127-763: The Australian Labor Party ( ALP ), also known simply as Labor or the Labor Party , is the major centre-left political party in Australia and one of two major parties in Australian politics , along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia . The party has been in government since the 2022 federal election , and with political branches active in all the Australian states and territories , they currently hold government in New South Wales , South Australia , Victoria , Western Australia , and
254-452: A mixed economy in a democratic capitalist system, often including economic interventionism , progressive taxation , and the right to unionize . Centre-left politics are contrasted with far-left politics that reject capitalism or advocate revolution . The centre-left developed with the rest of the left–right political spectrum in 18th and 19th century France, where the centre-left included those who supported transfer of powers from
381-453: A two-party system as very much the norm. Although Watson further strengthened Labour's position in 1906, he stepped down from the leadership the following year, to be succeeded by Andrew Fisher who formed a minority government lasting seven months from late 1908 to mid 1909. At the 1910 federal election , Fisher led Labor to victory, forming Australia's first elected federal majority government , Australia's first elected Senate majority,
508-482: A critical role in ensuring fairness by: ensuring equal opportunity; removing unjustifiable discrimination; and achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status." Further sections of the platform stress Labor's support for equality and human rights, labour rights and democracy. In practice, the platform provides only general policy guidelines to Labor's federal, state and territory parliamentary leaderships. The policy Labor takes into an election campaign
635-472: A different name, due to their different origins. Although the ALP officially adopted the spelling without a u , it took decades for the official spelling to achieve widespread acceptance. According to McMullin, "the way the spelling of 'Labor Party' was consolidated had more to do with the chap who ended up being in charge of printing the federal conference report than any other reason". Some sources have attributed
762-431: A great objective – the light on the hill – which we aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind. ... [Labor would] bring something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people." To a large extent, Chifley saw centralisation of the economy as the means to achieve such ambitions. With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise
889-569: A landslide win at the 1943 federal election , Curtin died in office just prior to the end of the war and was succeeded by Ben Chifley . Chifley Labor won the 1946 federal election and oversaw Australia's initial transition to a peacetime economy. Labor was defeated at the 1949 federal election . At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifley sought to define the labour movement as follows: "We have
1016-603: A member of the House of Representatives. Since October 2013, a ballot of both the Caucus and by the Labor Party's rank-and-file members determined the party leader and the deputy leader. When the Labor Party is in government, the party leader is the prime minister and the deputy leader is the deputy prime minister . If a Labor prime minister resigns or dies in office, the deputy leader acts as prime minister and party leader until
1143-619: A motion at the Federal Conference that "the name of the party be the Australian Labour Party", which was carried by 22 votes to 2. A separate motion recommending state branches adopt the name was defeated. There was no uniformity of party names until 1918 when the Federal party resolved that state branches should adopt the name "Australian Labor Party", now spelt without a u . Each state branch had previously used
1270-575: A period of Pasokification in which social democratic parties saw large declines during the 2010s, largely being replaced by far-left and right-wing populist parties. The centre-left's stance on immigration in Europe was one of multiculturalism, further pushing working class voters from the centre-left to the far-right. In some cases, centre-left and centre-right politics in these countries became less distinct as political cleavages shifted toward populist versus traditional politics. The Arab Spring in
1397-580: A prominent form of centre-left politics, beginning with the Australian governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating in the 1980s and 1990s. Similar movements developed elsewhere, including in Germany and New Zealand. Centre-left parties in Latin America also shifted from social democracy to social liberalism in a pragmatic attempt to reach voters. The most prominent adoption of Third Way politics
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#17327659191791524-470: A reformist alternative to the revolutionary left, arguing that societal improvements within capitalist democracy would better serve the working class. This philosophy became widely popular among the European left after World War I, which had convinced many contemporary leftists that national identity was more important to the working class than class solidarity , which would render Marxism unviable. This
1651-459: A school of thought within British and American centre-left politics in the mid-19th century. Early progressive thought developed from modernism and humanism , manifesting as calls for reform. It developed as a political movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries as it was adopted by social liberal and social democratic parties. Unlike later social democratic movements, social democracy in
1778-511: A squatter, a doctor, and even a mine owner, indicating that the idea that only the socialist working class formed Labor is untrue. In addition, many members from the working class supported the liberal notion of free trade between the colonies; in the first grouping of state MPs, 17 of the 35 were free-traders. In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917, support for socialism grew in trade union ranks, and at
