School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses
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ItemJohn Cain and Victorian Labor 1917-1957( 1979)This thesis is partly a study of the Victorian Labor party's parliamentary performance, partly of the party's organizational wing, and to lesser extent it examines relations between the state Executive and the Trades Hall Council. This thesis is also the study of one man, John Cain, Victoria’s only really successful Labor leader. From an Irish, Catholic rural background, he joined the Victorian Socialist party and by 1917 won the state seat of Jika Jika (later Northcote). An earnest parliamentarian with good political and administrative skills, he fought his way to the Labor leadership by 1937 and was eventually Premier for three terms -1943. 1945-1947, and 1952-1955. He dies in 1957. (From synopsis)
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Item“The Age” on public affairs from 1861 to 1881( 1950)At the present, time, we may buy the Age in Melbourne every morning except Sunday for twopence. It enjoys the reputation for being a reliable newspaper, not sensationalist, and only using its largest headlines for some matter of real importance, not of just passing popular interest. Its leaders are serious, thoughtful, with a tendency to the left rather than to the right; but not expressing merely the views of any one political party. Once, the Age was the organ of change. It persistently opposed what it called the pretences of the wealthy - the squatters and the importers. It was a popular paper, pleading for the small man, to give him a place to live his own life and work for himself. Today, we may still find the same old tone, upholding the rights of the individual against the attempts of the large group, who threaten to absorb him. It no longer has the highest circulation among Melbourne papers. The tabloid press has outstripped it in that. I have looked at the Age in this earlier period to find out what it was like, and what it was saying. In this thesis I am trying to give an account of what the Age said about some important matters of public interest during the years 1861 to 1881. A newspaper, in giving the news and in reviewing it in articles, deals with many sides of the community's life. In order to bring the subject of this thesis within a reasonable compass, attention has been given to certain subjects only which happened to be dealt with by the Age in these years. These are the opening of the land in Victoria, the introduction of protective tariffs, and the struggle over a number of years between the lower and upper houses in the Victorian Parliament as constituted in 1854. Since the Age spoke most frankly and forcefully on these matters, some attempt will be made to estimate how much it influenced public opinion in these matters. (From Chapter 1)
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ItemVoting in Australian State and Federal elections 1937-1961( 1966)The main aim of this work has been to compare voting in elections for the lower Houses of the State and Federal Parliaments and to illustrate the complications of federalism. In so doing, I have also been concerned to examine the effects of different electoral systems at the two levels of government, (particularly the different methods of weighting used in the various states) and to look at the working of those distinctively Australian features – compulsory and preferential voting. Though the title of the thesis is limited to the period 1937 to 1961 this has not been strictly adhered to. It has been found convenient to extend comparisons by including the state elections in Western Australia of 1936 and in New South Wales of 1962. There are great problems in the handling and comparison of electoral statistics : Uncontested seats, changes due to redistributions of electoral boundaries and the identification of party affiliations of candidates are among the most obvious. On many occasions, and particularly in attempts to assess the under- or over-representation of parties, I have used adjusted election figures including allowances for uncontested seats and seats not contested by two major parties. Any such adjustments are necessarily arbitrary, but I have endeavoured to make clear when adjusted figures were being used and , where necessary, to indicate the limited nature of the material available. For some state elections the figures are far more “usable” than for others so I have done what seemed possible in the light of the material. This has made for a good deal of unevenness. No attempt has been made to treat each state uniformly. Though Victoria and New South Wales have been studied in most detail, even here different aspects have been stressed. Dissident party groups and candidates have been more fully treated in New South Wales. In Victoria the longer periods between redistributions and the recent “tow-for-one” system of electoral boundaries has made a more detailed comparison of voting at state and federal elections possible. The study has been limited to elections for the Commonwealth Parliament and the lower Houses of the State Parliaments. Since the interest has largely centred on the working of single-member electorate systems there has been no detailed discussion of the methods used to elect The Tasmanian House of Assembly or the Commonwealth Senate, though some analysis of voting for both these bodies has been included. (From Introduction).
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ItemAttitudes to Japan and defence, 1890-1923( 1956)No events of international consequences likely to bring Japan to Australia’s attention occurred before the Sino-Japanese war (1894-5). Japan had as yet shown no sign of her military power. Probably as far as Australians felt any insecurity, their anxieties centred on the expansion of European powers into the Pacific, the might of Russia and the Chinese hordes. In such conditions they were free to think of Japan chiefly as a country of cherry blossom and quaint people. Only the question of Japanese immigration which began to assume large proportions after about 1890 gave any basis for feelings of hostility.
