Australia Keeps Right
By C P. FITZGERALD Canberra.
THE British have always prided themselves on enjoying the flexibility of an unwritten constitution, and have shown some pity, not untinged with contempt, for those democratic nations who find it necessary to fortify liberty with the unyielding armour of legal definition. Yet the British over- seas, in all the Dominions and self-governing colonies, have not maintained this proud indifference to the written word. All the Dominions have written constitutions, and in Australia the troubles which are associated with this barrier to innovation are the constant preoccupation of statesitten. The Federal Constitu- tion, a compromise between those who were lukewarm about Federation and those who wished for a unitary state, concedes to the Commonwealth only those powers which are specifically designated in the Constitution, the residuary powers remaining with the States. The High Court, copied from the Supreme Court of the United States, watches over the interpretation of the Constitution, and can, and does, pronounce upon the validity of legislation. It was the fact that the High Court had invalidated the late Government's anti-Communist measure that decided Mr. Menzies to appeal to the country ; the hampering activity of a Labour majority in the Senate was an added provocation, but the High Court's decision was the determining factor. The coalition of Liberal and Country Party, which won the election of December, 1949, was returned on a programme of strong opposition to the spread of Communism among the industrial workers, and its victory represented a swing away from Labour, which had then held office for eight years. Yet when the new Government took over it found that the Senate, elected by proportional representation, and containing members who had not had to vacate their scats on the dissolution of the Lower House, was still dominated by a Labour majority, which con- sistently delayed and opposed the passage of Government Bills. When the High Court threw out the Anti-Communist Bill the whole programme of the Government, after fifteen months of power, was rendered nugatory ; and it was claimed that the will of the electors had been frustrated by the Senate and the High Court. The Prime Minister sought and obtained (contrary to the expectation' of many) a dissolution of both Houses, and appealed to the country to return him with a mandate to amend the Constitution by submitting proposals to a referendum. Although it was clear that the Lab6ur Party had been caught off balance by the Governor-General's agreement to a Double Dissolution, many Australians doubted whether the Coalition would gain its object, a majority in the Senate. Now that the slow process of counting the votes for the Senate is nearing its end, it is possible to see that the Prime Minister was better advised than his critics, and that the Coalition has won a clear majority in the Senate also. Australia has refused to turn back from the path chosen in 1949, and has, somewhat temperately, endorsed the proposal to introduce measures to amend the Con- stitution. That, at least, is how the Government will interpret their victory, although it is by no means certain that a refer- endum, when held, will support the amendments proposed. The Australian people have almost always rejected the proposals submitted to them by referendum, even while continuing to sup- port at the polls the Government which made the proposal. This strange behaviour would seem to be a consequence of a feature of Australian life which is not much appreciated abroad. The Australian retains a remarkable and intense loyalty to his native State, a loyalty much more personal and alive than his feeling for the Commonwealth. Australians do not like their Central Government, and grudge the extension of its power. The people will elect a Federal Government because that is necessary and cannot be avoided ; but they are not compelled to endorsv: the ambitions of that Government to enlarge its scope of authority, and when the chance to rebuff the central authority is offered at a referendum the Australian people take it. This rooted distrust of Canberra and its activities is a problem which confronts both parties; and it is manifested equally whether Labour, or its opponents, are in power. There is of course a historical, even a geographical, reason for the intensity of State loyalty. The Commonwealth is still comparatively recent ; federation was achieved in 1900, whereas the States had existed for at least a full half-century before that, and as colonies and settlements went back nearly a hundred years. The origin of the States has added to their distinct character. In every case, except perhaps Tasmania, the State grew up as the hinterland of a large city. New South Wales is the territory of Sydney ; Victoria, even more the " country " of Melbourne, and on all the mainland the capital city completely dominates its State. The Australian States are, in fact, city States, and each urban centre is the lord of its region, in which there is often no other place larger than a country town. It is not merely that more than half the Australian people live on or near the coast ; this great concentration of population is mainly in' the capital cities of the States. Consequently State politics are what Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane may think or feel on any issue, and Federal politics are a careful adjustment of the often conflicting opinions of the city States. The Federal parties must trim their policy to the feeling of the States. Labour, which in Sydney is rather radical, in Melbourne is strongly Catholic, and this inner conflict was embarrassing to the party on the Anti-Communist issue.
The Senate, in which each State has an equal number of repre- sentatives, was designed to safeguard the interests of the less populous States against the overriding power and importance of Sydney and Melbourne, the jealous queens of the continent. This has not, in fact, proved to be the Senate's role. The elections for that body are by means of an exceedingly compli- cated system of proportional representation, and the lists of candidates presented to the electors are, in fact, party lists. The influence of the States is exercised more effectively, and in a more occult manner, in the inner councils of each major party. A Cabinet must contain not only a balance of members from the wings of the party, or from an allied party, but also a due and just proportion of men from each State. Failure to satisfy local feelings could easily result in a strong swing against the rash party which made this mistake. Many Australians, not only Labour suppoiters, now wonder whether the Senate serves any useful purpose at all. The Labour Party used to advocate its suppression, and the Liberal and Country Party, who favoured the Senate, have recently seen the matter in a different light when a Labour-controlled' Senate frustrated their policy. The three major Australian parties—Labour, Liberal and Country Party—differ in many ways from their prototypes or equivalents in Britain. Labour—strangely in a land of great social equality—shuts its doors, and certainly its inner conclaves, against all but genuine manual workers with trade union mem- bcrship. The Parlotir Socialist, even the intellectual, so con- spicuous and influential in Britain, hardly counts at all in Australian Labour. The Labour Party is, in fact, a trade union party, and not really a Socialist party. Its indifference to Marx makes possible its large Catholic membership. The Liberal Party. mainly supported by the cities, is, in fact, the Conserva- tive Party in its urban aspect. The Land, so important in Australia, supports the third, and smallest, party, the Country Party. This group, which holds the balance between the rival urban parties, Liberal and Labour, is very much to the Right, expressing the views of the great " squatters," a term which in Australia is the equivalent, in some ways, of " squire."
But the Country Party also stands for the opposition to the overweening dominance of the great cities), The Country—rural Australia—is a pastoral land with a sparse population ; yet it producei the main wealth of the country, wool ; and all the cities really " ride on the sheep's back." Consequently the land interests feel that they should have more power than their num- bers warrant, and the Country Party, drawing off their votes, which would be lost and ineffectual in the Liberal Party, is able to provide the Coalition's majority, and, as it also provides great wealth, can pay the piper and call a good measure of the tune.
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