Australian Party System Research Articles

Initiative‐Resistance and the Australian Party System

In the first half of the twentieth century, writing about Australian political parties was strongly influenced by the novelty of government — and the policy agenda — being led by the political arm of organised labour. This was reflected in the tendency for commentators to treat Labor as the driving force in Australian politics and policy, and to see non‐Labor as playing a predominantly reactive and oppositional role. Following strong criticism, the “initiative‐resistance thesis”, as this perspective was termed, lapsed. Here we revisit the concept, tracking its origins, use, and ultimate demise in the 1960s, and reconsider its validity and relevance, particularly in light of its affinity with the international literature on the “impact of parties”. While initiative‐resistance was never a “thesis” as such, and critics have overstated the hold it enjoyed in early accounts, we argue that there is merit to a version reformulated in clear propositional terms. Critics may also have overstated its weaknesses. We illustrate this by focusing on one of the main original criticisms: the need to do justice to the separate identity of the National Party in understanding an essentially two‐party system.

Party development in the early decades of the Australian parliament: a new perspective

ABSTRACTThis study offers a new perspective on the development of political parties in the Australian House of Representatives. We analyse a data set of 3060 legislative votes to estimate how parties influenced the behaviour of 287 legislators who served in the first 12 parliaments (1901-31). We show that the socialisation of members and cohort replacement effects, as well as a decline in private member business and committee votes, explain why partisanship increased over time. Our results challenge two widely held beliefs about the organisation of political parties in the legislative arena and the Australian party system. First, the analysis demonstrates that the government’s ability to increase party discipline through control of the legislative agenda is limited when parliament is engaged in nation-building projects. Second, our study suggests that introducing restrictive parliamentary procedures played a role in consolidating Australia’s unique two-party system, which opposes Labor to the Liberal–National coalition.

Future Shock or Future Stability?: Generational Change and the Australian Party System

The stability of the Australian two‐party system has been a long‐running feature of Australian politics. But a question outstanding in the literature is how different generations of Australians contribute to the stability of the Australian two‐party system and how this has changed over time. In answering this question, this article sheds light on generational effects and party system change that better informs us about the sources of voting patterns over a long period of time. Further, this article draws on and builds on the international literature on generations and party systems.

Are We ‘All Socialists Now’? New Liberalism, State Socialism and the Australian Settlement

Addressing a Labor party conference in 1908 Andrew Fisher claimed that ‘We are all Socialists now and indeed the only qualifi cation you hear from anybody is probably that he is “not an extreme socialist”’. Despite this proclamation, the far-reaching reforms implemented by the second Fisher government of 1910-13 were of a piece with the earlier initiatives of Deakin’s liberal governments. Moreover, Fisher’s attempts to reconcile class antagonisms had much in common with the new liberalism of the period. It was common for many social liberals up to and including F.W. Eggleston to distinguish between good and bad forms of socialism, and for some Labor fi gures (such as H.V. Evatt) to claim the legacy of Australian liberalism for the labour movement. This paper explores the relationship between new liberalism and state socialism in the decades before the class divide came to dominate the Australian party system.

Back from the Brink? The National Party after the 2010 Federal Election

Despite increasing its share of votes and House of Representatives seats in the 2010 Federal Election, The National Party remains constrained by geography, identity, and Coalition with the Liberals. To illustrate these contentions, four aspects of the Nationals' position are analysed: where the Nationals hold seats; which ones have been lost and to which party over the last 36 years; the Coalition constraints on the Nationals' 2010 Election campaign; the post-election bargaining by the country independents; and the different approaches of the state National parties. We conclude that the Nationals’ role in the Australian party system need not be fixed in permanent coalescence with the Liberals but that some experiment in partial independence might be a viable electoral strategy.

On message or out of touch? Secure web sites and political campaigning in Australia

This article examines the extent to which Australian parties are adapting new information and communication technologies (ICTs) for electoral advantage, with particular reference to the Intranets or ‘secure web sites’ being operated by the major parties. Although all parties now routinely provide public web sites to communicate with voters, their use of Intranet sites is a less well-publicised but increasingly important area of activity. These resources serve as a significant conduit of communication between the central and local arms of party organisations, helping to ensure that candidates remain organised and ‘on message’. Based on the specific case of the Liberal Party, we explore the wider implications of Intranets for the centralisation and professionalisation of political campaigning in Australia. We also assess the advantages such developments bestow on the major parties, and the prospect this raises for the ‘cartelisation’ of the Australian party system.

Political Parties in Transition?

Australia's political cartel? The major parties and the party system in an era of globalisation Ian Marsh Party structures and processes Dean Jaensch Party organisations and resources: Membership, funding and staffing Gary Johns Cartel parties and election campaigning in Australia Ian Ward The cartel parties model and electoral barriers Rodney Smith and John O'Mahony Ideological convergence between the major parties and the representation gap in Australian politics Ian Marsh The Nationals and the Democrats: Cracks and chips in the cartel? John Warhurst The Australian Greens: Challengers to the cartel Ariadne Vromen and Nick Turnbull The Australian party system, Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the party cartelisation thesis Murray Goot New Zealand's multi-party system: Consolidation of the cartel model under proportional representation Raymond Miller

The structure of the Australian party system and its strategic consequences

We explore the positioning of Australian political parties at the 2001 federal election using data from the Australian Election Study and discuss some of the strategic implications. We focus on some of the attitudes of Senate voters for the various parties, concentrating on how Inglehart's postmaterialism measures and a measure of postmodern attitudes can be used to supplement more traditional Left–Right descriptions of the party system. We find that descriptions based on a single Left–Right dimension are inadequate but that attitudes on this dimension and on a postmaterialism or postmodernism dimension are correlated, thus creating constraints for parties. We use comparisons with the 1998 election to assess the stability of the structure and the significance of the electoral context, and generally find that the structure was stable between the two elections.

