School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses

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    Responsible government in Australia 1928-1951
    Barrett, Russell H. ( 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.