Yes. More, with danger of overload for some -- Ideology in Australian politics See also: Conservatism in Australia, Liberalism in Australia, and Socialism in Australia
[images] Gough Whitlam of the Labor party, that party's longest-serving parliamentary leader Sir Robert Menzies of the Liberal party, Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister
The Australian party system has been described by political scientists as more ideologically driven than other similar anglophone countries such as the United States and Canada.[90] In early Australian political history, class interests played a significant role in the division between the then-democratic socialist Australian Labor Party and a series of anti-Labor parties drawing on the liberal and conservative traditions (the predecessors of the modern Coalition of the Liberals and Nationals).[91][92]
In contemporary Australian political culture, the Coalition (Liberal and National parties) is considered centre-right and the Australian Labor Party is considered centre-left.[93] Australian conservatism is largely represented by the Coalition, along with Australian liberalism. The Labor Party categorises itself as social democratic,[94] although it has pursued a liberal economic and social policy since the prime ministership of Bob Hawke.[95][96]
Parliamentary Labor Party members such as Andrew Leigh have argued that the ALP should be reclassified as social liberal.[97][98] The Labor Party still maintains its socialist objective in its constitution; however, it is seen by some as an ideological anachronism within the party.[99][100]
In recent decades there has been a marked shift amongst the Australian electorate in providing their first preference votes to candidates not belonging to either of the two major parties. At the 2022 federal election 31% gave their preference to a non-major party candidate.[101]
Political parties Main articles: List of political parties in Australia and List of historical political parties in Australia
Organised, national political parties have dominated Australia's political landscape since federation. The late 19th century saw the rise of the Australian Labor Party, which represented organised workers. Opposing interests coalesced into two main parties: a centre-right party with a base in business and the middle classes that has been predominantly conservative and moderate, now the Liberal Party of Australia; and a rural or agrarian conservative party, now the National Party of Australia. While there are a small number of other political parties that have achieved parliamentary representation, these main three dominate organised politics everywhere in Australia and only on rare occasions have any other parties or independent members of parliament played any role at all in the formation or maintenance of governments.
Australian politics operates as a two-party system, as a result of the permanent coalition between the Liberal Party and National Party. Internal party discipline has historically been tight, unlike the situation in other countries such as the United States. Australia's political system has not always been a two-party system (e.g. 1901 to 1910) but nor has it always been as internally stable as in recent decades.[when?]
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is a social democratic party. It is a left leaning party with tendency towards social welfare and government assistance programs. It was founded by the Australian labour movement and broadly represents the urban working and middle classes.
The Liberal Party of Australia is a party of the centre-right which broadly represents businesses, the middle classes and many rural people. Its permanent coalition partner at national level is the National Party of Australia, formerly known as the Country Party, a conservative party which represents rural interests. These two parties are collectively known as the Coalition. In only Queensland, the two parties have officially merged to form the Liberal National Party, and in the Northern Territory, the National Party is known as the Country Liberal Party.
Minor parties in Australian politics include a green party, the Australian Greens (the largest of the minor parties since 2004); a centrist party, Centre Alliance; a nationalist party, Pauline Hanson's One Nation; and a right-wing agrarian party, Katter's Australian Party. Other significant parties in recent years have included the Clive Palmer led United Australia Party (not to be confused with the historical incarnation that was the predecessor to the Liberal party) and the socially conservative Family First Party, among others. Historically significant parties have included the United Australia Party, the Democratic Labor Party (1950s-1970s), the Communist Party of Australia, the socially liberal Australian Democrats (1970s-1990s) among others.
A collection of climate conscious, socially progressive and economically liberal independents known as the teals were elected in the 2022 election, taking many seats previously held by moderate Liberal Party members.[102][103]
Timeline Since federation, there have been 31 prime ministers of Australia. The longest-serving prime minister was Sir Robert Menzies of the Liberal Party, who served for 19 years from 1939 to 1941, and again from 1949 to 1966. The only other prime minister to serve for longer than a decade was John Howard, also of the Liberal Party, who led for more than 11 years from 1996 to 2007.
At a national level, elections are held at least once every three years.[a] The prime minister can advise the governor-general to call an election for the House of Representatives at any time, but Senate elections can only be held within certain periods prescribed in the Australian Constitution. Although it is possible to hold elections for the House and Senate separately, it is the convention to hold simultaneous elections for both houses; every national election since 1974 has been for both the House and the Senate.
House of Representatives elections are contested by all seats. Representatives are elected using the Australian instant-runoff .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting .. voting system, in which the winning candidate obtains over 50% of votes after distribution of preferences; therefore, preference flows from lower-polling candidates are frequently significant in electoral outcomes. Senate elections are contested by half the senators from each state, except in the case of a double dissolution where all senators contest the election; senators representing the territories are elected and sworn into office simultaneously with the House of Representatives rather than the rest of the Senate. All senators are elected using the single transferable voting .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_voting ..
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system of proportional representation, which has resulted in a greater presence of minor parties in the Senate. With the exception of a three-year period from 2005 to 2008, no party or coalition has held a majority in the Senate since 1981; this has required governments to frequently seek the support of minor parties or independent senators holding the balance of power in order to secure their legislative agenda.
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