Liberal Party of Australia - Philosophies and Factionalism

Philosophies and Factionalism

The contemporary Liberal Party generally advocates economic liberalism (see New Right) and social conservatism. However, the party has always had prominent small-l liberal and libertarian membership and has been responsible for a number of significant social and political reforms. Historically too, the party has supported a higher degree of economic protectionism and interventionism than it has in recent decades, however from its foundation the party has identified itself as anti-socialist. Party founder Robert Menzies envisaged that Australia's middle class would form the party's main constituency.

The Liberal Party is a member of the International Democrat Union, the only party with the name Liberal to do so, rather than Liberal International. Strong opposition to socialism and communism in Australia and internationally was one of the foundation principles of the Liberal Party.

Towards the end of his term as Prime Minister of Australia, in a last address to the Liberal Party Federal Council in 1964, Party founder, and longest serving leader Sir Robert Menzies spoke of the "Liberal Creed" as follows:

As the etymology of our name 'Liberal' indicates, we have stood for freedom. We have realised that men and women are not just ciphers in a calculation, but are individual human beings whose individual welfare and development must be the main concern of government ... We have learned that the right answer is to set the individual free, to aim at equality of opportunity, to protect the individual against oppression, to create a society in which rights and duties are recognized and made effective.

— Robert Menzies

Soon after the election of the Howard Government, the second longest serving Liberal Prime Minister, John Howard, spoke of his interpretation of the "Liberal Tradition" in a Robert Menzies Lecture in 1996:

Menzies knew the importance for Australian Liberalism to draw upon both the classical liberal as well as the conservative political traditions. ... He believed in a liberal political tradition that encompassed both Edmund Burke and John Stuart Mill – a tradition which I have described in contemporary terms as the broad church of Australian Liberalism.

— John Howard

Throughout their history, the Liberals have been in electoral terms largely the party of the middle class (whom Menzies, in the era of the party's formation called "The forgotten people"), though such class-based voting patterns are no longer as clear as they once were. In the 1970s a left-wing middle class emerged that no longer voted Liberal. One effect of this was the success of a breakaway party, the Australian Democrats, founded in 1977 by former Liberal minister Don Chipp and members of minor liberal parties; other members of the left-leaning section of the middle-class became Labor supporters. On the other hand, the Liberals have done increasingly well among socially conservative working-class voters in recent years. In country areas they either compete or have a truce with the Nationals, depending on various factors.

Menzies was an ardent constitutional monarchist, who supported the Monarchy in Australia and links to the Commonwealth of Nations. Today the party is divided on the question of republicanism, with some being republicans, as with recent leader Malcolm Turnbull, while others, such as incumbent leader Tony Abbott, are monarchists. The Menzies Government formalised Australia's alliance with America in 1951 and the party has remained a strong supporter of the mutual defence treaty.

Domestically, Menzies presided over a fairly regulated economy in which utilities were publicly owned, and commercial activity was highly regulated through centralised wage-fixing and high tariff protection. Liberal leaders from Menzies to Malcolm Fraser generally maintained Australia's high tariff levels. At that time, the Liberals' coalition partner, the Country Party, the older of the two in the coalition (now known as the "National Party"), had considerable influence over the government's economic policies. It was not until the late 1970s and through their period out of power federally in the 1980s that the party came to be influenced by what was known as the "New Right" – neo-liberal group who advocated market deregulation, privatisation of public utilities, reductions in the size of government programs and tax cuts.

Socially, while liberty and freedom of enterprise form the basis of its beliefs, elements of the party have wavered between what is termed "small-l liberalism" and social conservatism. Historically, Liberal Governments have been responsible for the carriage of a number of notable "socially liberal" reforms, including the opening of Australia to multiethnic immigration under Menzies and Harold Holt; Holt's 1967 Referendum on Aboriginal Rights; Sir John Gorton's support for cinema and the arts; selection of the first Aboriginal Senator, Neville Bonner, in 1971; Malcolm Fraser's Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 and John Howard's gun control reform of 1997, which restricted gun ownership. West Australian Liberal, Ken Wyatt, became the first Indigenous Australian elected to the House of Representatives in 2010.

During the prime-ministership of John Howard, the party moved to a more socially conservative policy agenda. The party has mainly two unorganised factions, the majority conservative right and the minority moderate left. Historically, moderates have at times formed their own parties, most notably the Australian Democrats who gave voice to what is termed small-l liberalism in Australia.

The Liberal Party's organisation is dominated by the six state divisions, reflecting the party's original commitment to a federalised system of government (a commitment which was strongly maintained by all Liberal governments until 1983, but had been to a large extent abandoned by the Howard government, which had shown strong centralising tendencies). Menzies deliberately created a weak national party machine and strong state divisions. Party policy is made almost entirely by the parliamentary parties, not by the party's rank-and-file members, although Liberal party members do have a degree of influence over party policy.