TNL (political party)
Political party in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TNL, formerly registered as The New Liberals, was an Australian political party formed in 2019. Victor Kline, a barrister from Sydney, was the founder and party leader. By the party's dissolution, the party president was Katharine Kline and the party leader was Bess Brennan.[1]
TNL | |
|---|---|
| |
| Abbreviation | TNL |
| Leader | Bess Brennan |
| General Secretary | Steve Hopley |
| President | Katharine Kline[1] |
| Founder | Victor Kline |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Registered | 3 June 2021 |
| Dissolved | 28 November 2023 |
| Headquarters | 53 Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre to centre-left |
| Colors | Teal |
| Slogan | "Economically responsible. Socially progressive." |
| Website | |
| tnl | |
History
Foundation and registration
Victor Kline and three friends founded TNL in 2019 in response to what they saw as "a government that had apparently mastered the art of bare-faced corruption and an opposition that seemed incapable of calling them out". Initially, the party was named "The New Liberals". Kline claimed that the word "liberal" has twisted into a misnomer by the Liberal Party of Australia, and that many moderate disaffected Liberal and ex-Liberal voters are attracted to TNL.[citation needed]
In the 2020 Eden-Monaro by-election, Karen Porter ran as an independent under the party banner.[2] She received 1.28% of votes, placing 7th out of 14 candidates.[3]
The party's registration was approved by the Australian Electoral Commission on 3 June 2021.[4] The Liberal Party of Australia objected to the registration, due to the similarity in party names and the potential to cause confusion among electors.[5][6] Due to changes to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 regarding party names, this decision overturned by the Australian Electoral Commission and the party's registration was revoked on 7 December 2021.[7] The party was re-registered again as TNL on 17 March 2022.[8]
Alex Turnbull, the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, joined TNL in August 2021.[9]
At the 2022 federal election, the party endorsed eight candidates for the House of Representatives, in four states. None were successful. The party also endorsed a total of eight candidates for the Senate, two in New South Wales and six in Queensland.[10]
The party was de-registered on 28 November 2023.[11]
Christian Porter case
In June 2021, Kline announced that he, along with party candidate and former prosecutor Vania Holt, would be pursuing a private criminal case against Christian Porter over rape allegations he is facing.[12][13]
Policies
Some of the party's key policies included:[14]
- A federal anti corruption commission.[15]
- A climate policy with the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.[16]
- A full employment and job guarantee scheme (JGS).[17][18]
- Support for Housing First.[19]
- Placing a Bill of Rights into the Constitution.[19]
