')
| 30.34
| {{Composition bar|50|125|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 6}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|-
! [[1895 New South Wales colonial election|1895]]
| 56,347 (#'''1''')
| 37.15
| {{Composition bar|58|125|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 8}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|-
! [[1898 New South Wales colonial election|1898]]
| 58,214 (#2)
| 32.89
| {{Composition bar|45|125|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 13}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|}

===Parliament of Australia===
{| class=wikitable
|+[[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
|-
! Election year
! # of<br />overall votes
! % of<br />overall vote
! # of<br />overall seats won
! +/–
! Leader
|-
! [[1901 Australian federal election|1901]]
| 151,960 (#2)
| 30.03
| {{Composition bar|28|75|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|–}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|-
! [[1903 Australian federal election|1903]]
| 247,774 (#'''1''')
| 34.37
| {{Composition bar|24|75|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 4}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|-
! [[1906 Australian federal election|1906]]
| 363,257 (#'''1''')
| 38.17
| {{Composition bar|26|75|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 2}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|}

{| class=wikitable
|+[[Australian Senate|Senate]]
|-
! Election year
! # of<br />overall votes
! % of<br />overall vote
! # of<br />overall seats won
! +/–
! Leader
|-
! [[1901 Australian federal election|1901]]
| 1,053,012 (#2)
| 39.44
| {{Composition bar|17|36|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|–}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|-
! [[1903 Australian federal election|1903]]
| 986,030 (#'''1''')
| 34.33
| {{Composition bar|12|36|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 5}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|-
! [[1906 Australian federal election|1906]]
| 1,384,662 (#'''1''')
| 46.53
| {{Composition bar|14|36|hex={{party color|Free Trade Party}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 2}}
| {{center|[[George Reid]]}}
|}

==See also==
* [[1901 Australian federal election]]
* [[1887 New South Wales colonial election]]
* [[Liberalism in Australia]]
* [[Liberalism worldwide]]
* [[Libertarian Party (Australia)|Libertarian Party]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=reid-sir-george-houstoun-8173 |title=Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845–1918) |first=W. G. |last=McMinn |year=1998 |access-date=19 July 2012}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Free Trade Party}}

{{Liberal Party of Australia}}
{{Defunct Australian political parties}}
{{New South Wales political parties}}

[[Category:Liberal parties in Australia]]
[[Category:Defunct liberal political parties|Australia 1880s]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Australia]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1887]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1909]]
[[Category:1887 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:1909 disestablishments in Australia]]