Conservatism in Australia

Conservatism in Australiarefers to the political philosophy of conservatism as it has developed in Australia.Politics in Australiahas, since at least the 1910s, been most predominantly a contest between theAustralian labour movement(primarily theAustralian Labor Party) and the combined forces of anti-Labour groups (primarily theLiberal-NationalCoalition). The anti-Labour groups have at times identified themselves as "free trade","nationalist","anti-communist","liberal ", and"right of centre",among other labels; until the 1990s, the label" conservative "had rarely been used in Australia, and when used it tended to be used by pro-Labour forces as a term of disparagement against their opponents. Electorally, conservatism has been the most successful political brand in Australian history.

Like other countries with aWestminster systemof government (but unlike theUnited States), the mainstream form of conservatism in Australia isliberal conservatism.On economic issues, conservatives typically support lower taxes and less government spending. Unlike in the United States, mainstream Australian conservatives often support some liberal reforms, such assame-sex marriage(which was legalised by theCoalition governmentofMalcolm Turnbull),while typically remaining conservative on other issues such aslegalising recreational cannabis.Mainstream Australian conservatives also typically support Australia remaining aconstitutional monarchy.

Terminology

In the early 20th century, "Conservatism" was used as a disparaging epithet by detractors of right wing politics and politicians within Australia, often by supporters and members ofleft leaningmovements and parties such as theAustralian Labor Partyand later theAustralian Greens.People on the right often called themselves "liberals". That only changed in the late 20th century;John Hirstsays that as a significant political movement, conservatism is "a very recent arrival in Australia".John Howard,who became prime minister in 1996, was the first holder of the office to describe himself as a conservative. "

In the 21st century the term covers similar political issues as found in other Western democracies. In the early 20th century the liberals had connections with reform movements. However, as Howard has argued, the Liberal Party became the trustee of both the classical liberal and conservative traditions. That is, it combines liberal (market-based, pro-business, anti-union) economic policies with conservative social policies.

Although used much less than the term conservative, former Prime MinisterScott Morrison(Liberal) described himself as atraditionalistupon hisascenttoparty leaderand appointment as Prime Minister (2018–2022).Similarly, former Liberal MP forMoreton(1955–1983) andMinister for Defence(1975–1982) and theNavy(1969–1971),James Killen,was considered to be a Tory, or a "Tory Liberal", especially in his younger years.

History

Unlike the various forms of conservatism across the world, especially in theUnited Kingdomand theUnited States,Australian conservatism has a short history.

In the late 19th century, theFree Trade Partyand theProtectionist Partywere the two major parties in Australia. The Free Trade Party was generally more conservative while the Protectionist Party was generally more liberal (though both parties contained liberal and conservative factions). When theAustralian labour movementemerged, both parties began attempting to form a united alliance against it.George Reid,the leader of the Free Trade Party between 1901 and 1905, and Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, imagined an Australian political spectrum that ran from socialist to anti-socialist, and attempted to reframe the party system this way. This was welcomed by politicians who were influenced by theWestminster traditionand who regarded atwo-party systemas the norm.In 1909, the two parties merged to form theCommonwealth Liberal Partyto more effectively oppose the newLabor Party.

In 1920, the Country Party (now known as theNational Party) was formed as anagrarianconservative party representing the interests of farmers. After the1922 federal election,which produced a hung parliament, the Country Party and theNationalist Party(the successor to the Commonwealth Liberal Party) formed a conservativecoalition.The Nationalist Party later became theUnited Australia Partyin 1931. After the United Australia Party collapsed in 1945, conservative forces within Australia were in disarray and were seen as irrelevant.This is when theLiberal Partyemerged, establishing itself as abig tentparty of the right, taking influence from classical conservative thinkerEdmund Burke.

Political parties

Mainstream political conservatism is primarily represented by theLiberal Party of Australia,and itscoalitionpartner, theNational Party,which historically was the party of the conservative small farmers and espousedagrarianism.The Liberal Party was formed in 1944 as a successor of theUnited Australia Party,which had been formed in 1931 as a successor of theNationalist Partyand ideologically similar parties that preceded it. The Liberal Party's ideology has been described as conservative,liberal-conservative,conservative-liberal,andclassical liberal.The Liberal Party tends to promoteeconomic liberalism(which in the Australian usage refers tofree marketsandsmall government).

