Today for most Australian’s the potential of what a vote can represent is lost in political apathy and some could argue that this directly relates to how the leaders of the two main political parties continually compete for the populist vote. This environment is dominated by the media portrayal of our political parties and as a result of this, policies for the long term interests of the country have become secondary to short term wins (Marsh, 2010).In his article Marsh (2010) suggests that the Australian political system could benefit from new infrastructure by replacing senate with committees of the legislature rather than the executive which could result in increased flexibility within party structure (Marsh, 2010). This in turn could also improve representational democracy. However, the introduction of a legislature committee is also a potential risk of being another political implement to waste time and resources as the members of these committees would ultimately be tied to party lines, resulting in division within the committee structure.
The Australian political structure does have the potential for change. As loyalist numbers for the two main parties are shrinking (Scott, 2009) and political ideologies are becoming blurred. Fringe parties are slowly emerging giving people an alternative choice which is suggesting that perhaps voters are looking for options outside the dominance of the main two parties (Walsh, 1998).The rise of fringe parties and the increasing popularity of both interest groups and social movements who focus mainly on current issues within the Australian political arena is evidence that our two-party system is becoming outdated (Scott, 2009). Voters are increasingly looking for alternatives.
The Australian political system could see many benefits from the rise and establishment of a third major party such as The Greens. This change will not however be as drastic as dismissing the senate and replacing it with a committee as Marsh (2010) suggests.However, there cannot be any major political change without a review and possible restructuring of our current voting system with particular attention being paid to second preference voting (McAlister, 2010). The introduction of a third major party along with a review on voting structures may be what is needed to refocus the populist competition we are currently experiencing in today’s political environment. Adding another dimension to the political sphere would also no doubt increase the range and variety of issues arising on the political agenda.Continual stories regarding leadership contests seem to dominate the media and perhaps the rise in support for fringe parties is the publics’ attempt at pushing away from the populist vote and trying to refocus political media coverage to once again centre on party policies and strengthen political agendas (Marsh, 2010).
The result of competing for populist votes in our modern political sphere creates a negative Haley Matthews 1649724 2|Page environment and both major parties are at risk of falling into a style of continuously contesting ideas and thoughts even though they may agree (Miragliotta, Errington and Barry, 2010).Long term goals are sacrificed for short term wins by both major parties (Marsh, 2010). For example even though both major parties have bipartisan approach toward issues such as the paid parental leave and national disability schemes (Bennett, 2012), they still feel a need alter policy in order to honour their party philosophy and increase their popularity. It is almost as though they are caught in a contest focusing on who can offer the most and therefore win the majority of support (Miragliotta, Errington and Barry 2010).
Voters are also becoming increasingly frustrated with the major parties inability to plan beyond their three year term.In conclusion the introduction of a third major party in Australian politics could be seen as a process to offset the pathetic populist competition between our two major parties. This along with a review on voting structures and a refocusing of political agendas to again centre on party policies would diversify the variety of issues arising in the political arena and benefit national interests. From all political evidence I do agree that Australia’s two-party system is outdated as the continuation of populist politics threatens to overshadow essential policy making.
