The Changing Type of Minor Party Elected to Parliament: The Case of the Australian Senate from 1949 to 2010

Abstract

This article offers a new perspective on the typology of minor parties elected to parliament. In particular, the article analyses minor parties elected to the Australian Senate from 1949 to 2010, and accounts for a shift in the type of minor party winning parliamentary representation. It shows that minor parties elected from 1955 to 1983 were created as a result of major-party fragmentation and sought to use their position in the Senate to either frustrate the major parties or act as ‘watchdogs'. Minor parties elected since 1984, however, promoted a specific policy agenda with links to social movements. The article argues that the first minor parties to win Senate representation can be seen as ‘secessionist’ minor parties, while those elected since 1984 can be seen as ‘movement’ minor parties.