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Australia and New Zealand Edited by Hugh V. Emy Published by Ashgate (1999) |
Book description
Australia and New Zealand are two societies in the throes of change whose
political systems are undergoing some kind of metamorphosis. In New Zealand, the
election held in October 1996, the first under the Mixed Member Proportional
system, signalled the end of the two-party system and the advent of
European-style coalition politics. Following the demise of the "Australian
Settlement", Australia is said to be in the process of reinventing its
political tradition, which includes rethinking the terms of its original
constitutional settlement. In several respects, change has undermined previous
assessments of both polities.
The articles in this volume therefore have a distinctly contemporary focus: they
illustrate the main ways in which both countries either have changed in the last
decade or are changing, and the implications for research and analysis. The
major catalyst for their break with tradition has been the impact of
globally-driven economic change. Beginning in 1984, the governing elites in both
countries, Labour as well as non-labour, concluded that changes to the structure
of the global economy and the composition of world trade made it imperative to
re-structure their economies and integrate them more fully with the world
economy. Both embarked upon an extensive process of economic realignment and
modernization, abandoning their previous reliance on statist, protectionist and
mildly collectivist policies in favour of free market liberalism, which has
since become the dominant policy paradigm in both. The pros and cons of this
change have dominated party political debate and academic analysis. Two areas in
particular have been researched: re-evaluating the state traditions in both
countries, and investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the political
culture.
About the Author
Professor Hugh Emy is a lecturer at Monash University.
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