Prime Ministers and their Parties in Australia

Abstract

This chapter explores the different organizational traditions of Australia’s major parties, Labor and non-Labor, and the varying degree of autonomy that each historically granted to leaders. It shows that early on the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a paradigmatic case of an externally formed party and forerunner of other international labour parties, adopted a series of institutional practices to constrain leaders, whereas non-Labor with its cadre party origins gave greater latitude and autonomy to leaders. Since the 1960s, however, the ALP has accommodated itself to the norms of responsible government, liberating leaders from many of the former institutional shackles. The chapter shows that despite diminishing extra-parliamentary constraints on Australian prime ministers of either major party, their relationship with parliamentary colleagues remains crucial, not least because of the relative ease of removing leaders by a party room vote.