Australian Politics For Dummies
, by Economou, Nick; Ghazarian, Zareh; Burney, Linda; Grattan, Michelle; Howard, John
- ISBN: 9780730395423 | 0730395421
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 12/1/2021
Understand Aussie politics and make your vote count!
Australian Politics For Dummies gives you a helping hand as you get to grips with the good, the bad and the ugly of Australian politics. Seasoned political punters and voting novices alike will find fascinating facts and top thrills in in this essential guide. Master the ins and outs of elections, parties and policies. In no time, you'll be discussing and debating the biggest issues with ease. Down under, we all have to vote. It's one of the many beautiful things about this land of ours, and this book will help you learn why (and how) to cast that ballot.
This updated edition gives you everything you need to cast your vote with confidence. You'll identify what makes the Australian political system tick, distinguish between the different political parties and understand the influence of the media in Australian politics.
- Decipher political terminology, make sense of the houses of parliament and understand why we have minor parties
- Learn how Australia's political system evolved and grasp today's voting systems
- Make sense of coalition politics and figure out the differences between the Labor and Liberal parties
- Find out why Australia's system of government is described as 'Washminster,' and discover the Whips and the Usher of the Black Rod
You want to know more about Australian politics, but, if we're being realistic, it's very complicated. Australian Politics For Dummies clears it all up.
Dr Nick Economou is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. He has taught the subject since 1985.
Dr Zareh Ghazarian is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University.
Foreword xv
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Politics: You’re in It 5
Chapter 1: Australian Politics: The Basics 7
What is Politics? 8
Compulsory Voting 9
A Lot of Government 9
Governing the nation 10
Governing the states 11
Administering the territories 11
Roads, rates and rubbish: Local government 12
From Government to Politics 12
Political parties 13
A two-party system? 15
Interest Groups: Fighting for Causes and Advancing Interests 15
Promotional interest groups 16
Sectional interest groups 16
Umbrellas and peaks 18
Understanding Politicians 19
Who becomes a politician? 19
A ‘boys’ club’? 19
Heavy hitters: Interest group politicians 20
Politics: You Can’t Escape It 21
Chapter 2: Hot Topics in Australia: The Political Debate 23
Apathetic or Engaged? 24
Awareness of issues 24
The ‘isms’ in politics 25
Things We Never Tire of Talking About 28
Tariffs 29
The role of the unions 29
Immigration 31
Reconciliation 33
Women in politics 34
Great and powerful friends 36
New Things We’re Talking About 38
COVID-19 and the pandemic 38
The environment and climate change 38
Climate change and water 40
The republic 41
Globalisation 42
Nation building 42
Complex Issues, Simple Choices 43
Part 2: The Australian System of Government 45
Chapter 3: One Country, Many Rulebooks 47
Australia is a Federation 47
The Constitution and power-sharing 48
The constitutions as rulebooks 48
The Path to Federation 48
The constitutional conventions 49
The states came first 49
The need for a national government 51
Big States and Small States 54
A house for the states: The Senate 54
You get at least five lower house seats if 55
Changing the Constitution 56
The Australian System of Constitutional Government 57
The governors and the governor-general 57
The Executive in Council 58
Ministers of the Crown 59
The parliament 60
The electors 61
The courts 62
Australian Constitutionalism: More than the Written Word 65
Chapter 4: Westminster: Much More than Big Ben 67
A Constitution without a (Written) Constitution 68
What do conventions cover? 68
The Crown 69
The parliament 70
The executive 72
Responsible Government 74
Forming a Responsible Government 74
Resign! Resign! 75
Collective Responsibility 75
Ministerial Responsibility 76
Westminster as Adversarial Politics 77
The alternative prime minister 77
The shadow ministry 78
Westminster and Party Politics 78
Tyranny of the executive? 79
Winner takes all? 79
Westminster and Australia 80
Chapter 5: Washminster: The Australian Hybrid 83
British or American? 84
American federalism: A model for Australia 84
A Senate, a court and a written constitution:
The American legacy 85
Limits to Americanisation: Responsible Government 85
Responsible Government the Australian Way 86
Executive in Council or Cabinet? 87
The governor-general or the prime minister? 87
What about the states? 87
House of Representatives or the Senate? 88
Deadlocks 90
The joint sitting 91
Clash of the Houses: The 1975 Constitutional Crisis 92
The politics of the crisis 92
The crisis: The deferral of supply 93
