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In 1977, the disillusioned Liberal party member, Don Chipp left the Liberal party in order to create an alternative to the Labor/coalition predominance which he saw as an idle vehicle for change in post-industrial culture. The Australian Democrats emerged and the success of the party, particularly in the last 15 years has proved they successfully tapped into the growing mass of irritation and discontent with the established two-party system, which lacked a middle road or alternative. The AD philosophy is therefore very hard to define. Unlike the ALP who rose out of the working class and trade unions, Liberal party who emerged from the middle class and the national party which came out of rural interests, with no sectional ties, the Australian Democrats owes no allegiance to any pressure groups and is not beheld to any concrete ideology enabling them to reap the full benefits from rising issues in politics. Despite this, the AD hae secured a loosely defined ideology in their dedication to environmental concerns, social justice, employment, equal opportunity and foreign control, landing a feeling of compassion, honesty and progress.
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