Why did leading centre-right Queenslanders absent themselves from the Unity Conferences that helped spawn the Liberal Party, and did this slight separation from the Liberal fold presage the later Queensland Liberal merger with the Nationals?

In the ninth episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Lyndon Megarrity to discuss the history of the Queensland People’s Party – which became the Queensland Liberal Party in 1949.

Dr Lyndon Megarrity is adjunct lecturer at the College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University. He is an historian and author, and has written several books and articles on a range of subjects, including Queensland political history, overseas student policy, Northern Australia and local government. His latest book is Rex Patterson: A Voice for the North (2024).