The governor-general: The reserve powers exercised 93
The governor-general’s actions: The controversies 95
The meaning of the 1975 crisis 95
Kerr’s argument: Parliamentary Responsibility 96
After the crisis 97
Chapter 6: Parliament: The House on the Hill 99
Housing the Houses of Parliament 100
The new house 100
The old house 101
Westminster parliaments: An overview 103
Never the twain shall meet? 104
Who’s Who? Putting People in Their Place 104
The Speaker 104
The President 106
Frontbenchers and backbenchers 106
The crossbenchers 106
In the Senate? 107
The Whips 109
Question Time 109
Pairing 109
Voting in the Parliament 110
Ring the bells! The division 111
Crossing the floor 111
Conscience voting 112
Government rules, OK? 112
Making Laws in the Parliament 112
Amended bills 113
Legislating: The Representatives versus the Senate 114
The People’s Forum or a Rubber Stamp? 115
Adjournments and grievances 115
The rise of standing committees 116
What about Hung Parliaments? 117
How common are hung parliaments? 118
Who governs while the crossbenchers are making up their minds? 119
The role of the governor 120
Minority or coalition? 121
Stable or volatile? 122
Chapter 7: Governing the Great Southern Land 123
The Constitution and the Division of the Powers of Government 124
Section 51 124
Federal–State Relations 126
Adopting (and challenging) the Uniform Tax system 126
Controlling the purse strings 127
Cooperative Federalism 130
From COAG to National Cabinet 131
Ministerial councils 131
Intergovernmental agreements 132
Uncooperative Federalism 132
The High Court of Australia 133
The Federal Court 133
Policy-making Australian Style 133
Public policy 134
Cabinet government the Australian way 134
Creating policy 135
Ministerial advisers 137
Statutory authorities 137
Big Government or Small Government? 138
Part 3: Party time! 139
Chapter 8: Parties, Parliament and Politics 141
What is a Party? 142
Majors and Minors 143
Oddities of the Australian majors 143
Issues for the Australian minors 144
Minor parties in the parliament 145
Beyond the Parliament: Party Organisation 146
Mass membership, mass parties 147
Raising money 148
Raising candidates 150
Preselection 151
Factions 151
Alternatives or Wellsprings: Interest Groups and Social Movements 152
Promotional interest groups 152
Social movements 153
Chapter 9: The Australian Labor Party 155
The Unions Create a Party 156
The strikes of 1891 156
The union movement’s delegates? 157
Root and branch representation 157
The Party Organisation 159
The supreme organ: Conference 160
State and National Executive 161
From 36 faceless men to 400 delegates 162
A youth wing: Young Labor 163
The Labor Organisation: Internal Politics 164
The importance of factions 164
Left versus right 166
Labor and Policy: What Labor Stands For 168
The Socialist Objective 168
Ben Chifley and bank nationalisation 169
The Splits 171
Labor and conscription: 1916 171
Labor and the Great Depression: 1931 172
Lead-up to the 1955 split: The Industrial Groupers 172
Many tensions, one big split 173
Modernising Labor: From Whitlam to Rudd and Gillard 176
The Whitlam policy legacy 177
Hayden: Farewell the Socialist Objective 178
The Hawke government 178
Keating: From treasurer to prime minister 180
The rise of Rudd 181
The Gillard years 181
Pragmatism in Action: Labor in the States 182
Labor in the Future 183
Chapter 10: The Liberal Party 185
Early Origins: Free Traders, Protectionists and Fusionists 186
A new anti-Labor party: The Nationalists 187
Anti-Labor Uniting (Sort Of) 188
United they stand: Creating the United Australia Party 188
United they fall: The collapse of the UAP 189
From the UAP Ashes: The Liberal Party 190
The Liberal Party Organisation 191
Getting together: State and Federal Council 192
Follow the leader! 194
The Party Room 194
By Menzies, of Menzies, for Menzies 195
A structure for government or opposition? 195
The branch membership strikes back! 196
The Young Liberals 196
Liberal women 197
Liberal Factionalism 197
Liberals versus conservatives 198
Moderates versus Hardliners 198
Wets and Dries 199
State-based alliances 199
Leadership alliances 200
The Liberal Party in Government 201
Pragmatism or programs? 202
Liberals and the unions 203
Menzies in government 203
Malcolm Fraser’s government 205
The Howard government 206
Post-Howard: The Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments 207
The Liberal Party in the States 209
The Liberal Party and the Future 209
Chapter 11: The National Party 211
The Origins of Rural Party Politics: The Country Party 212
A farmer’s party 212
Soldier settlements 213
A shared constituency 213
The Country Party consolidates 214
Coalition Politics 214
The coalition agreement 215
Limits to coalition 216
The National Party Organisation 217
A small parliamentary party 218
Queensland: A National Party heartland 218
Factionalism in the National Party 219
