Australian Politics For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Politics: You’re in It
	Chapter 1 Australian Politics: The Basics
		What Is Politics?
		Compulsory Voting
		A Lot of Government
			Governing the nation
			Governing the states
			Administering the territories
			Roads, rates and rubbish: Local government
		From Government to Politics
			Political parties
			A two-party system?
		Interest Groups: Fighting for Causes and Advancing Interests
			Promotional interest groups
			Sectional interest groups
			Umbrellas and peaks
		Understanding Politicians
			Who becomes a politician?
			A ‘boys’ club’?
			Heavy hitters: Interest group politicians
		Politics: You Can’t Escape It
	Chapter 2 Hot Topics in Australia: The Political Debate
		Apathetic or Engaged?
			Awareness of issues
			The ‘isms’ in politics
		Things We Never Tire of Talking About
			Tariffs
			The role of the unions
			Immigration
			Reconciliation
			Women in politics
			Great and powerful friends
		New Things We’re Talking About
			COVID-19 and the pandemic
			The environment and climate change
			Climate change and water
			The republic
			Globalisation
			Nation building
		Complex Issues, Simple Choices
Part 2 The Australian System of Government
	Chapter 3 One Country, Many Rulebooks
		Australia Is a Federation
			The Constitution and power-sharing
			The constitutions as rulebooks
		The Path to Federation
			The constitutional conventions
			The states came first
			The need for a national government
		Big States and Small States
			A house for the states: The Senate
			You get at least five lower house seats if . . .
			Changing the Constitution
		The Australian System of Constitutional Government
			The governors and the governor-general
			The Executive in Council
			Ministers of the Crown
			The parliament
			The electors
			The courts
		Australian Constitutionalism: More than the Written Word
	Chapter 4 Westminster: Much More than Big Ben
		A Constitution without a (Written) Constitution
			What do conventions cover?
			The Crown
			The parliament
			The executive
		Responsible Government
			Forming a Responsible Government
			Resign! Resign!
			Collective Responsibility
			Ministerial Responsibility
		Westminster as Adversarial Politics
			The alternative prime minister
			The shadow ministry
		Westminster and Party Politics
			Tyranny of the executive?
			Winner takes all?
		Westminster and Australia
	Chapter 5 Washminster: The Australian Hybrid
		British or American?
			American federalism: A model for Australia
			A Senate, a court and a written constitution: The American legacy
			Limits to Americanisation: Responsible Government
		Responsible Government the Australian Way
			Executive in Council or Cabinet?
			The governor-general or the prime minister?
			What about the states?
			House of Representatives or the Senate?
			Deadlocks
			The joint sitting
		Clash of the Houses: The 1975 Constitutional Crisis
			The politics of the crisis
			The crisis: The deferral of supply
			The governor-general: The reserve powers exercised
			The governor-general’s actions: The controversies
			The meaning of the 1975 crisis
			Kerr’s argument: Parliamentary Responsibility
			After the crisis
	Chapter 6 Parliament: The House on the Hill
		Housing the Houses of Parliament
			The new house
			The old house
			Westminster parliaments: An overview
			Never the twain shall meet?
		Who’s Who? Putting People in Their Place
			The Speaker
			The President
			Frontbenchers and backbenchers
			The crossbenchers
			In the Senate?
			The Whips
			Question Time
			Pairing
		Voting in the Parliament
			Ring the bells! The division
			Crossing the floor
			Conscience voting
			Government rules, OK?
		Making Laws in the Parliament
			Amended bills
			Legislating: The Representatives versus the Senate
		The People’s Forum or a Rubber Stamp?
			Adjournments and grievances
			The rise of standing committees
		What about Hung Parliaments?
			How common are hung parliaments?
			Who governs while the crossbenchers are making up their minds?
			The role of the governor
			Minority or coalition?
			Stable or volatile?