1905-564: A state or territory president (an honorary position usually held for a one-year term), and a state or territory secretary (a full-time professional position). However, ACT Labor directly elects its president. The larger branches also have full-time assistant secretaries and organisers. In the past the ratio of conference delegates coming from the branches and affiliated unions has varied from state to state, however under recent national reforms at least 50% of delegates at all state and territory conferences must be elected by branches. In some states,
2032-603: A strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs. non-Labour lines prior to the 1906 federal election and renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded
2159-493: A successor is elected. The deputy prime minister also acts as prime minister when the prime minister is on leave or out of the country. Members of the Ministry are also chosen by Caucus, though the leader may allocate portfolios to the ministers. Anthony Albanese is the leader of the federal Labor party, serving since 30 May 2019. The deputy leader is Richard Marles , also serving since 30 May 2019. The Australian Labor Party
2286-496: Is a federal party, consisting of eight branches from each state and territory. While the National Executive is responsible for national campaign strategy, each state and territory are an autonomous branch and are responsible for campaigning in their own jurisdictions for federal, state and local elections. State and territory branches consist of both individual members and affiliated trade unions , who between them decide
2413-460: Is contained in its National Platform, which is approved by delegates to Labor's National Conference, held every three years. According to the Labor Party's website, "The Platform is the result of a rigorous and constructive process of consultation, spanning the nation and including the cooperation and input of state and territory policy committees, local branches, unions, state and territory governments, and individual Party members. The Platform provides
2540-528: Is determined by the Cabinet (if the party is in office) or the Shadow Cabinet (if it is in opposition), in consultation with key interest groups within the party, and is contained in the parliamentary Leader's policy speech delivered during the election campaign. When Labor is in office, the policies it implements are determined by the Cabinet, subject to the platform. Generally, it is accepted that while
2667-599: Is fully committed to a market economy, it says that: "Labor believes in a strong role for national government – the one institution all Australians truly own and control through our right to vote." Labor "will not allow the benefits of change to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, or located only in privileged communities. The benefits must be shared by all Australians and all our regions." The platform and Labor "believe that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential." For Labor, "government has
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#17327659191792794-501: Is no formal requirement for unions to be represented at the national conference). The national conference decides the party's platform, elects the national executive and appoints office-bearers such as the national secretary, who also serves as national campaign director during elections. The current national secretary is Paul Erickson . The most recent national conference was the 48th conference held in December 2018. The head office of
2921-727: Is not supported by the centre-left in the 21st century. The modern centre-left distinguishes between just and unjust capitalism, advocating for welfare state policies to create what it considers to be just capitalism. Through the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the centre-left has been more likely to benefit electorally during periods of economic growth and suffer electorally in economic downturn. The core objective underlying centre-left economic policies, democratic capitalism , has largely been achieved within many economies, with further policies seeking to merely reform or improve upon this system. These may include measures to reduce poverty or to support lower-wage workers. One common dispute within
3048-705: Is the balance between egalitarianism and pragmatism. The centre-left often faces pressures from working class voters to restrict immigration to prevent competition over jobs and public services. Other centre-left policies can also be negatively impacted by immigration, as a large increase in low-skilled workers can raise concerns about the increased price of public services, prompting spending cuts and roll-backs of centre-left welfare policies. Though positions on environmentalism are not consistent across centre-left parties, they are more likely to support environmentalist policies than centre-right parties. Centre-left parties are popularly associated with environmental policies in
3175-419: Is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre and broadly conform with progressivism . Ideologies of the centre-left include social democracy , social liberalism , and green politics . Ideas commonly supported by the centre-left include welfare capitalism , social justice , liberal internationalism , and multiculturalism . Economically, the centre-left supports
3302-450: Is typically associated with the centre-left ideologies of social liberalism and social democracy, though communist and centrist ideologies have sometimes been involved in progressive politics. There is great divergence within the progressive movement, with disagreement in what reforms should be attempted and how they can be implemented, though redistributive policies are a common theme within progressivism. Progressivism first developed in
3429-425: Is typically considered radical in nature and distinct from centre-left ideologies. The Third Way is a variation of social democratic politics that gained prominence in the 1990s after the decline of traditional social democracy. It advocates reform of the social democratic model to emphasize equal opportunity over equality of outcome . To accomplish this, it supports heavy deregulation and privatization for
