In 1984 Jo Vallentine was elected to the Australian Senate as a candidate for the newly formed Nuclear Disarmament Party, on the single issue of nuclear disarmament. She was the first and only person in the world to be elected on the single issues of nuclear disarmament.

The Nuclear Disarmament Party was formed in June 1984, around the demands of the Palm Sunday rallies, which earlier that year had been attended by 300,000 people. These were:

1. To close all foreign military bases in Australia.

2. To prohibit the stationing in Australia, or the passage through Australian waters or airspace, of any nuclear weapons or nuclear-powered warships.

3. To terminate immediately all mining and export of uranium, and to repudiate all commitments by previous governments to the mining, processing or export of uranium.

In the elections, 642,435 people cast their primary vote for the NDP, and thousands of members had joined in just a few months. A little known peace activist, Jo Vallentine was elected to the Senate from Western Australia with 6.7 % of the vote.