Americans had their Presidential and Congressional elections last November. Australia will have its Federal election by the end of May. The latest rumour is that it will be held on April 12. . Two Federations. Two representative democracies. Two bi-cameral chambers. One a constitutional Republic, one a constitutional monarchy. Both nations have the separation of powers doctrine embedded in their Constitution.
So why are the political systems and processes of these closest of political and strategic allies appear to be operating in parallel universe?
The first few weeks of the second Trump administration have been a dramatic reminder of the power of politics and why political processes matter. The returning President has wasted no time in promulgating a series of executive orders that are changing his nation and the world.
In Australia, the major political parties are struggling to galvanise the interest of the electorate with neither major party attracting the support of over 30% of the electorate. At the election, the number of Millennials and Gen Z voting will outnumber the baby boomers for the first time in Australia’s electoral history. Recent research indicates that most of them will vote out of a wish to avoid a fine rather than from a passionate political belief.
You can criticise Mr. Trump for many things; however, you cannot deny he has excited interest in politics.
Here in Australia things could not be more different. Both major parties are likely to engage in a ‘race to the bottom’ offering financial handouts in marginal electorates that the country cannot afford. There will be cheap political point scoring and name calling. Australian political debate is shrill, pre-prepared and superficial. The public’s mood is a dispiriting mix of ennui and cynicism.
Why should we be surprised ? When was the last time you heard anyone from our major parties speak intelligently and willingly to the electorate about some of the following consequential issues?
Taxation policy- our taxation system continues to promote avoidance and increased taxation by stealth through marginal tax brackets. High marginal rates are discouraging incentive. The revenue base for governments, State and Federal, is shrinking, as demands for spending increase inexorably;
Education: Never has so much money been spent to produce declining standards. Australia faces a teacher shortage tsunami in the years ahead. Our universities struggle to demonstrate the intellectual tolerance and rigour of years past. Too many universities have become “degrees for fees” factories;
Indigenous policy- Forget the failed ‘Voice’ referendum- how about the promises of closing gaps of disadvantage trumpeted by Kevin Rudd in 2008? The more politicians talk of closing the gap, the more it widens;
Welfare policy-is it odd that a young modern country with a relatively small population spends over a third of its government revenue on welfare?;
Energy Policy- How can a country blessed with an abundance of natural resources and a net exporter of energy resources have some of the highest energy costs in the developed world?And what about Australia's shrill debate about the possibility of nuclear energy? The government's response was to post cartoon memes about nuclear mutated fish!; and
Health policy-Australians have long basked in the belief that they have one of the finest health systems in the world. Speak to any GP , however, and they will tell you of an unsustainable and broken system, where government payments do not come close to meeting the costs of running a medical practice.
Not to forget that the biggest elephant in the room is the cost of housing . The structural and taxation changes required to increase the supply of affordable housing are never mentioned for fear of political backlash.
Not to forget also the vile eruption of antisemitism that has shattered the notion of Australian social tolerance. The pusillanimous response of the government to this scourge confirms that electoral strategy i.e., not alienating particular voters in particular seats has triumphed over the cultural imperative of protecting and promoting a civil society.
It is a vicious cycle. The more politicians fail to tackle substantive policy questions, the more the public become disaffected. This, in turn, breeds corrosive scepticism and disinterest. Australia is in a state of policy paralysis.
By way of contrast, America is in a state of Presidential policy paroxysm. Talk about an outburst of sudden and fervent activity!
Less than a month since the inauguration and President Trump has issued far-reaching decisions about ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Equality’ programmes, forbidden the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, withdrawn American from the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Change agreement, launched, then delayed, a wide range of tariffs and revived the use of plastic straws. Arguably, he has announced the most audacious series of foreign policy objectives of any Presidential administration. All he wants is American control of Gaza, Greenland, the Panama Canal and to take credit for ending the Ukraine war.
Fifty three years ago this December Australian politics did experience a similar frisson of excitement from an incoming government.
After 23 years in Opposition, Australia’s Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam won the 1972 general election. Whilst awaiting final election results. Whitlam appointed himself and his deputy, Lance Barnard, as an interim Executive. Whitlam gave himself 13 portfolios and Barnard 14.
Whitlam later commented that his “duumvirate was the most efficient government he ever presided over.” Whitlam also observed that the pure in politics are impotent and so he set about a la Trump to transform Australia through a series of executive orders.
Just like Trump, there were daily changes to the social and political order: troops officially withdrawn from the Vietnam War, the abolition of conscription; recognition of the Communist government of China (let’s not forget that America did not grant such recognition until 1979); the abolition of sales tax on the contraceptive pill; the announcement of an Australian system of honours to replace Imperial awards; the establishment of the Schools Commission to guarantee needs based funding for private schools; the commencement of the equal pay case for women along with the establishment of a Federal Departments of Women’s Affairs and the announcement that Australia would take France to the International Court of Justice to protest against France’s testing of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific.
Like Trump, Whitlam managed to place the power and processes of politics in the pole position of people’s thoughts.
Fast forward to Australia 2025. The leadership needed to effect significant social reform barely exists. Politics has become a battle of two anodyne leaders seeking to bunker themselves behind the smallest of targets. What would our Prime Minister, himself a child of the Whitlam era, give for a scintilla of the sizzle that Whitlam brought to Australia’s political culture?
Last year in Victoria, home to Australia’s largest city, Melbourne, was the last year that graduating high school students were able to study a course about Australian Politics. The course covered topics about the structure of Australia’s democratic system, its core democratic principles and key aspects of recent Australian public and foreign policy. Students critically examined the extent to which the Australian political system achieves the principles of liberal democracy and asked the same question of the American political system. Constitutional comparisons were made between America and Australia with germane questions including a comparison of the effectiveness of the separation of powers doctrine in each country, being asked. Worthy stuff!
Victoria’s curriculum authority decided to stop offering the course at the end of 2024. Out of 61,000 secondary students in final year, less than 100 chose to study the course. And people wonder why ignorance of the Constitution is the biggest barrier to constitutional reform! We have met the enemy and it is us! It is shameful that it is no longer possible in Victoria for a final year secondary student to learn about the political processes of their own country.
At Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the quality of the competitors and the stakes they are playing for create a battle for the best and compels the interest of the spectators. Witness the record viewers and crowds at this year’s Australian Open.
Yet, tennis is not immune from the potentially corrosive effects of cynicism. This week Jannik Sinner announced that he had accepted a three month ban arising out of two improper uses of a prescribed ointment. Whilst it is accepted that Sinner did not actively seek use of the illegal salve, Sinner has accepted that he and his entourage must accept responsibility for the oversight.
Just as dissatisfaction has been expressed towards Australia’s two major political parties, tennis has seen two of its No.1 ranked players, one former and one current, Swiatek and Sinner, being banned for doping offences in recent months. A hiccough or a haemorrhage for the game’s appeal? Time, as in all things, will tell.
Regrettably, the art of, and admiration for, politics has clearly lost its appeal in Australia. What needs to be recognised is that maintaining the vitality and virtue of a democracy requires more than luck. Pluck, quality personnel and purpose would be a good start.
Stop press: 18th February,2025
And it's not just me being assertive in bemoaning the lack of knowledge and disinterest in democracy! The facts, or lack of them, speak for themselves!
Comments