Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
underwent further changes following additional reforms to the voting system
implemented in 1983.
The early minor parties: products of a major party split
Following the introduction of proportional representation, the Democratic Labor
Party (DLP) became the first minor party to win Senate representation in 1955. It
was created as a result of the ‘great split’ within the Labor Party in the early 1950s.
The party was so focused on stopping the ALP from regaining government that,
once Whitlam won the 1972 election, its reason for existing ceased and the party
collapsed. 43
The next minor party elected to the Senate was the Australian Democrats in
1977. Following the 1975 constitutional crisis, there was a growing appetite within
the electorate for alternatives to the major parties. The Democrats emerged in this
climate. The party was led by Don Chipp, a former Liberal minister. Unlike the DLP,
the Democrats sought to reinvigorate the role of the Senate as a house of review by
using their position in the chamber to keep both Labor and the Liberal–National
Coalition (the Coalition) accountable for their performance in parliament. 44
This approach resonated with Australian voters, and the party maintained
Senate representation from 1977 and 2007. During this time, it made a significant
contribution to the Australian party system. It was the first parliamentary party to
have a female leader, and it had innovative organisational arrangements, allowing
all members to participate in deciding policy. 45 The party, however, appeared
unable to adapt to the competition it was facing from newer minor parties that
would have a significant impact on the Australian party system.
Changes in the Senate party system: electoral reforms and contemporary minor parties
The Senate voting system underwent major changes following the implementation
of the Hawke government’s reforms, which were introduced in 1983 but used
for the first time at the 1984 election. The number of Senators per state rose
from 10 to 12 due to the Hawke government increasing the number of House of
Representatives seats to 148. This triggered the ‘nexus’ provision of the Constitution
(section 24), which states that the number of representatives in the lower house
mustbeapproximatelydoublethatintheupperhouse.Thisalsoreducedthe
electoral challenges confronting minor parties as the proportion of the vote (or the
quota) they needed to win a seat in an ordinary half-Senate election fell from 16.6
43 The DLP was re-formed and succeeded in winning parliamentary representation in Victoria in
2006 and in 2010 the party won Senate representation. However, the ‘new’ DLP was
qualitatively different to the party that existed throughout the 1950s and 1970s. For further
discussion, see Ghazarian 2013.
44 Ghazarian 2015, 32–5.
45 Ghazarian 2015, 32–5.
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