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The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 1916, and nominated candidates for the 1917 state election and subsequent elections, gaining over 6% of the vote at the 1917 election and four seats in the Victorian lower house. In 1919 it also won its first seat in the federal parliament. At the 1920 state election the Farmers' Union's vote increased to 8% and the number of seats to 13, giving the Union the balance of power in the state Legislative Assembly. The party was a precursor to the Country Party in Victoria, which merged with other state parties to become the federal Country Party, later the National Party of Australia. ==Proposal and formation== The proposal to form the Union was made in a meeting of several farmers at Thorburn's Hotel in Woodend on 18 April 1914. The attendants at the meeting agreed upon the following resolutions regarding the formation of the association:〔 # That a Victorian Farmers' Union be formed. # That the qualification of membership be that they are legitimate farmers. # That the basis of union be absolutely non-political in the party sense. The meeting also outlined the union's objectives:〔 # To safeguard and promote the common interests of all primary producers in the State. # To meet labor unionism in industrial disputes with the spirit of reason and justice, and at the same time place ourselves in the best position to resist any unfair demands or unreasonable conditions being placed upon us. # By the application of the co-operative principle on safe and economic lines we propose to guard against the withering influence of monopolistic combinations of every form. The VFU was inaugurated, and held its first public meeting at Newham on 5 June 1914. While its first executive officers were appointed at this time, the VFU did little active organisation over the next two years due to the outbreak of World War I. In 1916, the VFU merged with the Farmers' Union of Victoria, an organisation with a similar name and objective, which had formed in the northern districts and was based in Melbourne. At the time of the merger, "party politics" were still prohibited as per the original resolutions, although the VFU agreed to formulate a political policy in its first conference held during Show Week later in the year. At the conference, which began on 26 September, the executive recommended that the VFU gain a parliamentary presence by admitting existing Members of Parliament. The proposal was rejected by the delegates, and instead it was agreed that members must join the VFU before being endorsed and nominated to stand for parliament at the next state election. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Victorian Farmers' Union」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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