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ItemResponsible government in Australia 1928-1951( 1952)Do party candidates for Parliament campaign upon reasonably clear and consistent policies? Does the winning party carry out its promises? To find answers to these questions is the main purpose of this study. The writer's thesis is that parties seeking a Parliamentary majority are generally responsible for presenting clear alternative policies and that the winning party is responsible to those voting for it for the implementation of its policies. There is also a responsibility of the opposition party to its supporters, as well as a less definite responsibility of each party to the whole electorate; but these aspects of the subject are not treated in detail. If this approach is valid, it follows that a system of government should encourage, rather than impede, the responsible functioning of the parties. Therefore Part I presents a brief description of the party system, the structure of government and the extent of legislative power. Parts II and III cover the operation of the electoral system and the vital question of party promise and performance. It should be noted that the term responsible will be used in two different ways. First, the term responsible cabinet government will be used where the writer is referring to the arrangement whereby a cabinet is responsible to the popular house, and continues to govern only if supported by a majority of the house members. Second, the term responsible party politics will be used with the broader meaning of parties responsible to the electorate, as summarized above. Ideally, at least, responsible parties should function best where the government has maximum powers to deal with political problems with minimum interference from the structure of the system. Thus it might be expected that severe limits on legislative powers would restrict the scope of government activity and thereby limit the choice of party programs. Similarly, the presence of structural checks, such as an upper house, independent state governments, or courts which can invalidate government policy, may retard or confuse the solution of political problems. But the growth of responsible parties may be influenced by other factors of an economic, historical or geographical character. In Australia, for example, the existence of a strong trade union movement by 1900 provided the basis for the growth of a strong Labor party. Indeed, responsible parties have developed in spite of considerable limitations of the kinds already mentioned. Thus Australian politics offers the possibility of studying responsible parties working under difficult conditions.
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ItemE. G. Whitlam: an essay in political biography( 1979)Few of society’s members enter political life, and only a fraction of these become leaders. These are, then, uncommon men, and an understanding of their experience is not readily accessible to most of us. The politically interested may turn to political and historical biography to bridge the gap, yet the ad hoc and intuitive nature of most biographical work counts against its acceptance as a contribution to political science. This essay argues that for biography to be understood as integral to the discipline its methods must be such as to allow for comparison between studies of like and unlike political actors, and for generalization and prediction on the basis of a range of cases. A biography needs a systematic conceptual framework by which its subject can be understood, and whose principles are available to the reader for consideration (and potential refutation) in the course of analysis. Since it is impossible to retail the "complete" life, such a framework will suggest a means of selection from the mass of detail, facilitating the work of explanation. The logical theoretical tools for this can be found in modern theories of personality. The subject of this essay in biography is E. G. Whitlam, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. His unusual career, and the disparate accounts of the man to which it gave rise, epitomize our difficulty in coming to terms with leadership. Yet the enigma is more apparent than real, and a judicious interpretation of the life may dissolve the paradox and explain both functional and dysfunctional elements of character (evident in the antithetical strains in the career) as manifestations of a recognizable personality type. The groundwork of biography consists of isolating behavioural patterns which signify the idiosyncracies of personality. This essay proceeds first to establish the characteristics of behaviour across the whole life by scanning it chronologically. From this it turns to close consideration of the political career and in particular the style of work of its subject. It then attends to political orientations and philosophy before turning to the examination of language and habits of thought. The process is one of hewing ever closer to the inner man, passing from the activity of the public figure to the detail of working style, and at last to the uniquely individual operations of the mind. Patterns thus elicited are considered in the light of a number of theories of personality. This is an iterative process of devising successive approximations until the interpretation best suited to understanding Whitlam is established. As a means of testing and elaborating conclusions thus derived, the early life history is examined and the antecedents of adult personality sought. In the light of the interpretation established here, it is demonstrated that we can understand both the strengths and weaknesses, the successes and failures, of Whitlam as a political leader. Concluding remarks are devoted to what might be expected of other similar leaders. The attractions of such a leader for his followers, the circumstances in which such a pattern of leadership can be of political utility and cultural value, and the attendant dangers, are suggested.
