Report on the Efficiency and Functioning of Australia's Party System

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Australian party system, examining its efficiency and impact on the country's political landscape. It delves into the intricacies of the electoral system, including preferential voting and its effects on candidate selection and voter behavior. The report highlights the roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate, exploring their functions within the bicameral parliamentary structure. It investigates the influence of party discipline, the structure of the cabinet government, and the relationships between political parties. The study also explores the dynamics of power, accountability, and political competition within the Australian parliament. The report further compares the Australian electoral system with the American system. This report offers valuable insights into the operational efficiency of the Australian party system.

Running Head : Party system of australia and its efficiency
PARTY SYSTEM OF AUSTRALIA AND ITS EFFICIENCY
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1Party system of australia and its efficiency
The constitution of commonwealth does not regulate the manner of election of the
members of the senate and house of representatives neither it dictates the strength and number of
the national political party of Australia and competition dynamics among them (McAllister
2015). The party system and electoral have a deep impact on the dynamics of politics in
Canberra which includes the roles played by the house of representatives and Senate in
Parliament of Australia and the relationship among them. Special focus is provided to the
improvement that has affected fundamentally among parties concerning the balance of power,
the execution of principles of accountable government, and political dynamics in the parliament
of Australia. There is the election of the senate by proportional representation after the decision
taken in the year 1948. The process of electing Senators and representatives of Australia are
considered to be complicated in comparison to the election procedures of American counterparts
(Fraussen and Halpin 2016). The senators and representatives of the United States are elected in
the way which is termed as “first past the post” system which is preferably termed as plurality
system of the constitution. The single vote is cast by each voter whom he favors to symbolize
voter’s constituency and the candidates having majority votes becomes the winner. In the
commonwealth parliament of Australia, the members are elected by the combining method of
proportional representation and constituency majority with the application of preferential vote or
electing the members of both houses. The seat of the house of representatives in the parliament
of Australia is allocated according to the population among states and each state is demarcated
into the district and a single representative is elected from each division. According to Section 24
of the Australian Constitution, each state ensures a minimum of five seats in the House of
Parliament. The election of House of Parliament applies the system of district plurality until

2Party system of australia and its efficiency
1918. In that year, the parliament decided to shift from the plurality system of election to the
majority system with having preferential voting. Each voter mark ballot by putting numbers to
all candidates in preferential order marking “1” signifies first choice marking “2” signifies the
second choice. If the absolute majority is received by the candidates on first preference votes
then that candidate gets elected. If not the candidates having voted with fewest votes on first
preference are circulated among the candidates as per second preferences of supporters of that
candidates (Pennington et al. 2015. If the candidates with the majority votes are not produced by
redistribution the candidates who are popular at the second least are omitted and his votes are
rearranged in the same manner and continue until a single candidate receives a majority vote.
The rationale lies behind preferential voting lies on it provides protection against the candidate’s
election who acquire plurality instead of the majority of votes cast. If the candidates contesting
for the same seat is more than two, then there is a possibility that no candidates receive a
majority vote, the majority of voters select candidates receiving the plurality vote (Sá and
Sabzalieva 2018). The close connected impact of the preferential vote is to motivate further than
two candidates to contest for the same seat. The plurality system of election in the district it is
argues typically that anyone anticipates voting for a minor party in effect throws away to vote.
Under the preferential system of voting, the voters cast a vote for candidates whom he prefers
and marks second preference vote for the candidate who has a better scope of winning. The
preferential vote has the effect of motivating candidate’s multiplicity and thus reduces the
probability of receiving mainstream of first preferential voting by anyone. The elected candidates
of senates who represent the states are voted for six years (McNair 2017). Half of the candidates
voted every three years which is termed as half-senate elections excepting that follows the
double dissolution of Senate and House of Parliament. There are an equal representation of six

3Party system of australia and its efficiency
states in the senate and in addition to that at least six senators each state. According to Section 7
of the Australian Constitution which provides that there is the election of senators on a statewide
basis. In the year 1948, it is determined by the parliament of Australia that the Senators would be
voted in the manner of proportional representation which involves the application of a single
transferable election. In this complex system the numbers assigned by each voter reflect the
voter’s preference, the voter has first and second preference vote though there is more than one
representative to be chosen. Then there is a calculation of quota which reveals the number of
total first preference votes cast and total quantum of seats of senators being in the contest. The
candidates who get the majority of first preference votes are elected (Goodnow 2017). If the
surplus votes are received by the candidate, those votes which are surplus are dispersed as per
subsequent and second preferences of the candidates who vote in favor of the elected candidates.
After distribution of the surplus votes and there are not many candidates who receive the
necessary vote quota, the votes in favor of the candidates who are least popular are further
distributed according to the second preferences of his supporters and this process will continue
until there is sufficient number of candidates to fill the contested seats which have received
requisite votes quota. In a state when six voters get elected in the same period, the requisite
election quota is 14.3 percent out of total votes cast (Ardanaz and Maldonado 2016). The
candidates to get elected are not required to obtain 14.3 percent out of total first preference votes,
the voter's quote may be prepared trough first preference votes or of transferred votes from an
excess of successful candidates and from the votes which are transferred of excepted candidates
or combining three sources. If there is the election of five senators, the quota required to succeed
each one of single seats is about 16.7 percent; on the other hand, with six voted, the quota is
about 14.3 percent. The working of cabinet government and parliament has not affected

