Populism in Australian National Politics

Research Note Index 2002-03

Research Note no.8 2002-03

Populism in Australian National Politics⁽¹⁾

Scott Bennett
Politics and Public Administration Group
17 September 2002

Although there are various forms of populism, all maintain the central importance of 'the common people and their lifestyle, beliefs, and values'.⁽²⁾ One Nation (ON) has been called 'populist',⁽³⁾ but at least three aspects of populism play a part in the politics of Australia: leadership style, social critique and alienation.

Populism as Leadership Style

Populism can be seen as a style of leadership that is not specifically a feature of politics of the left or the right. Very often political leaders will be heard either calling for the 'people's voice' to be heard on various issues, or claiming to know what the people think about them.

On such occasions the politician is talking directly to the people over the heads of the political establishment. Billy Hughes' appeal to the Australian people on conscription in 1916 and 1917; Robert Menzies' address to the 'forgotten people' in 1942; Robin Gray's resistance to Commonwealth pressure over the Franklin Dam in the early 1980s; and Bob Hawke's move to protect Coronation Hill in 1991 over strong ministerial opposition are all well-known examples of populist leadership.

The Gray case is a reminder that in a federal system populist leadership is often seen at the regional level of government. The cry that 'the locals know best' is often heard, with local-level government seen as preferable to unthinking, distant, 'big' government. Calls for the defence of states' rights in the US and Canada highlight the populist belief that local autonomy must be defended. Some of the fiercest defenders of the states in Australia have been premiers who enjoyed a strong popular following. Jack Lang (NSW, ALP, 192527, 193032), Joh Bjelke-Petersen (CP/Nat, Qld 196887) and Charles Court (Lib, WA 197481), all engaged in populist rhetoric against 'Canberra' when the need arose.

Ironically, the populist leader will often seek to persuade an audience to be wary of 'politicians'. The call to reject 'the politicians' republic' in 1999 is a typical populist cry.

Populism as Social Critique

Populists diagnose society as fractured by a division between the haves and the have-nots. It might be 'the people' opposed to 'big business', or 'real' Australians opposed to 'multiculturalists'. Here, populism is often linked with politics of the right.

The central populist theme is the belief that the will of ordinary people should prevail as opposed to politicians: One Nation, for example, describes itself as 'the people's voice'.⁽⁴⁾ Populists of this type argue that the centralisation of power in national governments and large corporations is at the core of society's ills, due to a failure to heed what ordinary people want and need. They warn of 'distant, unaccountable and devious Government'.⁽⁵⁾

Such a critique appeals to many people who feel disadvantaged by, and excluded from, society's political, social and economic institutions. A current Australian example would be gun owners who maintain that ownership of weapons is a 'right' of all citizens.⁽⁶⁾

Populists of this type suggest a number of policies to help society 'get back on its feet' by giving power 'back to the people'.

Support is often given to radical proposals for change to a nation's financial systemthe currency expansion ideas of the US Greenback Party or the beliefs of Douglas Credit pushed by the Australian League of Rights, for example. One Nation's Easytax proposal in 1998 spoke of replacing all federal taxes with a flat two per cent tax on incomes and transactions.

Mechanisms of direct democracy such as citizen initiated referenda are seen as the means for citizens to regain power. This view is held by the Citizens Electoral Council, and was the policy of the Country City Alliance in the 2001 Queensland election.

Interestingly the Australian Democrats also support citizen initiated referenda, which they describe as 'one way of giving people at the grassroots access to real political power'.⁽⁷⁾ This is a reminder that the populist critique can also be pitched to the left of politics. The Green Party of the US, for example, has stated that it supports a 'restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system'.⁽⁸⁾

Populism and Alienation

Many populist views appeal to those who feel alienated from the political mainstream. This attitude can be a consequence of the major parties choosing not to refer to a particular issuesuch as Asian immigration. It can also be a response to the major parties both taking the same public view on an issuesuch as tariff reduction. This can produce a frustration with democratic institutions. For Pauline Hanson, parliaments and parties have betrayed the people: 'democracy really means mob rule'.⁽⁹⁾