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ItemSingle mothers in society: a study of the causes and consequences of single motherhood for a Melbourne sample of single mothers who kept their children( 1979)Inspiration for the Study: This study draws its inspiration from two main sources. Firstly, from the experience of a new organisation, the Council for the Single Mother and her Child, through which single mothers have come together in an attempt to help themselves and each other personally, practically and through social action to reform their socio-legal position in society. The increasing self-reliance of women and ameliorating social attitudes to single mothers have disclosed what seems to be a new type of single mother, barely glimpsed in earlier research. This mother may be more likely to remain in the community and keep her baby, and less likely to contact the traditional social service agencies. Such mothers have been visibly active in C.S.M.C. The council has encouraged research into the situation and experience of members so that, as an organisation, it can adapt better to serve its members as a grassroots, participatory, self-help welfare agency, and so it can fill out the picture it presents to the community. The council takes the view that any factual evidence presented is likely to improve the community’s understanding of a stigmatised group. In accord with this policy, C.S.M.C. has made this project possible by allowing the sample to be drawn from its mailing list. Secondly, it was designed to help meet a research need. Most of the research that is influential among Australian social workers is based on overseas evidence, often drawn from 'captive' samples of clients of maternity shelters, public hospitals and adoption or casework agencies, clients who are close to what, as Bernstein pointed out, is an emotional upheaval in any circumstances -- birth. From the perspective of knowledge building, it is desirable that the findings and hypotheses to emerge from this research should be re-examined and tested to see how relevant they may be for a contemporary local sample of single mothers living in the community with their children. Many expectant single mothers and the social workers who counsel them about plans for their own and their babies' futures, feel they have insufficient information about what happens to mothers later, since most of the mothers do not return to the social work agency unless they have problems. Dr. Nan Johns' follow-up study of samples of babies adopted, and babies kept by their natural mothers, is designed to meet this need. It is hoped that the present study will provide useful supplementary evidence. In Australia, there has been no large-scale, comprehensive research on the single-mother population, and in the absence of this, as Meredith and Brotherton have pointed out, there is a need for small-scale, particularised studies to develop a general body of data on the characteristics of single mothers. Other studies in this latter category have drawn their samples from welfare institutions that assist single mothers with problems, such as maternity homes, casework agencies or public hospitals, which cater mainly for low-income patients. The present survey concerns a more varied sample, and it is hoped it will therefore contribute a useful extension of existing research knowledge. (From Introduction)
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ItemThe Ryan case: an analysis of the decision of the Victorian Cabinet to impose the death sentence on Ronald Joseph Ryan, and of the public and mass media protest campaign( 1976)Between the years 1955 and 1972 Victorian politics was dominated not merely by the Liberal Party but by one man, Mr. (later Sir) Henry Bolte. Not since the (co-extensive) era of Sir Robert Menzies on the national scene had the political life of a community so completely been in the shadow of a single politician : as A.F. Davies has put it, for most people politics in Victoria for a long time had meant "Henry Bolte". But Sir Henry Bolte has not merely been the longest serving Premier in our history ; his coming to office in June 1955 marked the beginning of an era of continuity and stability in Victorian politics that had never before been experienced in the State. Before Bo1te came to power in 1955, there had been eighteen Governments since 1924, the longest-serving of which had been the Country Party Minority Government of A.A. Dunstan, which had ruled - with Labor support till July 1942 and thereafter with United Australia Party support - from April 1935 to September 1943. What is more, as A.F. Davies has pointed out, all the Ministries from 1924 to 1952 were either minority Governments or composite Ministries. Moreover, only two of the seven governments between 1924 and 1932 lasted a full parliamentary term, and only two of the twelve governments between 1943 and 1958. With the advent of the Bolte era "the inherent instability of Victorian Cabinets", as it had come to be termed, was at an end. While there has already been a searching political biography of Sir Henry, the politics and style of “the Bolte era" has so far not attracted extensive research. This thesis, then, is a contribution to our understanding of that era by concentrating on the most significant issue of the Bolte premiership : the decision by the Bolte Cabinet in December 1966 to hang convicted murderer Ronald Joseph Ryan. Only twice during his record term of more than seventeen years as Premier did Sir Henry Bolte meet with sustained, hostile public criticism and protest. Both occasions involved a decision to invoke the death penalty. The first involved the decision not to commute the death sentence on Robert Peter Tait for the murder of an elderly woman in Hawthorn in 1961. Following involved legal procedures by Tait's counsel, which culminated in a last minute intervention by the High Court to restrain the Government from proceeding with the hanging, the death sentence on Tait was finally commuted. (From Introduction)