4Party system of australia and its efficiency
substantially by federal structure. The fact remains is that the factor of accountable cabinet
government has prevalent over the principle of the federal system for the major part and
parliament government and cabinet in the country of Australia has not evolved in a process that
is dissimilar from British growth.
Party system is so secure in the parliament of Australia so many political analysts refer
the system to Commonwealth for not having the structure of accountable government but instead
of that the structure of accountable party government. The cabinet is not regarded as a parliament
committee but the agency of governing party (Pempel 2019). The amalgamation of preferential
voting and single-member constituencies has provided the evolution of the party system for the
purpose of House of representatives which is comprised of two and one half parties joint in two
contrasting forces. The Labor Party of Australia is exposed to its demand that the representative
should be its ambassadors and the discipline enforced over the members of the parliament with
the official pledge (Chang 2018). The representative of the party pledge is bound by the
executive’s decision and by the party’s rules and should not raise an objection to any labor
candidates who are endorsed at the election and also bound to cast vote according to the widely
held decision of a group of party of the parliament on all parliamentary questions. If the
representative of the party pledge violates any pledge aspect, then they have to face expulsion
from the party. There is a saying ‘party discipline’ which does not occupy the relationship among
each candidate of Commonwealth parliament, at least if the party is Coalition’s member or of
ALP. The unity in party system at the time of parliamentary voting reveals largely in the
intended cohesion of party members. The pre-selection process of members differs from one
state to another in the labor party nevertheless in every states the election of candidates of the
parliament in under the control of some members of the local party and some state collectively

5Party system of australia and its efficiency
who in the path of own commitment they made to the party, value their loyalty of the party
towards the prospective candidates and in the Senators and incumbent representatives. If the
incumbents of Alp thinks to cast vote against the position of the party, nevertheless on the basis
of signed pledge there would be an assumption that they may be excluded from party or even if
that will not happen they will not likely receive nomination from the activists of the party who in
the electoral politics regulate their future. The pre-selection process in the liberal party too in the
control of members of the local party or the active state. The system of Group ticket voting not
only makes the voting simpler in addition to that it permits voters to cast a vote on the favor of
the party and not in favor of individual candidates. This resulting in most voters cast their votes
in the elections in favor of the parties and not for individual candidates. It is determined by the
party the direction by which the candidates who are favored by all voters who cast their vote in
favor of the party who are above the line. This implies that the fate of every candidate of the
party is as much in the influence of voters as in the control of officials of the party. The
candidate of the Senates who is in the good book of the officials of the party can wish to have a
first or second rank in between the candidates of the party on the other hands the Senate
candidates who are not favored by the same officials of the party may be demoted to the lower
rank. The candidates of each party who has first or second ranking on the list of six in half senate
election have the possibility to get elected and those who get fifth or sixth rank have all possible
to get defeated. The candidates who have third-ranking will win if the party conduct well in the
election, the candidates who get fourth-ranking will win in case of a landslide victory. This new
process of voting in actual practice is that the preference of the majority of senators will be
prepared at the time of the pre-selection of party’s ballots. Among the seven members to be

6Party system of australia and its efficiency
elected each candidate of two significant parties assured three seats however the seventh seats
which are remaining will be decided by electors.
The party discipline in the country of Australia is so much rigid and intense in
comparison to any democratic country which includes Britain. The parliamentary members are
guided by belief that the government should be maintained by vote of immediate dissolution,
collective resignation or in lower house will follow and they very often oppose the elections of
their party as done by the candidates of British House of Commando at least with adequate
frequency to engage in complete departure from Westminster system. The structure of
Bicameralism in practical application is required to attain true representation of people in the
parliament. The bicameralism system helps to enhance and improve the quality of representation
in parliament and also helps in ensuring that the representation which is achieved in the
bicameral system is not possible to achieve in the unicameral system. In the contemporary
diverse and complex society, no representative system on its own is capable of providing
assembly of true representative. In modern society, the adequate representation with social,
economic and geographical diversity can felt only by various styles of the election. This can be
attained by the bicameral system of voting in parliament where each house of parliament is set
up by a distinct process of voting. The accurately structured bicameral system helps to ensure
that the representation of candidates will go beyond the votes with a simple majority in one
election and comprises the state electoral views in various stages of progress. Moreover the
people of Australia are more tend to vote for the candidates of the minor party for the senate.
There is strong data that reveals that the combined vote of Coalition and Senate election of ALP
are falling in 1949-1953 from 95.3 percent to 83.4 percent during the period from 1977-1996.
The members of minor parties are supported for their contribution to the government process.

