There are two dominant political parties within Federal Australian Government, the Liberal party, and the Labor party. Other parties such as the Australian Greens and Centre Alliance are of course worthy to be noted, but my goal in this post is to explain to you the political nature of these parties, what it was, and how it has changed.
Aaron Martin, author of one of the Papers on Parliament states “electoral politics is becoming less attractive to the young, and non-electoral politics more attractive”. You can click here to read his paper.
I write this with the understanding that our generation is less interested in this form of politics than generations past. However, the changing nature of political parties is a critical matter for the current young people of Australia, whose votes will impact generations to come.
The Liberal Party of Australia was founded in 1944, by the then Leader of the Opposition, Robert Menzies. The Liberal party was founded to present a strong alternative government to the Australian people. Liberals believed in providing Australians with greater personal freedom and choice than what Labor offered.
The Labor party was first officially recognised in the 1890s. It’s founding policies were centred around equality, justice for the working-class man, environmental governance, and other policies which promote the empowerment of the minorities.
Last night I attended a pop-up rally where local and federal politicians shared their views on how the fundamental principles of Labor and Liberal parties are rapidly transforming along with a contemporary society. Party policies that were once opposite are now being blurred. What was once sturdy, concrete foundations are becoming inconsistent policies that aren’t based on philosophy, but rather who and what is worthy of support.
“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.”
George Orwell, 1984.
President of the Liberal Women’s Council, Nicolle Flint, said new policies are coming forth that are not in line with the Liberal party’s traditional principles, yet we are seeing more and more of these policies passed in parliament. Such as legalising prostitution and allowing abortion up to the birth canal.
Liberal party Senator Alex Antic said, “the radical, hard-core left is wanting to cleanse the narrative of Christian values”.
This concept of the left-wing and right-wing can get confusing, so let’s break it down.
Left wing is generally associated with Labor, but its principles are liberal. Not Liberal the party, but are centred around the liberty and rights of people. Liberal is generally right wing, with conservative values predominantly based on the Christian faith. There are extremes of both, and that is what Mr Antic is referring to. He suggests that some politicians have pushed radical policies, but these do not align with the foundational principles of each party.
Other generations wonder why Gen Z is seemingly uninterested in electoral politics. I believe that in the race for right-wing Liberal and left-wing Labor to gain support of the public, they have contaminated their values and are standing for policies which are incoherent.
So how can our generation know who and what they are voting for?
Generation Z Australians have been labelled for being quick to protest and participate in non-electoral political issues, but slow to strive for justice within Australia’s political party government systems.
It is necessary that we as young Australians are aware of the changing nature of political parties in our society. In order to do this, we cannot not hold the media’s representation as exact truth, but conduct our own research to determine which party best encompasses the morals that we ourselves choose to live by.
Click here for an article which covers a general representation of the differences between liberal and conservative values, and utilize the resource list below for more information on the Labor and Liberal parties.
Resources
- Is the left the same as the right in Australia?
- Labor’s Policies
- Liberal’s Policies
- Liberal’s History
- Labor’s History
- What’s ‘left’ and ‘right’ in Australian politics today? The lines are shifting
The Gen Z View 