1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: From the Daily Os. I'm Billy fit Simons and this 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: is no Silly Questions. We are back for another Concept 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Focus episode for a Thursday with tda's Silly Question Enthusiast 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: Tom Crowley. 5 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 2: Hey Tom, Hey, Billy Silly Questions Enthusiast. I think I 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 2: like that one of the best of all of the 7 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,280 Speaker 2: ridiculous titles you've given me so far. 8 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: So, Tom, today we're talking about the two major parties, 9 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: the Labor and the Liberal Party, which seems at considering 10 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: that Prime Minister Scott Morrison has now announced the federal election, 11 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: what questions are we trying to answer here? 12 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 2: So I think we've got two questions really, neither of 13 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 2: them silly ones. Of course, the first question is kind 14 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 2: of you know, what are the parties, what do they 15 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 2: stand for, what's their history, who do they represent? But 16 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 2: then the other question, I think is kind of why 17 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,480 Speaker 2: do we have these major parties? Why are their major 18 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: parties at all? How did it happen that way? And 19 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 2: how do we end up with the parties that we've got. 20 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 2: So I think if I can get some way to 21 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 2: answering those questions in the next ten minutes, we will 22 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 2: have done. 23 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: Well that sounds ambitious. As always, there's a lot to 24 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: unpat there. Shall we start with your one minute. 25 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 2: Let's do it. I'll start with Labor alphabetical order. So 26 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 2: Labor would describe itself as the party of the worker. 27 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 2: It has its roots in the labor movement, the union movement. 28 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 2: Those are its origins and still very much part of 29 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 2: its sense of self and Labour's historical legacy is pushing 30 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 2: for a government that does things. In that sense, it's 31 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 2: a party of the left, pushes for social and economic 32 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 2: change to benefit working people. It's pushed over its history 33 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 2: for better working conditions, minimum wages, welfare, health care, things 34 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 2: of that nature. It's not always pushing in the direction 35 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 2: of a bigger government, though Labor governments in the eighties 36 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 2: and nineties moved in the other direction. They sold off 37 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 2: a whole lot of things that the government used to own. 38 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 2: These days, Labor is keen to emphasize that as well 39 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 2: as supporting working people, it supports businesses and small businesses, 40 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 2: and its position is, I suppose what we call the 41 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 2: center left. On the other hand, the Liberal Party would 42 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 2: describe itself as the natural party of business and of 43 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: business interests, or they might describe themselves as on the 44 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: side of the individual of aspiration, with a belief that 45 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: individuals are better off when they have more freedom and 46 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 2: the government is less involved. In that sense, they're on 47 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 2: the center right. The Liberal Party is also generally more 48 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 2: socially conservative than Labor, although there is a split in 49 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 2: the Liberal Party between people who are socially conservative and 50 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 2: the more moderate members of the Liberal Party who are progressive. 51 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 2: And of course, again like Labor, things are not always 52 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 2: that simple. It was Liberal prime ministers who were in 53 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 2: power when gun control was introduced, when same sex marriage 54 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 2: was introduced, and John Howard's most prominent achievement was a 55 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 2: big new tax, the GST. So again, nothing is ever 56 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 2: quite as straightforward. And both of the Australian parties are 57 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: fairly close to the center. They don't neatly line up 58 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 2: one way all of the time. But that's a very 59 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 2: quick summary, Billy, of who they are and in general 60 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 2: what they stand for, and a bit of their history. 61 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: Okay, and I should mention that Tom, you're talking about 62 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: the difference between the left and the right wing, and 63 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: we do have an entire episode, it's about ten minutes 64 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: long that you can go and listen to if you're 65 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: wanting more of an explanation on that. But Tom, that 66 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: was a really good overview of exactly what the parties 67 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: stand for. But I want to take a step back. 68 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: Can you explain why we actually have major parties at all? Like, 69 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: how has it happened over time that we've e merged 70 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 1: with these two major parties? 