Class, Religion and the Foundation of the Australian Party System: A Revisionist Interpretation

The Australian party system's historic affiliation between religious identification and party support has generally been explained in terms of overlapping cleavages, with the coincidence of Catholicism and working-class socio-economic status given greatest agency. The evidence, however, is inconclusive for working-class predominance amongst Catholics at the time of Fusion. The accepted explanation fails to recognise the power and agency of religion and so overlooks the role of Protestant values and beliefs in the Deakinite Liberals' response to Labor's organisational demands for the subordination of individual judgement to party discipline, and in the subsequent rhetoric of the nonlabour parties. Nonlabour's easy slippage between the vices of Labor and those of the Roman Catholic Church explains why Catholics preferred Labor more convincingly than does the accepted class-based explanation.

Australia and the Emergence of the Modern Two‐Party System

Although the Australian party system is accepted in some literature as a "classic" example of a two‐party system, information about how this system came about does not feature prominently in international studies on political parties. It is here argued that Australia indeed blazed the trail for the two‐party model by being the first to link parliamentary organisation directly to a mass electorate.

New Politics and Partisan Alignment

Since the emergence of New Politics issues, there has been considerable debate about their potential for creating party system realignment. However, this debate has largely ignored the role of political elites in responding to changes in mass electorates. In this paper, we develop a model of realignment based on values and ideology which takes party elites into account. The model is tested using data that are based on national voter and parliamentary candidate surveys collected in Australia during the 1990 federal election. A realignment hypothesis predicts that the contemporary Australian party system is being replaced by a system reflecting New Politics/Old Politics conflict. An adaptation hypothesis predicts that the existing parties are adapting to New Politics concerns. The results show more support for the adaptation hypothesis and although a potential for realignment exists, postmaterial values and environmental ideologies have as yet insufficiently penetrated both elites and masses to bring this about. The results have major implications for the development of party alignments in other advanced societies.

Dimensions of environmentalism: Public opinion, political activism and party support in Australia

Public opinion on the environment is usually viewed as a homogeneous entity. This assumption can be questioned by identifying the major dimensions of public opinion on environmentalism using national survey data collected in Australia in late 1990. The public conceptualises the environment in terms of three dimensions: a cosmopolitan dimension, encompassing national and international concerns; a local dimension focusing on general concerns; and a local dimension concerned solely with damage to land. Cosmopolitanism has its roots in value change, stimulates increased environmental activism, and helps to mobilise support for and against the major political parties. By contrast, there is less popular support for self‐interested local environmental concerns, and this dimension has fewer political implications. The role of political parties in politicising these dimensions is central and raises questions about the continuing electoral presence of green parties and groups within the Australian party system.

Party Adaptation and Factionalism within the Australian Party System

Although they are traditionally viewed as destabilizing influences, political factions and tendencies perform important adaptative functions in party systems. Using the Australian party system as a case study, this paper tests two hypotheses to explain their adaptative role. An electoral hypothesis proposes that factions and tendencies have broadened their respective party's electoral appeal, while an organizational hypothesis suggests that their influence is primarily on party activists and members. The results from a matched sample of candidates and voters collected during the 1987 Australian federal election reject the electoral hypothesis but give support to the organizational hypothesis. The implications of these findings for the study of political parties in advanced industrial society is discussed.

Factions and tendencies in the Australian political party system

Abstract This paper uses the 1987 Australian Election Study to examine the attitudinal, social and political characteristics of the political factions and tendencies which exist within the Labor, Liberal, National and Australian Democrat parties. We show that attitudinal groups are identifiable in all four parties, the greatest diversity existing within the Democrats and the least diversity within the Nationals. Substantial differences exist between groups within each party in social background and political characteristics. A multivariate analysis of factional and tendency electoral support shows that incumbency and control of nominations is important among ALP factions, while electorate involvement and party membership are important within Liberal and National tendencies.

The Australian party system: Adversary politics and the convergence thesis

The Australian party system: Adversary politics and the convergence thesis

The Australian Party System.

The Australian Party System.

The Australian Party System

The Australian Party System

Catholics, communism and the Australian party system: A study of the Menzies years

Catholics, communism and the Australian party system: A study of the Menzies years

The Emergence of the Australian Party System. Edited by P. Loveday, A. W. Martin, and R. S. Parker. (Melbourne: Hale and Iremonger, 1977. Pp. xviii + 358. $19.95, cloth; $9.95, paper.)

The Emergence of the Australian Party System. Edited by P. Loveday, A. W. Martin, and R. S. Parker. (Melbourne: Hale and Iremonger, 1977. Pp. xviii + 358. $19.95, cloth; $9.95, paper.)

The Emergence of the Australian Party System

The Emergence of the Australian Party System