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ItemCatholic judgements on the origin and growth of the Australian Labor Party dispute 1954-1961( 1967)This is a study of how Catholics in Australia have assessed the dispute which has affected the Australian Labor Party and Australian Society, from 1954-1961. It examines what Catholics have said and written about the causes of the original dispute and the way it has developed. The study examines seven main themes: -the history of communist activity in Australia's trade unions; the origin and growth of the Catholic Social Studies Movement (better known as 'The Movement•); the role of the Industrial Groups and ‘The Movement’ in the politics of the Australian Labor Party; the growth of two Labor Parties; the divisions which the dispute caused in Australian society generally and in the Catholic community in particular; the problem of conscience for the individual Catholic in politics; the problem of church-state relations in a pluralist society. Part I is a background study (1941-1954) of the various forces that clashed in the dispute. Part II is a chronological account of the course of the dispute from 1954 until 1961. Part III is an evaluation of the four main Catholic viewpoints on the causes and progress of the dispute. I have devoted considerable space to Parts I and II for two reasons. First, there is no one satisfactory narrative of the events that led up to the dispute in 1954 and that followed it. Second, some such chronological account is needed if all that was said about the dispute is to be intelligible. I have chosen 1961 as the year at which to terminate the study because by that time each main Catholic group had stated its case fully. Whatever each group has said since then has been mainly a re-statement of previous positions. A note is needed on the nature of the evidence available. In general there is a mass of written material in Catholic papers which presents problems of selection. But a greater problem is the uneven distribution of such comment; for example, the Melbourne Advocate and the Sydney Catholic Weekly, being weeklies, commented much more frequently on the dispute than did the monthly Catholic Worker. Those persons representing the viewpoint of Catholics who remained in the Labor Party after 1954 have commented even less than the Catholic Worker. I have tried to supplement this lack of written information on some viewpoints by extensive interviewing of some of the key figures in the dispute. (Here, too, there were difficulties: for example, the ALP parliamentary leader, A.A. Calwell, declined to be interviewed). In all I spent 116 hours interviewing thirty of the main actors in the drama in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. Here, a problem of evidence was the sometimes fading memories of some of those interviewed ten years after the events they were discussing. With some of this evidence, therefore, allowance must be made for possible, inaccuracies. Yet another problem was striking a balance with conflicting information from interested parties to the dispute. Since a thesis of this type cannot deal in detail with every aspect of this dispute, it might be well to mention some of the issues one would have liked to treat in greater depth had there been room. Some of these questions are: the impact of federalism or the federal structure of bodies like the Australian Labor Party, 'The Movement' and, to some extent, the Catholic Church, on the behaviour of regional units of these bodies; the development of Catholic Social theory as a result of 'The Movement' experience and the Labor Party split; the sociological changes in the Catholic community since the split within the Labor Party and within the Catholic Church; the changing patterns of Australian Catholics' political participation. All these enticing questions can only be touched on more briefly than one would have liked.
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ItemVictorian railway policy, 1850-1883( 1952)Introduction: In this thesis my aim is to present a clear outline – a narrative account – of the early history of Victorian Railway Policy, concerning the Railways as government department and the later change to statutory corporation. But in doing so, my aim is to suggest the main reasons, together with their degree of importance, for this particular sequence of events that is the beginning and most important part of Railway History. These reasons are intended to be brought out and substantiated by a significant selection of political evidence. They can be no more than suggested, however, because this evidence is confined mainly to Parliamentary documents, contemporary political writings and fairly inadequate secondary source histories. It is political evidence, rather arbitrarily defined, and therefore does not extend, for example, to the favourable or unfavourable condition of the London money market at certain times and its effects on railway policy. Nor in another direction, does it extend sufficiently to the power and influence of local pressure groups, which, together with the charges of corruption that are so often put forward as reasons for particular lines of railway, must be among the most difficult matters to investigate, gauge and verify in this subject – which is made enormous by ramifications of that kind. Nevertheless, there will be, I hope, considerable value in the disentangling and enumerating of such reasons as are plausibly given for the change and development of railway policy. They might perhaps provide interesting information about the political climate of the time, but I think they would be far more usefully employed if they were to be compared with the apparent reasons behind other public utility policies, and , especially, with the principles introducing and governing the recent British Nationalization statutes.