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House of Representatives                                Ch 5                                                 p 132

Party

Most Members of the House of Representatives are elected as members of one of the established political parties represented in the House. ¹ If a Member is elected with the support of a political party, it is not unreasonable for the party to expect that the Member will demonstrate loyalty and support in his or her actions in the House. Most decisions of the House are determined on party lines and, thus, a Member’s vote will usually be in accord with the policies of his or her party.

One exception to this rule arises in the relatively rare case of a ‘free vote’. A free vote may occur when a party has no particular policy on a matter or when a party feels that Members should be permitted to exercise their responsibilities in accordance with their consciences. A free vote may also be extended to matters affecting the functioning of the House, such as changes to the standing orders. ²

While Members rarely challenge the policies of their parties effectively on the floor of the House because of the strong tradition of party loyalty that exists in Australia, policy can be influenced and changed both in the party room and through the system of party committees. All parties hold meetings, usually weekly when the Parliament is sitting, at which proposals are put before the parliamentary parties and attitudes are determined.

Both the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party/Nationals make extensive use of backbench party committees, each committee specialising in a particular area of government. These committees scrutinise legislative proposals and government policy, and may help develop party policy. They can enable private government Members to have detailed discussions with senior departmental officials and may provide a platform for hearing the attitudes of community groups and organisations on particular matters.

Since the general election in 1949 the only other parties represented in the House have been: 1) the Australian Labour Party (Anti-Communist) in 1955 which comprised seven former members of the Australian Labor Party, VP 1954-55/161; H.R. Deb. (19.4.55) 3; 2) One Nation in 1997 (a single former independent); and 3) the Australian Greens (one Member elected at a by-election in 2002). In recent Parliaments there have been up to five independents elected. For an analysis of party affiliations of Members since 1901 see Appendix 10.

See ‘Free votes’ in Ch. on ‘Order of business and the sitting day’.