71 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think maybe i'll give a callback to 72 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 2: another No Silly Questions episode, which was last week's about 73 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 2: how elections work. You can go back and listen to that. 74 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 2: It's almost like we're planning these things reality to build 75 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 2: on one another. But what we were talking about then 76 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 2: is that they don't have to be parties. It's not 77 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 2: like they're written down in the law anywhere, or they're 78 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 2: in the Australian Constitution. But you know, the government is 79 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 2: formed by one hundred and fifty one local representatives, each 80 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 2: representing their area. Now, those one hundred and fifty one 81 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 2: could just sort of sit in a room and work 82 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 2: it out among themselves as a bunch of independents. But 83 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 2: what tends to happen over time is that if you're 84 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 2: a person with a particular set of values, it makes 85 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 2: sense to kind of team up, form an alliance, form 86 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 2: a party with other people who share your views and 87 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 2: share your kind of aims in politics, because I guess 88 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 2: there's strength in numbers, and if you form a party 89 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 2: with people who have similar views, then you can, I guess, 90 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 2: have more chance of forming governments, more chance of achieving 91 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,359 Speaker 2: your agenda. That's why parties are a pretty naturally forming 92 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 2: part of you know, really any form of political organization, 93 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 2: and definitely many of the systems that we look at 94 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 2: around the world, that's why these parties kind of spring up. 95 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 2: And the reason that we have two of them, I 96 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 2: guess the first reason is kind of we've spoken in 97 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 2: that episode about left and right, about the kind of 98 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 2: you know, the fact that the left and the right 99 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 2: side of politics symbolize these big questions that tend to 100 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 2: divide us, this big question about you know, what do 101 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 2: you think the government's role is, how fast do you 102 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 2: think change should happen? It makes sense that parties kind 103 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 2: of divide along those two lines. The other reason that 104 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 2: Australia has two parties is because of our kind of 105 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 2: preferential system in the House of Representatives, where basically the 106 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 2: short version of it is because you've got to past 107 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: fifty percent of the votes to be able to win 108 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 2: any local seat. That naturally favors larger parties, more prominent parties. 109 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 2: I guess the rich get richer. You know, the parties 110 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 2: that are well organized and have this big national presence, 111 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 2: they tend to kind of form governments the front of 112 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 2: people's minds and they get that sort of momentum, which 113 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 2: is part of why a two party system in Australia 114 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 2: has been the most sustainable one really for most of 115 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 2: our history. 116 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: But why the Labor and the Liberal Party? You know, 117 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: there's so many parties in Australia. Why is it that 118 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: over time the Labor and the Liberal Party have emerged 119 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: as the dominant parties. 120 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 2: So I guess I'll come back to this idea of 121 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 2: kind of left and right being this natural split and 122 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 2: this natural difference in kind of the things that we 123 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 2: care about. And so if you're going to sort people 124 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 2: into two groups, you know they're they're the two groups 125 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 2: that are sort of the most likely. And you see 126 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 2: sort of versions of left and right parties again in 127 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 2: many countries around the world. But why are they exactly 128 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,720 Speaker 2: the ones that they are? Particularly? Maybe the question of 129 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 2: kind of why are they center left and center right. 130 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 2: I think the answer there is to do with the 131 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 2: fact that we have a compulsory voting system. And it's 132 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 2: worth noting that that's very rare by international standards. We 133 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 2: kind of take it for granted, but it's not compulsory 134 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 2: to vote in almost every democracy in the world. There 135 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 2: are very very few where it's compulsory. And what that 136 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 2: does is when everyone has to vote, the natural tendency is, well, 137 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 2: I'll get the most votes if I concentrate on the middle, 138 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: and if I concentrate on kind of you know, close 139 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 2: to you know, find areas where a lot of people 140 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 2: will agree and build