With reference to the Australian party system, are minor parties and independents relevant to Australia’s Parliamentary democracy?
- Interpretation
The paper will examine the relevance of the minor parties and independents to the Parliamentary democracy of Australia.
The discussion will focus on Australian Parliamentary Democracy, which is based on the concept of proportional representation, and allows the formation of minority parties and the election of independents. It will also analyze how the independents and minor parties influence the party that is to form the government. While minority parties' influence has traditionally been less, allowing many independent members in the House can present difficulties in forming the government and passing bills. The influence of the Minority Parties and Independents can largely be felt in the House of Representatives
Thesis Statement
The minority parties and independent members are an essential part of the parliamentary democracy of Australia since they can affect the party to form the next government and passage of bills in the House.
- Key Themes
The basis of Minority Parties and Independents
The Australian's Parliamentary democracy involves the selection of representatives at various levels through regular popular elections. The concept of minor parties and independents was introduced with an aim of ensuring that there is proportional representation at all the levels of parliament in Australia. The result has been a sizeable representation of independents and minor parties in the parliament. Independents are occasionally elected, but often become associated with some party in the parliament (Singleton et al. 2012). The political parties are proving to be an important part of the country's Parliamentary democracy since the government appears to be formed, and work within the "party system" (Singleton et al. 2012). Formation of political parties involves groups of individuals with common ideas or interests while aiming at forming a government or having a strong influence on the current government. The contribution of independents and minor parties to the revolution in the operation and role of the parliaments has been observed since the 1960s. The establishment of a different range of biased selections for voters of Senate elections and House of Representatives is one of the effects. In the country, there is an independent representative or senator or a minor party (Singleton et al. 2012). However, even though the independent and minor party candidates vie for a House of Representatives posts, they have minimal chances of succeeding and their probability of winning depend on greatly idiosyncratic local aspects(Sharman, n.d). One of the aspects includes can be a recent decision by the candidate to defect from a major party.
The dynamics of Minority Parties and Independents Representation
The inclusion of independents and minor parties has led to injection into national politics of regional component. For the Senate, the independents and minor parties' senators regularly have distinct constituencies in regional areas and may use the Senate to highlight the concerns for their states. They are able to use their position to further issues that they have seen as interests of their constituents (Singleton et al. 2012). The presence of minority parties and independents create a forum for discussing legislative policy and a chance to effectively scrutinize the executive that extend past the partisan politics.
Granted, the Australian politics is derived from the two-party system, since the election of MPs to the Parliament (House of Representatives) allows the Coalition (made up of the Liberal, National Parties and Country liberal) or Labor Party to clinch the majority seats. Hence, they are eligible to form the government. The minority parties and independents also become members of the Federal Parliament (Sharman, n.d). When an individual joins a political party, they indicate that they align to a range of general principles and ideas regarding how the best manner of governance. However, the independent person does not have to agree with some aspect of the policies adopted by parties if they do not subscribe to the underlying principles or ideas. Strong party discipline hinders a vibrant democracy, where a wide range of perceptions and stands are advocated (Sharman, n.d). In parliament, an independent is not part of the system where people are usually required to vote in a manner that their own views will be compromised (Sharman, n.d). The independents status is largely enhanced if they are able to obtain "balance of power" in the house, which entails the ability to influence a majority vote in case numbers are even.
Argument against Minority Parties and Independents
The formal discipline associated with large parties, where members are expected to vote according to the position of the party, is viewed as important in controlling a parliament with varying intentions and perspectives. Forming a government in a political environment where there is no discipline of people with varying intentions and perceptions would not be possible, and passing new laws would encounter difficulties (Kefford, & Weeks, 2018). Since parliamentary democracy is most of the times seen as party democracy, it is also supposed that independents have a negative effect on the performance and steadiness of the executive and the legislature. If the parliament was made up of independent members who have no institutionalized connection with other members, it would lead to almost chaos (Kefford, & Weeks, 2018). The reason is that it can be hard to get the non-partisans to toe the line, and really difficult for them to abstain from voting and thus, back an unpopular administration. Moreover, the formation of the next government can be very difficult or impossible, and the country would face political instability, and related economic consequences (Kefford, & Weeks, 2018). Also, minor parties in Australia have had little effect on the House of Representatives in Australia, which makes independents the obvious option that major parties would look to in forming a new government.
- The Current Situation
The formation of a government by majority parties can be influenced mostly by the independents, even though the minority parties can also affect the system. The parliamentary democracy allows the idea of proportionate representation, which gives the independents and minority parties to represent issues that affect their constituents. Too much influence from both parties can make the formation of government extremely difficult. Currently the Participation of Independent and minority party representatives have been well established in the House. For instance, the work of the senate is such that it can accommodate the notion that governing parties or opposition parties may not have the majority in the house. Hence, the minor parties and independents play a significant role in every aspect of function of legislature. It is in the House of Representatives that these parties can make or break the government.
- References
Kefford, G., & Weeks, L. (2018). Minority Party Government and Independent MPs: A Comparative Analysis of Australia and Ireland. Parliamentary Affairs. Pp. 4-7
Sharman, C., (n.d).The Representation of Small Parties and Independents. Retrieved from: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/pops/~/link.aspx?_id=F74BDE214CB64985BCC43D1C76A15BF4&_z=z
Singleton, G., Aitkin, D., Jinks, B., & Warhurst, J. (2012). Australian Political Institutions eBook (10th ed). Melbourne: P. Ed Australia. 362-368
Hershey, M. R. (2017). Party politics in America (17th Ed). Routledge. Pp.49-51
Moon, J., & Sharman, C. (2003). Australian politics and government: The commonwealth, the states, and the territories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Pp.114-116
Kefford, G., Murphy-Gregory, H., Ward, I., Jackson, S., Cox, L., & Carson, A. (2018). Australian politics in the twenty-first century: old institutions, new challenges. Cambridge University Press. 188-192