7Party system of australia and its efficiency
The involvement that happens by their senate representation. The rising vote of the senate
candidates of the minor party creates unlikely that either coalition or ALP will achieve in
obtaining majority vote in the senate in its own right in addition to that it is inclined to guarantee
that members of minor parties will remain to possess the essential place of power in Senate.
Furthermore, due to members of minor parties springs the influence from Senate representation,
they have the motivation to strengthen and support the senate, the incentive is neither shared by
the opposition nor by the government. Australian politics take place within the structure of the
constitutional monarchy of the federal government. In Australia, there is a steady liberal
democratic structure of politics which is guaranteed under the Constitution.
The efficiency of internal party democracy advocated from the point of deliberative
democracy. It provides an opportunity for the citizen to create public opinion and to thoughtful
on the public concern, which is a certain feature of real democracy. The opinions place by the
citizen varies from the idea placed by the voters who are not exposed to debates and information
relating to the issues. The arguments in favor of internal party democracy include the following.
Firstly it is efficiently decided by the parties as who will be elected to public office consequently
there is an expectancy that is legitimate that internal processes must be democratic. Secondly,
that legitimate expectation is strengthened as soon as parties are receivers of community funding
to execute democratic roles. Thirdly the democratic culture and organization within parties aid to
establish democracy habit especially in the creation of leadership of future politics. Fourthly the
deliberation of democracy within parties aid to enhance the quality, accountability and
inclusiveness of policy procedures.
The counter-argument which lies for the existence of internal party democracy is that the
system is irrelevant for the candidate’s pre-selection and for policy formulation. It loses its

8Party system of australia and its efficiency
efficiency as it obstructs the competitiveness of the electoral system( Redmond and Regan 2015).
The party internal democracy reduced competitiveness by the restriction it imposes on the
leaders of the party and by the encounters position to party cohesion. Another drawback of the
party democracy is that it gives immense power to the activist of the party who are non-
representative of the voters of the party (O'Brien 2015). It is also argued that it will be more
independent if the leaders of the party are approachable to the electorate rather than to own
members of the party and further it is unfair to provide policy preference of the member of the
party more weight in comparison to the party voters (Lovenduski and Hills 2018). The
arguments opposing the policy of internal party democracy involves the following. Firstly it is
required for politicians to be approachable to voters and not to the activist of the party who
possesses the diverse structure of policy preferences. Secondly, it gives birth to effective
competition within inter-party in the political market. Thirdly it is a brake to an efficient and
effective process of decision making. Fourthly it is irrelevant to the process of selecting policies
and saleable candidates.
Thus it can be concluded from the above-mentioned discussion that the major parties
should provide actual consideration in the voter’s mind. The deficiency of severe democratic
reform among parties has powered the claim for robust public control. In the contemporary
period, it is voluntarily accepted by major parties a statutory status through public funding and
registration. Thus the dominant party is weakest in the working of independent socialization of
voters. This has a double margin. At the internal level, the party appears incapable of influencing
people to participate as members, but on the contrary, the other interest group’s membership
appears to be developing. On the external level, the major parties adopted the new techniques of
electioneering, the professional parties neither require active membership nor democratic

9Party system of australia and its efficiency
procedures which in practice obstruct activities.in In democracy, the political parties cover a
wide range of functions of exercising government power or acts as alternative government and
opposition.
The main political party of Australia is designated as the most significant discipline in the
world of democracy. The Labor Party of Australia is the leading party that applies party
discipline. The party discipline is regarded as partially a genesis product in a hostile environment
as a reform party and partially produce of root in the ordered union movement and the remaining
part is a material of necessity in the fragmented philosophical association. The discipline at the
party level contributes a unified face to the public. The labor party is exposed to discipline which
is reasonable on the ground that the major party needed the guarantee of parliamentary majorities
and party. The liberal party is applicable in the case of informal discipline due to the fact that the
representative theory despite being speechmaking, is conservative. The initiative to te ascertains
the extent and nature of internal party democracy in the country of Australia must primarily
demarcate actual processes and formal structure. The party structure is democratic but if the
application of the structure is nondemocratic, then the question would arise about what
conclusion is drawn. It can be claimed by the labor party that the formal processes and structures
include responsible components and influential representatives. Some necessities would be
anticipated in the country of Australian and also under The Queensland Act which encompasses
firstly the method for amendment of party constitution, secondly the rules of party membership,
thirdly the statement describing the mode the internal affairs are managed by the party which
includes procedures of dispute resolution, fourthly the processes for the selection of party
candidates and party office bearers, fifthly requirement that necessitates that the pre-selection
ballot should fulfill the general guidelines of democratic and free selections which involve secret

10Party system of australia and its efficiency
ballot and one vote one member. According to the Australian Democrats, the party constitution
should provide the party aim, the right, voting rights and obligation of members, the member’s
qualification, procedures of pre-selection, usage of the secret ballot in the decision making the
process of party, inspections of correspondences and minutes, processes of resolving disputes.
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