the kind of broadest base of 141 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 2: support possible. That's how you form a government. Whereas in 142 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 2: a system like America's, where voting is optional, there's almost 143 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,919 Speaker 2: kind of a bit of a tendency to the extreme. Sometimes, 144 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 2: someone like Donald Trump, who was very far tot the 145 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 2: extreme of the right, was able to kind of mobilize 146 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 2: a very large group of people to turn out and vote, 147 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 2: and a lot of other people who might have been 148 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 2: switched off just sort of didn't bother to vote at all. 149 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 2: And so in systems where it's not compulsory, you get 150 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 2: this kind of polarization and you can get parties that 151 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 2: are very different from one another. Australia compulsory voting system 152 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 2: tends to, I guess, concentrate attention on, if you like, 153 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 2: middle Australia, and I think that's part of why the 154 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 2: parties kind of look the way. 155 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: That they do. Now, Okay, so you're kind of talking 156 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: about how both the parties are close to the center. 157 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: I actually had a conversation with my friend over the 158 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: weekend and she said that I didn't understand what the 159 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: difference between the Liberal and the Labor Party was. What 160 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: would you say to someone like my friend who just 161 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: thinks that the major parties are both the same. 162 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 2: I'll answer that question with two bits, Billy, which is, firstly, 163 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 2: they're not the same. I think that it's pretty clear 164 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 2: when you look at their policies and their values that 165 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 2: they are not the same. But I can understand why 166 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 2: your friend and why a lot of other people think 167 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 2: that they are kind of similar or the same, and 168 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 2: that again, I think it comes down to this idea 169 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 2: of a compulsory voting system which encourages the major parties 170 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 2: to aim for the middle. Again, this idea that you 171 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 2: need to appeal to the broadest number of people possible 172 00:07:57,640 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 2: to be able to form government, and so that's why 173 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 2: you might look at their policies and look at the 174 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 2: words that the leaders use and think I can't see 175 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 2: much difference. You can hear Anthony Elbanezi talking about how 176 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 2: he has lots of friends in boardrooms and he's very 177 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 2: supportive of businesses, and you can hear Scott Morrison talking 178 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 2: all about ordinary working people in their jobs, so you 179 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 2: know it's quite difficult to kind of put them neatly 180 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 2: into boxes. And I can understand where that comes from. 181 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 2: I don't want to suggest that there's no policy difference. 182 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 2: There are definitely policy differences between the two parties. They'll 183 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 2: agree with that, and TDA over the next few weeks 184 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 2: in the election campaign will put lots of time into 185 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 2: explaining what those differences are. But yeah, I get where 186 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 2: the cynicism comes that they will look the same. I 187 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:39,960 Speaker 2: think what it comes down to, though, is a different 188 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 2: set of values and instincts. It's kind of about which 189 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 2: way do you do. 190 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: You lean an excellent explainer as always, and I think 191 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: that before we go, we should of course acknowledge that 192 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: The Labor and the Liberal Party are not the only 193 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: two parties in Australia. There are a range of minor 194 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: parties and there are also a lot of independence that 195 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: we will do an upcoming episode of No Silly Questions 196 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,239 Speaker 1: on But thank you so much, Tom our Silly Questions enthusiast. 197 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 2: Thanks Billy. I'm losing my voice a bit today, so 198 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 2: thank you for bearing with me through the last ten minutes. 199 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 2: I'll see you next week. 200 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,839 Speaker 1: And thank you so much for listening to No Silly Questions. 201 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: If you've enjoyed it, we would love if you could 202 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: give us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple. 203 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: The Daily Os is a small independent media company and 204 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:25,319 Speaker 1: it really helps us to grow. Another way that you 205 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: can help us grow is by sharing this podcast episode 206 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,839 Speaker 1: to your Instagram story. It's just another way to get 207 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: the word out there and to help your friends and 208 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: people you know be informed in the lead up to 209 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 1: the federal election. We'll see you next week.