	Chapter 7 Governing the Great Southern Land
		The Constitution and the Division of the Powers of Government
			Section 51
		Federal–State Relations
			Adopting (and challenging) the Uniform Tax system
			Controlling the purse strings
		Cooperative Federalism
			From COAG to National Cabinet
			Ministerial councils
			Intergovernmental agreements
		Uncooperative Federalism
			The High Court of Australia
			The Federal Court
		Policy-making Australian Style
			Public policy
			Cabinet government the Australian way
			Creating policy
			Ministerial advisers
			Statutory authorities
		Big Government or Small Government?
Part 3 Party time!
	Chapter 8 Parties, Parliament and Politics
		What Is a Party?
		Majors and Minors
			Oddities of the Australian majors
			Issues for the Australian minors
			Minor parties in the parliament
		Beyond the Parliament: Party Organisation
			Mass membership, mass parties
			Raising money
			Raising candidates
			Preselection
			Factions
		Alternatives or Wellsprings: Interest Groups and Social Movements
			Promotional interest groups
			Social movements
	Chapter 9 The Australian Labor Party
		The Unions Create a Party
			The strikes of 1891
			The union movement’s delegates?
			Root and branch representation
		The Party Organisation
		The supreme organ: Conference
			State and National Executive
			From 36 faceless men to 400 delegates
			A youth wing: Young Labor
		The Labor Organisation: Internal Politics
			The importance of factions
			Left versus right
		Labor and Policy: What Labor Stands For
			The Socialist Objective
			Ben Chifley and bank nationalisation
		The Splits
			Labor and conscription: 1916
			Labor and the Great Depression: 1931
			Lead-up to the 1955 split: The Industrial Groupers
			Many tensions, one big split
		Modernising Labor: From Whitlam to Rudd and Gillard
			The Whitlam policy legacy
			Hayden: Farewell the Socialist Objective
			The Hawke government
			Keating: From treasurer to prime minister
			The rise of Rudd
			The Gillard years
		Pragmatism in Action: Labor in the States
		Labor in the Future
	Chapter 10 The Liberal Party
		Early Origins: Free Traders, Protectionists and Fusionists
			A new anti-Labor party: The Nationalists
		Anti-Labor Uniting (Sort Of)
			United they stand: Creating the United Australia Party
			United they fall: The collapse of the UAP
		From the UAP Ashes: The Liberal Party
		The Liberal Party Organisation
			Getting together: State and Federal Council
			Follow the leader!
			The Party Room
			By Menzies, of Menzies, for Menzies
			A structure for government or opposition?
			The branch membership strikes back!
			The Young Liberals
			Liberal women
		Liberal Factionalism
			Liberals versus conservatives
			Moderates versus Hardliners
			Wets and Dries
			State-based alliances
			Leadership alliances
		The Liberal Party in Government
			Pragmatism or programs?
			Liberals and the unions
			Menzies in government
			Malcolm Fraser’s government
			The Howard government
			Post-Howard: The Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments
		The Liberal Party in the States
		The Liberal Party and the Future
	Chapter 11 The National Party
		The Origins of Rural Party Politics: The Country Party
			A farmer’s party
			Soldier settlements
			A shared constituency
			The Country Party consolidates
		Coalition Politics
			The coalition agreement
			Limits to coalition
		The National Party Organisation
			A small parliamentary party
			Queensland: A National Party heartland
			Factionalism in the National Party
		The National Party in Government
			The early coalitionists
			John (Black Jack) McEwen: A Country Party giant
			Doug Anthony: A moderniser
			Tim Fischer: Back to basics
			From Barnaby Joyce to Michael McCormack and back to Joyce
		Future Challenges
	Chapter 12 The Minor Parties and Independents
		Minor Parties: People’s Tribune or a Waste of Time?
			The importance of the electoral system
			Preference wheeling and dealing
			Measuring minor party success
			Senate-based minor parties
			Here today, gone tomorrow?
		Out on Their Own: Independents
			Independent success
			Once were party people
		The Who’s Who of Minor Parties
			The Democratic Labor Party
			The Australian Democrats
			The Nuclear Disarmament Party
			The West Australian Greens
			The Australian Greens (the Greens)
			Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
			Family First
			Clive Palmer United Party
			Liberal Democrats
		Minor Parties of the Future
Part 4 Citizen Power!
