Democracy

The myth of Australian parliamentary democracy

By | | comments |

Writing in 'The Lucky Country', Donald Horne diagnoses the sickness at the heart of Australian democracy — the dictatorial power of a tiny, yet powerful, elite, who wield power through anti-democratic major political parties. Sadly, nothing has changed for the better in Australia's system since he wrote these words, almost 50 years ago.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that in Australia Parliaments are now mainly of ritualistic significance and that the significance of the peculiarly parliamentary part of Australian democracy is quite slight. A political leader achieves leadership through his party and normally he then uses his position and power of patronage to dominate, or attempt to dominate his party machine, and rebels work through the party machine to try to affect the policies of the leaders. ln this power situation Parliaments are subsidiary, it is through the parties that political changes are effected— if they are effected at all.


Power within the parties is not gained by any significant appeal to mass membership. There isn't a mass membership. Party branches are small and, with exceptions, moribund. Power within a party is usually gained by secret contrivance and manipulation. Except in the sense that the rival party machines have to submit themselves to regular parliamentary elections, the idea that Parliament represents the people is simply one of the fictions of Australian public life — as is the idea that Parliaments have any particular relation beyond a ceremonial one to the administration of the Commonwealth and the States. All that happens is that the people have a veto, they can keep one of the party machines out of office — at the cost of putting the other party machine into power. And when a party gains power it uses its Parliament as its legislative and propaganda instrument.

(Read about IA managing editor David Donovan's idea to break the stranglehold of political parties over our system through the use of an "anti-party" by clicking here.)
 
Recent articles by David Donovan
The decline of the Coalition of Murdoch-led media and rise of the young

The Coalition's spectacular Election failure demonstrates the waning power of the ...  
EDITORIAL: The decline of the Coalition of Murdoch-led media and rise of the young

The 2025 Federal Election may, in time, be regarded as the most significant elec ...  
Shock poll sees voters reject Trump in favour of an independent Australia

A recent poll shows a seismic shift in voters’ views on Australia’s place in ...  
Join the conversation
comments powered by Disqus

Support Fearless Journalism

If you got something from this article, please consider making a one-off donation to support fearless journalism.

Single Donation

$

Support IAIndependent Australia

Subscribe to IA and investigate Australia today.

Close Subscribe Donate