Moser and Catley state, "In America, 'liberal' means left-of-center, and it is a pejorative term when used by conservatives in adversarial political debate. In Australia, of course, the conservatives are in the Liberal Party."Jupp points out that, "[the] decline in English influences on Australian reformism and radicalism, and appropriation of the symbols of Empire by conservatives continued under the Liberal Party leadership of SirRobert Menzies,which lasted until 1966. "Beecher comments that, "across the economic and cultural landscape, Howard proved that the centre of politics in Australia is inherently conservative."

There are also other minor parties which may be perceived to be conservative in orientation on account of some of their policies - and even some are regarded as right wing or extreme right, such as theDemocratic Labor Party,One Nation Party,Liberal Democratic Party,Family First Party,Australian Christians,Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party,andKatter's Australian Party,although some would not champion the classical liberal approach to economics adopted by the Liberal Party.In the 45thAustralian Senate,the Liberal Democratic Party'sDavid Leyonhjelm,the IndependentCory Bernardi,IndependentFraser Anningand the United Australia Party'sBrian Burstonformerly formed a "conservative bloc".

Since the 2010s, an increasing number of prominent conservative members of theLiberal/National coalitionhave left the party,such as in 2017 with SenatorCory Bernardiand in 2022 with MPGeorge Christensen.

Think tanks and other entities

Some think tanks in Australia have a conservative focus. TheCentre for Independent Studies,for example, focuses onclassical liberalissues such asfree marketsandlimited government,while theInstitute of Public Affairsadvocatesfree marketeconomic policies such asprivatisationandderegulationofstate-owned enterprises,trade liberalisationand deregulated workplaces,climate change scepticism,the abolition of the minimum wage,and the repeal of parts of theRacial Discrimination Act 1975.TheH. R. Nicholls Societyfocuses onindustrial relations,and advocates full workplace deregulation, contains someLiberalMPs as members and is seen to be of theNew Right.TheMenzies Research Centreis an associated entity of the Liberal Party.TheSamuel Griffith Societyis a legal think tank that advocates constitutional conservatism,federalismandblack letter lawjurisprudence, and has reportedly been influential in recent Coalition appointments to administrative tribunals and the Judiciary.

Apart from political parties, conservative grass-roots movements have also arisen in Australia in recent years.Q Society of Australiais a far-right anti-Muslim association that works closely with theAustralian Liberty Alliance.Some of these may have connections to existing political leaders, such as SenatorCory Bernardi'sConservative Leadership Foundation(which is dedicated to fostering community based conservative leadership) or explicitly reject party politics in favour of cultural restoration, such as theSydney Traditionalist ForumandEdmund Burke's Club(which are described as "an association of 'old school' conservative, traditionalist and paleoconservative individuals" ).

In Australia however there are some differences in the political landscape in which conservatism exists, compared to what is found in other countries, especially in economics. Australia undertook in the mid-1980s significant economic reforms – faith in markets, deregulation, a reduced role for government, low protection and the creation of a new cooperative enterprise culture – under the centre-leftAustralian Labor Partyand especially undersocial liberalPaul Keating."

Media

Two national newspapers in Australia,The AustralianandThe Australian Financial Review,take a conservative stance.Since the 1970s, theFinancial Reviewhas advocatedeconomic liberalismin Australia, driving a consistent editorial line favouringsmall government,deregulation,privatisation,lower taxes andtrade liberalisation.

Major conservative regional newspapers includeThe Daily Telegraph,The West Australian,The Mercury,The Canberra Times,The AdvertiserandThe Courier-Mail.

The primary conservative magazines in Australia areNews Weekly,QuadrantandThe Spectator Australia.

On television, a conservative outlook is represented bySky News Australia.andADH TV.

