Difference Between Australian Labor Party and Australian Liberal Party
Australia is a democratic country with a two party system. The two main political parties are the Australian Labor party and the Australian Liberal party. There are other smaller political parties but their political ideologies are generally based on either of the prominent parties. The Labor party and the Liberal party have been most prominent on the political scenario of Australia. For the past several elections, either of these two parties keeps on winning. Sometimes the Labor party wins and sometimes the Liberal party captures the majority of polls. Both of the parties have a huge support base, but differ in their political ideology and policies. This article will accentuate the difference between the Australian Labor party and the Australian Liberal Party.
Australian Labor party:
The Australian labor party won in the most recent parliamentary elections that were held in 2010. From then on, they have been in power. Julia Gillard, who is the first female to become the Prime minister of Australia, leads the Labor party government. The Australian Labor party, which is also known as the ALP, happens to be the oldest political party in Australia. The Labor party originated at the time of the labor movement in 1891. The Labor party works from a national platform and this leadership decides on the party policies. Every three years, the party delegates hold a national conference, where the policies are approved. These political policies indicate the principles and regulations that would be followed by the party government in the years to come.
According to the Australian labor party, their party has played a very important role in the political system of Australia. Initially, it was called the Labour party. In 1912, the spelling was changed to Labor. Until the 1950’s, the labor party were in support of an all white policy. They vehemently opposed the immigration of non-Europeans into their country. Nevertheless, this policy was changed in course of the 70’s. The labor party is a left-centre political party.
Australian liberal party:
The liberal party originated in 1943 from the United Australia Party. Therefore, it is a newer political party compared to the Labor party. The Liberal party is a rightist political party. In the recent federal elections, they lost to the Labor party and they form the opposition in the Australian Parliament. The Liberal party id led by Tony Abbot. As indicated in the name of the party, it is a party with more liberal views. They believe in freedom of speech and activity and independence. Whenever the Liberal party comes to power, the country experiences a lot of social reforms and general development.
One remarkable characteristic of the Liberal party is that they win the state level elections easily and have been the ruling party at the state level for years, but somehow, they are not so successful in the federal elections. In 2004, they won the federal elections, but could stay in power only for three years as they lost to the labor party again in 2007.