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Political parties definition

associations formed by people seeking to influence lawmaking and be elected, sharing ideological beliefs with a broad focus, characterised by the participation of candidates in elections

Political party role

act as channels to combine individual preference into collective platforms with broad appeal – major parties represent around 2 thirds of eligible voters

Major party definition

party large enough to form government or opposition

Minor party definition

can be elected but not enough representation to form government, but have consistent election, forced from emerging social needs and worldviews

Minor party influence

push agenda through electoral processes like campaigns and advertising

Micro party definition

usually too small to be elected, focused on a certain issue, only lasts one election cycle, can balance power

Left wing party favours…

socialist economy, democracy, active government (extreme left is communism)

Right wing party favours…

individual market, more liberal, less active government (extreme right is Nazism)

Liberal party ideology

centre right, liberal economics and conservative social policy, supported by richer, older, male, conservatives

ALP ideology

centre left but has adopted centre right policies

Things both big parties agree on

free market policy, social safety net, defence and foreign policy with the US alliance, international organisation

Key differences between big parties

monarchy vs republic, climate change, industrial relations, degree of intervention, environment, better party leader

Def delegate model

representatives act strictly to constituents’ wishes

Def trustee model

where representatives use judgement to make decisions in constituents’ best interests

Def partisan MPs

blend delegation and trustee within parties, but are united between parties to balance expectations and government reality

ALP origins

originally represented labourers with democratic socialism and labourism, strict party discipline, advocating for wealth redistribution and eliminating worker exploitation

Historical examples of ALP actions

Chifley government’s attempts to nationalise banks during (1945-49), Whitlam (1972-75) establishing free healthcare and university

ALP modern focus

social democracy reducing inequality, creating individual wealth

LP origins

founded by Robert Menzies in 1944 to combine centre right parties, ideologies opposed to ALP, social liberalism – promoting individual responsibility and economic freedom

LP recent actions

deregulating economy and reducing social service spending

Issues with LP

internal conflict from such broad ideologies

Micro party example

Centre alliance or UAP

Nationals origins

began as an agrarian social democracy and economic liberalism

Nationals and Liberals relationship

ally of libs with market based policy, but tensions from agrarianism, automatically party of the ministry as a coalition with the government

National action example

represented rural opposition in 2024 to put power transmission lines through farmland

Examples of voter behaviour

choosing to vote, who to vote for, tactical voting, supporting in an alternate way, to seek information

Economic voter definition

voters assumed to act like consumers, acting rationally from self interest, considering the best outcome

Economic advantages and disadvantages

follows informed democracy, consent to be governed, inconsistent, doesn’t explain party loyalty

Class voters definition

applies to societies with strong socioeconomic class divisions (e.g. pre 1990s Britain), supporting party representing class without weighing options

Class voters advantages and disadvantages

explains party loyalty, aligned with jobs, schools, suburb, less predictive, changeable and blurred classes

Partisan voters definition

developing an affinity with a party in teenage years from family/peers, further info is confirmation of party loyalty

Partisan voters advantages and disadvantages

explains low volatility, encourages loyalists to vote, AU has high partisan, difficult to accurately measure

Factors for economic voters

unemployment rates surplus, interest, trust, leadership

Examples of government track record

2010 Julia Gillard carbon tax backflip, Albanese 2026 negative gearing

Examples of local factors

influential for country/regional seats, Zali Stegall defeated Tony Abbot as it was viewed he ignored the electorate and was unresponsive

Political actor definition

anyone/anything who interacts or performs an action in a political system

Pressure group definition

organised group of people who share common interests, attitudes, or belief and take deliberate action aimed at influencing public policy, not election

Pressure groups in modern democracies

non violent participation, well financed PGs can represent industries

Mirror representation definition

achieving a representative reflection of the people – challenging in a democratic nation

Why is mirror representation a problem

MPs must represent community views and ideals

Female representation in parliament

historically underrepresented, not 46% hor, 56.6% senate, and 49.6% total, even though women represent around 51% of Australians

Def gender quotas

fixed minimum number of women in a political party, argued that it controls the party and people should be selected on merit

LP and gender quotas

no formal quota, but had a goal for 50% representation by 2025, after 2025 election, Sussan Ley elected the first female leader

Labor and gender quotas

53% women after 2022 election, 57% after 2025 election, quota introduced in 1994 for 35% election by 2002

How to evaluate representation

percentage in parliament, cabinet, and party room

Def sectional pressure group

seek to represent the common interests of society, have self interested or economic benefits, e.g. unions

Promotional pressure group def

promote a particular cause with restricted memberships, are altruistic and temporary

Pharmacy guild of Australia about

represents community pharmacies by lobbying and negotiating with major parties to protect outcome (bipartisan) the pharmaceutical benefits scheme and influencing regulations

Examples of pharmacy guild actions

2019 successful lobby for continued support of pbs from parties, 2023 unsuccessful to prevent changes for 2 month prescriptions for common medicines

Climate200 about

represent climate change cause through electoral processes by getting independents elected – offers funding rather than membership

Climate200 influence

aims to transform political representation through direct participation and financial contribution and advertisements to ensure credibility and visibility – 6 teals elected as a result with 900k votes

Vote counting method US legislative

majoritarian system of single member electorates where electors vote for one candidate – simple majority wins

Vote counting method US executive

FPTP, voters vote for aligned state electors (538) who then vote for president, Electoral college determines how many votes – total representation

Elections in US legislative

every 2 years, midterm or congressional elections

Elections for US executive

every 4 years, limited to 2 terms by the 22nd amendment of the US constitution, election day is Tuesday in early November – reduces participation, Executive is President, secretaries appointed, and VP, outlined in S1A2 of constitution

Voting in US

non-compulsory, and parties encourage people to vote, 73.6% registered in 2024 but only 65.3% voted

President eligibility US

natural born citizen, 35, lived in the US for 14 years

HoR eligibility US

citizen for 7 years, live in state, 25

Senate US eligibility

30 live in state

US election administration

state governs electoral laws so gerrymandering is common, rights also impacted particularly for African Americans, Federal Election Commission oversees campaign finances and donations, appointed by President, but not elections