Newspapers and other publications owned byNews Corphave been accused of adopting anti-Labor political positions.The publications owned by News Corp includeThe Australian,The Daily Telegraph,The Mercury,The AdvertiserandThe Courier-Mail.Sky News is also owned by News Corp.

Monarchism

See also:Australian Monarchist League

See also:Republicanism in Australia

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  British Flag
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  Australian Flag
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  Australian Flag, Red Ensign Variant

Whether Australia should remain amonarchyor become a republic was a contentious issue in the 1990s. It has since not been a priority for the government as of 2019. In 1998 when debate peaked, Howard took the monarchist position favoured by most conservatives. Howard argued that the monarchy had provided a long period of stability and while he said there was no question that Australia was a fully independent nation, he believed that the "separation of the ceremonial and executive functions of government" and the presence of a neutral "defender of constitutional integrity" was an advantage in government and that no republican model would be as effective in providing such an outcome as theAustralian constitutional monarchy.Despite opinion polls suggesting Australians favoured a republic, the1999 republic referendumrejected the model proposed by the1998 conventioninvolving appointment of thehead of stateby Parliament.Conservatives generally support keeping thecurrent flag(with its British insignia) and are proud of the nation's British heritage.

Aboriginal conservatism in Australia

Traditionally,Aboriginal Australiansin cities have been known to predominantly vote for parties of the political left, such as theAustralian Labor Partyor theAustralian Greens.Despite this, there are numerous Aboriginal activists, politicians and individuals affiliated with the political right. The most prominent Aboriginal Conservative wasNeville Bonnerwho was the first Aboriginal Australian elected to federal Parliament. In theNorthern Territory,theCountry Liberal Partyhas had a fluctuating relationship with the state's Indigenous communities (even providing Australia's first Indigenous head of government,Adam Giles) and holds several of the territory's electorates with large Aboriginal populations.

Jacinta Priceis a well-known conservative activist ofWarlpiridescent who was elected to the Senate for the Country Liberal Party representingNorthern Territoryin2022.Price has argued against claims of systemic racism against Aboriginals in the criminal justice system, instead arguing that "black-on-black violence"is most pressing in Aboriginal communities.Unlike many Aboriginal activists, Price opposes changing the date ofAustralia Day,describing the proposal as "virtue-signaling".

Kerrynne Liddleis a former journalist andArrerntewoman originally from Alice Springs. At the 2022 she was elected as a Liberal Senator forSouth Australia.

Originally a member of Labor, formerIndigenous Advisory Council(IAC) memberWarren Mundinehas since shifted toward the political right.Mundine has criticised what he describes as efforts to introduce "critical race theory"in Australian schools, arguing it promotes avictim mentalityamong Aboriginals.

Former Aboriginal conservative politicians include:

• Adam Giles– Served as theChief Minister of the Northern Territory(2013–2016).
• Joanna Lindgren– A formerLiberal NationalSenatorforQueensland(2015–2016).
• Hyacinth Tungutalum– The first Aboriginal Australian elected to a State or Territorial parliament; member of theCountry Liberal Party(1974–1977).
• Bess Price– A formerNorthern TerritoryMinister for Community Services; member of theCountry Liberal Party(2012–2016)
• Eric Deeral– Queensland MP representing theCountry Party(1974–1977)

See also

• Christian politics in Australia
• History wars
• Liberalism in Australia
• Socialism in Australia

Bibliography

• Brett, Judith (2003).Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class: From Alfred Deakin to John Howard.Cambridge University Press.ISBN1-139-43720-8.
• Dutton, David (2002).One of Us? A Century of Australian Citizenship.UNSW Press.ISBN0-868-40556-6.
• Jupp, James (2004).The English in Australia.Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-54295-2.
• Mosler, David; Catley, Robert (1998).America and Americans in Australia.Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN0-275-96252-0.
• Reekie, Gail (1998).Measuring Immorality: Social Inquiry and the Problem of Illegitimacy.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-62974-4.

Further reading

• Hirst, John, "Conservatism," in Graeme Davison et al. eds.,The Oxford Companion to Australian History(2nd ed. 2001) pp 148–50