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7. Politics: Commonwealth and Dominion
Outline of Lecture
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Introduction
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New Zealand
and Australia
have definite governmental similarities: their colonial origins, their
historic parliamentary organizations.
Yet they evolved differently, both as to institutions and as to
political culture. Their national
capitols are symbols of their distinctive evolutions.
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Evolution of
Australian Politics
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In the beginning there was no “Australian politics,” as
individual colonies muddled through colonial issues with factionalized
legislatures. This led to confederation
and to creation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. After that Australia became a
parliamentary democracy exhibiting various permutations of the liberal-labour division.
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Evolution of New Zealand
Politics
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There is apparent good order in the evolution of
colonial government in New
Zealand:
Treaty of Waitangi, Constitution Act of 1852, a federal system
giving way to a unitary one. In the
20th century there are some interesting surprises that spike the usual
liberal-labour parliamentary system: the rise of a Liberal party that led the
way toward the welfare state, and the advent of a Labour
party touting principles of neo-liberalism.
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Innovations of
Government
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Recent years have witnessed striking changes in
traditional parliamentary, constitutional monarchy: the implementation of
MMP in New Zealand and
the rise of republicanism in Australia.
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Resources
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WWW
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Australian
Republican Movement
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New Zealand
Parliament
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Elections New
Zealand – for an explanation of MMP
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Australian
Politics – overview and explanation of the system
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Parliament of Australia
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Concepts
of Nationhood – outstanding lecture series on the centenary of New Zealand’s dominion status (especially
good is Part 1, the address by Jamie Belich),
presented by Radio New Zealand
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Australia
Now – an outstanding series from Radio Australia; check out, in particular
here, “The Changing Face of Australian Politics”
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Film
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We’re Here to Help
– one man fights New Zealand Inland Revenue (not yet available in the US< but
there’s a trailer on YouTube)
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Reading
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Irving, To Constitute
a Nation: A Cultural History of Australia's Constitution
Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi
Brooking, Lands for the People? The
Highland Clearances and the Colonisation of New Zealand: A Biography of
John McKenzie
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