What is Nationalist Party of Australia?
{{distinguish|National Party of Australia}} {{Infobox Australian political party | party_name = Nationalist Party of Australia | party_logo = | party_wikicolourid = Nationalist | leader = [[Billy Hughes]], [[Stanley Bruce]], [[John Latham (Australian jurist)|John Latham]] | deputy = | foundation = 1917 | predecessor = [[Commonwealth Liberal Party]]<br/>[[National Labor Party]] | dissolution = 1931 | successor = [[United Australia Party]] | ideology = [[Conservatism]]<br>[[Nationalism]] | position = [[Centre-right]] | international = }} [[Image:Hughes15-16.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[Billy Hughes]], Nationalist Prime Minister of Australia 1915-1923]][[Image:Stanleybruce.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[Stanley Bruce]], Nationalist Prime Minister of Australia 1923-1929]] The '''Nationalist Party of Australia''' was an Australian [[political party]]. It began on 17 February 1917 when the conservative [[Commonwealth Liberal Party]] and the [[National Labor Party]] (NLP) joined together. The Nationalist Party held government until 1929. It was the major opposition to the Labor party. In 1931 it joined with a group who left the Labor Party led by [[Joseph Lyons]] and became the [[United Australia Party]]. This was the basis of the [[Liberal Party of Australia]] which began in 1944. ==History== In October 1915 [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[Andrew Fisher]] retired. The [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP) chose [[Billy Hughes]] to be the new leader and Prime Minister. He was a strong supporter of Australia's participation in [[World War I]]. After a visit to Britain in 1916 he decided that [[conscription]] was necessary to get enough soldiers for the Australian army. Most of his party, especially the [[trade union]]s, did not support conscription. There were also many [[Irish people|Irish]] [[Roman Catholics]] in the Labor Party who did not want to support the British government. This was because of the British government's actions against the Irish [[Easter Uprising]] of 1916. In October Hughes held a [[plebisc