Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
The Labor split of 1931 again resulted in ex-Labor parliamentarians joining the
non-Labor force to create a new political party – the United Australia Party (UAP).
The UAP, led by former Labor minister Joseph Lyons, won the 1931 federal election
and started developing extra-parliamentary structures in order to recruit members
and raise money for campaigns. By 1939, however, the brittleness of non-Labor
parties became apparent again. Lyons passed away and was replaced by Robert
Menzies who, at the time, was a polarising figure. The UAP began to collapse when
Menzies became part of Winston Churchill’s British war cabinet in the midst of the
Second World War. Menzies resigned as prime minister in 1941, and the party, led
by William Morris Hughes, suffered a heavy defeat at the 1943 election.
Following yet another failed experiment by the non-Labor side of Australian
politics, Menzies began plans for creating a new party. In weekly radio addresses
throughout 1942, Menzies discussed a range of policy issues. 32 In one famous
speech, he highlighted the need for a new political party that was not based around
the union movement or the wealthy. In the ‘forgotten people’ speech, Menzies
argued that the middle class, who he identified as including ‘salary earners’,
professionals and farmers, were not being represented by the existing parties. 33
Menzies quickly galvanised elements of the UAP and other non-Labor forces and
held two conferences, one in Canberra and the other in Albury, in order to
construct a new cohesive political force. The modern Liberal Party was launched
in 1944 as the result of these efforts. It would seek to win executive government by
joining forces with the Country Party in a formal coalition.
Party organisation
Unlike the ALP, which has a centralised organisation, the Liberal Party is made
up of autonomous state and territory divisions that are responsible for running
the campaigns and day-to-day affairs of the party. 34 The federal division does not
have the power to intervene in the affairs of state divisions. As a result, the Liberal
Party, unlike Labor, cannot have centralised decisions made on matters such as the
number of females in parliament. Another point that differentiates the organisation
of the Liberal Party from that of Labor is that the Liberal Party does not allow
any external entity, such as a union or business group, to join the party. Liberal
parliamentarians also have greater autonomy from the party’s organisation. They
are not required to sign a pledge of loyalty and, in theory, are allowed to vote
according to their conscience without being reprimanded by a central authority.
In practice, however, voting against the party is rare. When it does occur, it is
usually over issues on which the party allows parliamentarians to freely decide how
32 See Brett 2007.
33 For the full speech, see Brett 2007, 21–27.
34 The Liberal and National parties merged in Queensland in 2008.
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