	Chapter 13 Elections: A Festival of Democracy
		Democratic Origins
		Federal and State Elections
			Australian elections: Compulsory democracy
			Conducting elections
			Different electoral systems
			Many elections
			Double-dissolution elections
			Calling elections: Who has the power?
			The role of the prime minister
			Fixed-term parliaments?
		The Importance of Electoral Systems
			Up the majority! Preferential voting
			Lowering the electoral bar: Proportional representation
			The Senate ballot paper: It’s a whopper!
		Who Wins and How?
			Recounts and disputed returns
			Exaggerated majorities
			Paradoxical outcomes
			Ransom-holding minorities
			After the election is over
			In between elections: By-elections
	Chapter 14 Let the Campaign Begin!
		The Rules of the Game
		Elections: It’s Party Time!
			Show me the money
			Preselections and nominations
			Directing preferences
		The Campaign
			Raising money and conducting campaigns
			Battle of the leaders?
			The television campaign: The Great Debates
			Launching the campaign
			At the Press Club
		The Big Day! Sausage Sizzles and More
			Counting the vote: Saturday night fever!
		Who Votes How and Why?
			Electing oppositions in or voting governments out?
			Seats: Safe, marginal and swinging
			Predicting election outcomes: The pendulum
			Focusing on the marginals
		A Guide to Voter Types
			The rusted-ons
			The swingers
			The donkey vote
			Informal voters
			Battlers
			Working families
			Doctors’ wives
			Post-materialists
	Chapter 15 The Fourth Estate: The Media
		The Role of ‘the Press’ in Politics
			Press corps and press galleries
			The Australian press gallery
		The Media
			Newspapers
			Television
			Radio
			The internet and social media
		King and Queen Makers? Journalists and Commentators
			Journalists
			Opinion writers
			Political cartoonists
			Opinion pollsters
		Government Broadcasting? The ABC
			Balanced or left-wing bias?
			Covering elections
		The Power of the Media?
			Agenda setting
			Spin doctors
			Opinion polling
Part 5 Part of Tens
	Chapter 16 Ten Politicians Who Made an Impact
		John Christian Watson (1867–1941)
		John Curtin (1885–1945)
		Robert Menzies (1894–1978)
		Gough Whitlam (1916–2014)
		Malcolm Fraser (1930–2015)
		Bob Hawke (1929–2019)
		John Howard (b. 1939)
		Don Chipp (1925–2006)
		Bob Brown (b. 1944)
		Pauline Hanson (b. 1954)
	Chapter 17 Ten (Plus One!) Speeches Worth Listening to Again
		Sir Henry Parkes: The Crimson Thread of Kinship, 1890
		John Curtin: We Are Fighting Mad, 1942
		Robert Menzies: Forgotten People, 1942
		Ben Chifley: Light on the Hill, 1949
		Neville Bonner: Aboriginal Rights, 1971
		Gough Whitlam: It’s Time, 1972
		Paul Keating: The Redfern Speech, 1992
		Pauline Hanson: Inaugural Speech to Parliament, 1996
		John Howard: Bali Terrorist Attack, 2002
		Kevin Rudd: Apology to the Stolen Generations, 2008
		Julia Gillard: ‘Misogyny Speech’, 2012
	Chapter 18 Ten Acts of Political Bastardry in Australia
		The Hopetoun Blunder
		Aspiring to Conscription
		Fleeing a Sinking Ship?
		Spoilsport!
		Over a Barrel
		The Dismissal
		The Drover’s Dog
		Bringing out the Knives
		Kiss and Tell?
		A Parade of Bastardry
	Chapter 19 Ten (Plus One!) Women who made History in Australian Politics
		Dame Enid Lyons (1897–1981)
		Dame Dorothy Tangney (1907–1985)
		Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (1926–2020)
		Susan Ryan (1942–2020)
		Joan Child (1921–2013)
		Janine Haines (1945–2004)
		Margaret Reid (b. 1935)
		Rosemary Follett (b. 1948)
		Quentin Bryce (b. 1942)
		Julia Gillard (b. 1961)
		Linda Burney (b. 1957)
Glossary
Index
EULA