Some populists take their grievances further, to the point where they explain society's ills in conspiratorial terms. One Nation's populism, for example, has been described as 'an ideology of grievance, blame and protest'.⁽¹⁰⁾ The problems people face may be attributed to 'financial rings', to 'Jewish financiers', to distant and uncaring governments or to forces of globalisation. US populist Tom Watson's description of Catholics as 'the deadliest menace to our liberties and our civilization', are similar to the warnings by the Pauline Hanson Support Movement of a 'class of raceless, placeless cosmopolitan elites who are exercising almost absolute power over us'.⁽¹¹⁾ In all cases, the solution is simple: if these alien forces can be destroyed, then society can return to its earlier virtues.⁽¹²⁾

Many populists would prefer a homogenous society and resent efforts to 'bastardise' the population: 'we are in danger of being swamped by Asians'.⁽¹³⁾ In Australia some of the earliest populist outcries were against Irish immigration, with later targets including the Chinese and the Japanese. Such fears have never died in Australia, and the modern populist attack has been upon multiculturalism, where the typical view is of Australia's society being undermined: 'A truly multicultural country can never be strong or united', is Hanson's view.⁽¹⁴⁾

The alienated can also be people resentful of services given to others. In the US, many who feel they have worked hard and made sacrifices, resent 'welfare bums'. In Australia, Employment Services Minister Tony Abbott's criticism of 'job snobs' was a populist cry directing public antagonism towards dole recipients, as was Hanson's criticism of 'handouts' to Aboriginal people.⁽¹⁵⁾

Resentments over services enjoyed by others is a key element in the populism that is often linked with rural societies, where communities often decry the neglect of rural areas by city-based politicians. Such views have been shared by agrarian movements in the US, Canada, and Argentina as well as in Australia.⁽¹⁶⁾ The Australian Country Party emerged as a reaction to the way in which the people in cities were said to ignore the interests of country people.⁽¹⁷⁾

Conclusion

In societies in which people feel unsettled by seemingly unrelenting change, there will always be people who feel they have been ignored by their politicians and who find populist remedies to be in accord with their own views. Populism offers an alternative to mainstream party views, and there is no doubt that, from time to time, it can influence a nation's agenda.

Endnotes

This is the fourth in a series on political theories in Australia, see also
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2001-02/02RN27.htm (liberalism),
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2001-02/02RN28.htm (socialism),
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2001-02/02RN29.htm (conservatism).

Penguin Macquarie Dictionary of Australian Politics, Ringwood, 1988, p. 269.

G. Stokes, 'One Nation and Australian Populism', in M. Leach, G. Stokes and I. Ward, eds, The Rise and Fall of One Nation', UQP, 2000, p. 23.

http://www.onenation.com.au/.

A. Black (ON), Queensland Parliamentary Debates, 30 July 1998, p. 1482.

W. Feldman (ON), Queensland Parliamentary Debates, 11 November 1998, p. 2946.

http://www.democrats.org.au/policies/#.

'Ten Key Values of the Green Party', 2000, http://www.greenpartyus.org/tenkey.html.

'One Nation trio put heads on block', Australian, 30 November 1998.

G. Stokes, op. cit., p. 33.

S. M. Lipset and E. Raab, The Politics of Unreason, Chicago, 1978, p. 98; Pauline Hanson Support Movement, in P. Hanson, The Truth, Ipswich, 1997, p. 155.

R. Hofstadter, The Age of Reform, New York, 1955, p. 55.

P. Hanson, Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates (House), 10 September 1996, p. 3862.

ibid.

'Job snobs jibe arrogant: Labor', Canberra Times, 20 May 1999.

B. D. Graham, The Formation of the Australian Country Parties, Canberra, 1966, p. 1.

D. Aitkin, The Country Party in New South Wales, 1972, ch. 1.