The National Party in Government 221
The early coalitionists 221
John (Black Jack) McEwen: A Country Party giant 222
Doug Anthony: A moderniser 223
Tim Fischer: Back to basics 223
From Barnaby Joyce to Michael McCormack and back to Joyce 225
Future Challenges 225
Chapter 12: The Minor Parties and Independents 227
Minor Parties: People’s Tribune or a Waste of Time? 228
The importance of the electoral system 228
Preference wheeling and dealing 230
Measuring minor party success 230
Senate-based minor parties 231
Here today, gone tomorrow? 232
Out on Their Own: Independents 232
Independent success 233
Once were party people 234
The Who’s Who of Minor Parties 235
The Democratic Labor Party 235
The Australian Democrats 236
The Nuclear Disarmament Party 238
The West Australian Greens 239
The Australian Greens (the Greens) 240
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation 241
Family First 242
Clive Palmer United Party 242
Liberal Democrats 243
Minor Parties of the Future 243
Part 4: Citizen Power! 245
Chapter 13: Elections: A Festival of Democracy 247
Democratic Origins 247
Federal and State Elections 249
Australian elections: Compulsory democracy 250
Conducting elections 250
Different electoral systems 251
Many elections 252
Double-dissolution elections 253
Calling elections: Who has the power? 254
The role of the prime minister 254
Fixed-term parliaments? 255
The Importance of Electoral Systems 255
Up the majority! Preferential voting 256
Lowering the electoral bar: Proportional representation 258
The Senate ballot paper: It’s a whopper! 260
Who Wins and How? 263
Recounts and disputed returns 263
Exaggerated majorities 264
Paradoxical outcomes 265
Ransom-holding minorities 266
After the election is over 267
In between elections: By-elections 268
Chapter 14: Let the Campaign Begin! 269
The Rules of the Game 270
Elections: It’s Party Time! 271
Show me the money 271
Preselections and nominations 272
Directing preferences 273
The Campaign 274
Raising money and conducting campaigns 274
Battle of the leaders? 275
The television campaign: The Great Debates 276
Launching the campaign 276
At the Press Club 277
The Big Day! Sausage Sizzles and More 277
Counting the vote: Saturday night fever! 278
Who Votes How and Why? 280
Electing oppositions in or voting governments out? 280
Seats: Safe, marginal and swinging 281
Predicting election outcomes: The pendulum 281
Focusing on the marginals 283
A Guide to Voter Types 284
The rusted-ons 284
The swingers 284
The donkey vote 284
Informal voters 285
Battlers 285
Working families 285
Doctors’ wives 286
Post-materialists 286
Chapter 15: The Fourth Estate: The Media 287
The Role of ‘the Press’ in Politics 288
Press corps and press galleries 288
The Australian press gallery 289
The Media 289
Newspapers 290
Television 291
Radio 293
The internet and social media 293
King and Queen Makers? Journalists and Commentators 294
Journalists 294
Opinion writers 295
Political cartoonists 296
Opinion pollsters 297
Government Broadcasting? The ABC 297
Balanced or left-wing bias? 298
Covering elections 298
The Power of the Media? 299
Agenda setting 299
Spin doctors 299
Opinion polling 301
Part 5: Part of Tens 303
Chapter 16: Ten Politicians Who Made an Impact 305
John Christian Watson (1867–1941) 305
John Curtin (1885–1945) 306
Robert Menzies (1894–1978) 306
Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) 307
Malcolm Fraser (1930–2015) 307
Bob Hawke (1929–2019) 308
John Howard (b 1939) 308
Don Chipp (1925–2006) 309
Bob Brown (b 1944) 309
Pauline Hanson (b 1954) 310
Chapter 17: Ten (Plus One!) Speeches Worth Listening to Again 311
Sir Henry Parkes: The Crimson Thread of Kinship, 1890 311
John Curtin: We Are Fighting Mad, 1942 312
Robert Menzies: Forgotten People, 1942 312
Ben Chifley: Light on the Hill, 1949 313
Neville Bonner: Aboriginal Rights, 1971 313
Gough Whitlam: It’s Time, 1972 314
Paul Keating: The Redfern Speech, 1992 314
Pauline Hanson: Inaugural Speech to Parliament, 1996 314
John Howard: Bali Terrorist Attack, 2002 315
Kevin Rudd: Apology to the Stolen Generations, 2008 315
Julia Gillard: ‘Misogyny Speech’, 2012 316
Chapter 18: Ten Acts of Political Bastardry in Australia 317
The Hopetoun Blunder 317
Aspiring to Conscription 318
Fleeing a Sinking Ship? 318
Spoilsport! 319
Over a Barrel 319
The Dismissal 320
The Drover’s Dog 320
Bringing out the Knives 321
Kiss and Tell? 321
A Parade of Bastardry 322
Chapter 19: Ten (Plus One!) Women who made History in Australian Politics 323
Dame Enid Lyons (1897–1981) 323
Dame Dorothy Tangney (1907–1985) 324
Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (1926–2020) 324
Susan Ryan (1942–2020) 325
Joan Child (1921–2013) 325
Janine Haines (1945–2004) 326
Margaret Reid (b 1935) 326
Rosemary Follett (b 1948) 327
Quentin Bryce (b 1942) 327
Julia Gillard (b 1961) 327
Linda Burney (b 1957) 328
Glossary 329
Index 341
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