Research Note No. 27, 2001-02
Liberalism in Australian National Politics
Glenn Worthington
Politics and Public Administration Group
19 February 2002
Liberal values do not necessarily
correspond with the policies of parties that have identified themselves
as 'Liberal'.(1) Parties and individuals from across the political
spectrum have often expressed liberal principles in contesting the claims
of their opponents.
Liberalism
The cardinal value of liberalism is freedom of the individual.
The primary responsibility of government is understood as the promotion
of conditions in which individuals can enjoy freedom. To this end liberals
support:
- the recognition of freedom of association and expression
- the importance of the ownership of private property
in securing individual freedom and curtailing government power
- a democratic polity as a recognition that individuals
are served by government and not vice versa
- the rule of law, and
- a system of constitutional checks and balances on government
power.
Sceptics and Progressives
However, liberals differ on the proper scope of government.
Classical liberals such as John Locke, Adam Smith, Herbert Spencer and
Robert Nozick have taken a sceptical view of government, arguing that
it should not involve itself in any activities beyond:
- the maintenance of national security against external
threats
- the maintenance of domestic order, and
- the provision of public goods that private enterprise
and cooperation are unable to generate.
Modern liberals such as T. H. Green, L. T. Hobhouse and
John Rawls have viewed government as a potentially 'progressive' agency.
Progressives argue that government ought to provide services to those
in need. Government is seen as properly providing resources with which
the disadvantaged might fully develop their lives.
Sceptics distrust government as a collective and coercive
institution. Progressives counter that sceptics do not acknowledge that
liberty is infringed as much through poverty and social constraints (such
as the opinions of large majorities), as those imposed by government.
Australian Liberalism
The tension between sceptical and progressive versions
of liberalism was apparent from the first years of Federation. George
Reid's Free Traders and the Protectionists, led by Edmund Barton, both
identified themselves as liberals, but disagreed over the proper extent
of Commonwealth power.
Both parties rejected the Australian Labor Party's proposal
to implement a regime of direct taxation. However, Free Trade and Protectionist
liberals disagreed on the levels at which tariffs, the major source of
Commonwealth revenue, ought to be set. The Protectionists exemplified
progressive liberal principles, in that protection provided:
- the Commonwealth government with funds to carry out
its social duties of helping disadvantaged members of the community
to improve themselves
- security for fledgling Australian industries
- adequate standards of living for Australian employees,
and
- funds to maintain the States as proposed by the Constitution.
The Free Traders took the view that lower tariffs:
- encouraged economic prosperity for all (including the
working classes) through the efficient deployment of resources
- encouraged individual genius and moral responsibility
through competition, and
- allowed the government to provide services to equip
individuals for private enterprise (particularly in education).
The third point provides clear evidence of progressive
strains of liberalism even in the otherwise sceptical Free Trade position.
The Protectionists were the strongest of the non-Labor
parties and were closer to Labor on matters of economic policy than were
the Free Traders. Even when Reid's Free Trade party briefly
formed government in 1904, it required the support of a Protectionist
faction. This, together with the location of the first Commonwealth Parliaments
in the Protectionist stronghold of Victoria, set the scene for domination
of non-Labor politics by progressive liberalism in the first seventy years
after 1901.
Elements of sceptical liberalism emerged with the Country
Party at the end of the second decade. The Country Party supported the
reduction of tariffs, free international trade and the elimination of
price fixing. However, it confined the focus of its policies to agricultural
produce and sought government assistance for its rural constituency
its so-called 'rural socialism'.
Robert Menzies' 'Forgotten People' broadcasts of 1942
confirmed progressive liberalism as the dominant form of Australian liberalism.
Menzies supported a free market and individual freedoms, but also acknowledged
the role of government in providing for 'freedom from want' and education.
A more sceptical liberal agenda emerged in the policies
of the Labor governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. These included
dismantling trade barriers, and distancing government from the provision
of services, through privatisation and outsourcing. The pursuit of a free
trade agenda has continued under Coalition governments led by John Howard
in deregulating labour markets and a commitment to indirect taxation.
This said, however, Commonwealth taxation revenue both as a proportion
of Gross Domestic Product and in real terms per capita remained at relatively
high levels through the 1990s.
Constitutional Liberalism
The dominance of progressive liberalism in economic matters
through most of Australia's history has not translated into an unrestrained
trust in government powers. Australian liberalism has consistently defended
checks upon the power of the national executive.
Liberal values are evident in:
- the recognition of the administrative responsibilities
of the States
- the maintenance of an effective bicameralism, particularly
the equal representation of States in the Senate
- the existence of mechanisms by which governments are
held accountable to the electorate such as an effective opposition and
free media, and
- the distancing of government corporations such as the
Commonwealth Bank and the Australian Broadcasting Commission from direct
government control.
Non-Labor parliamentarians have generally been more consistent
in supporting the principles of federalism than their Labor counterparts.
For instance, the Liberal Party of Australia consists of autonomous State
and Territory divisions and its constitution asserts a clear distinction
between organisational and parliamentary branches of the party. However,
the Chifley Government's introduction of proportional representation for
Senate elections in 1948, and Labor's defence of the right to associate
against the Menzies government's attempt to proscribe the Communist Party
of Australia in a 1951 referendum, are also important affirmations of
liberal principles.
Challenges to Liberalism
National governments in Australia have not always pursued
policies that recognise liberal values. For over half of our history,
indigenous people were excluded from the political institutions that govern
the national community, and eligibility for immigration was often determined
on racial grounds.
Australians have been subject to compulsory military training
and conscription, the proscription of economic and political organisations,
compulsory attendance at polling booths, and proposals to centralise government.
Some of these policies have arisen from illiberal collectivist
motives but others have been justified by emergencies such as war or the
threat of sedition. It is in keeping with the principles of liberalism
for governments to adopt 'extreme' measures for the security of individuals
against external and internal threats. However, it is incumbent upon them
not to interfere with civil liberties or override checks upon their powers
to a greater degree than is necessary. In fact, the tendency not to recognise
pressing domestic or international threats, and a reluctance to adopt
an emergency footing, is among the weaknesses to which liberalism is prone.
In Australia, the successful expansion of the sphere of
government activity, when it has not been in response to direct threat,
has often appealed, not to a collective public good, but to the
shared interests of a community of individuals. For example, the
public provision of health and education is justified not in terms of
imposing a single condition upon society, but as providing every individual
with an opportunity for self-development.
Liberal values occupy a central place in Australian politics,
although the precise policies entailed by these values remain under contest.
In so far as these values prevail, Australia merits description as a community
of self-confident individuals who are tolerant of differences in others.
1. This Research Note summarises
a large body of literature on liberalism. See, for example, I. Cook,
Liberalism in Australia, O U P, Melbourne, 1999; G. Melleuish,
A Short History of Australian Liberalism, C I S, Sydney, 2001;
R. G. Menzies, The Forgotten People, Angus and Robertson,
Sydney, 1943; J. Nethercote, ed, Liberalism and the Australian Federation,
Federation Press, Sydney, 2001; Y. Thompson, G. Brandis, T. Harley,
eds, Australian Liberalism: The Continuing Vision, Liberal Forum,
Melbourne, 1986.
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