In Australian politics, the Coalition is a formal alliance of broadly centre-right parties, which has existed in various forms since 1923. The partners in the alliance are the Liberal Party (LPA), the National Party (formerly the Country Party and the National Country Party), the Country Liberal Party (CLP), and the Liberal National Party (LNP). Notable previous partners were the Nationalist Party and the United Australia Party, both predecessors of the current Liberal Party. The extent to which these parties are in alliance varies at state and territory level. At one extreme, the National Party of Western Australia and The Nationals South Australia currently compete alongside the Liberals, while the CLP and LNP, contesting elections only in the Northern Territory and Queensland, respectively, were formed from mergers of Liberal and National state branches. A Liberal–National merger at national level has been proposed on several occasions, without much progress.