3556-462: The 1903 federal election and continued to hold the balance of power. In April 1904, however, Watson and Alfred Deakin fell out over the issue of extending the scope of industrial relations laws concerning the Conciliation and Arbitration bill to cover state public servants, the fallout causing Deakin to resign. Free Trade leader George Reid declined to take office, which saw Watson become
3683-519: The 1910 state election . In 1899, Anderson Dawson formed a minority Labour government in Queensland , the first in the world, which lasted one week while the conservatives regrouped after a split. The colonial Labour parties and the trade unions were mixed in their support for the Federation of Australia . Some Labour representatives argued against the proposed constitution, claiming that
3810-572: The 2014 Fisher by-election by nine votes from a 7.3 percent swing, the Labor government in South Australia went from minority to majority government. Labor won landslide victories in the 2016 Northern Territory election , the 2017 Western Australian election and the 2018 Victorian state election . However, Labor lost the 2018 South Australian state election after 16 years in government. In 2022, Labor returned to government after defeating
3937-407: The 2019 election , despite having been ahead in opinion polls for the preceding two years. The party lost in 2019 some of the seats which it had won back in 2016. After the 2019 defeat, Shorten resigned from the leadership, though he remained in parliament. Anthony Albanese was elected as leader unopposed and led the party to victory in the 2022 election , and became the new prime minister. Between
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4064-510: The Australian Capital Territory . As of 2024, Queensland , Tasmania and Northern Territory are the only states or territories where Labor currently forms the opposition. It is the oldest continuous political party in Australian history , having been established on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne ; the meeting place of the first Federal Parliament . The ALP is descended from the labour parties founded in
4191-683: The Chifley government launched a major immigration program. The party's opposition to non-European immigration did not change until after the retirement of Arthur Calwell as leader in 1967. Subsequently, Labor has become an advocate of multiculturalism . The Curtin and Chifley governments governed Australia through the latter half of the Second World War and initial stages of transition to peace. Labor leader John Curtin became prime minister in October 1941 when two independents crossed
4318-580: The Digital Revolution altered the objectives and demographics of the centre-left, as the working class has been largely subsumed by the middle class in developed nations due to increased living standards and the establishment of a knowledge economy . Of those in service industry careers, class is not a unifying or significant aspect of personal identity. In particular, this shift has caused People's Parties based on mass mobilization to be less viable. These rapid developments in society during
4445-807: The Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party was read out under the well known Tree of Knowledge at Barcaldine following the Great Shearers' Strike. The State Library of Queensland now holds the manifesto; in 2008 the historic document was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Australian Register ;and, in 2009, the document was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register. The Balmain , New South Wales branch of
4572-745: The Melbourne University Press Award for Literature and the Fellowship of Australian Writers Christina Stead Award . In 2018, he published a second book on Elliott, titled Pompey Elliott at War , which focused on his speeches and writing during the war. McMullin's book Farewell, Dear People – a collection of World War I biographies – won the 2013 Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History , including prize money of A$ 75,000. In 2016, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had personally overruled
4699-615: The Middle East and North Africa supported ideals often associated with social democracy and the centre-left. Ross McMullin Ross McMullin is an Australian historian who has written a number of books on political and social history, as well as several biographies. McMullin was educated at the University of Melbourne , where he wrote his Master of Arts thesis on the 1913 federal election and his doctoral thesis on
4826-757: The Second Republic and the Second Empire was commonly associated with the Moderate Republicans . Thiers restored the centre-left to prominence in the Third Republic , where it was led by the liberal republican Opportunist faction. Elsewhere in Europe, centre-left movements appeared from the 1860s, mainly in Spain and Italy . In Italy, the centre-left was born as coalition between the liberal Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and
4953-571: The Socialist Left who tend to favour a more interventionist economic policy and more socially progressive ideals, and Labor Right , the now dominant faction that tends to be more economically liberal and focus to a lesser extent on social issues. The Whitlam Labor government, marking a break with Labor's socialist tradition, pursued social democratic policies rather than democratic socialist policies. In contrast to earlier Labor leaders, Whitlam also cut tariffs by 25 percent. Whitlam led
5080-522: The South Australian Legislative Council . The first successful South Australian House of Assembly candidate was John McPherson at the 1892 East Adelaide by-election . Richard Hooper however was elected as an Independent Labor candidate at the 1891 Wallaroo by-election , while he was the first labor member of the House of Assembly he was not a member of the newly formed ULP. At the 1893 South Australian elections ,
5207-615: The United Nations considered the New International Economic Order plan that would facilitate social democratic governments in developing nations. Centre-left politics were historically unpopular in Latin America, and left-wing candidates were kept out of power through both right-wing dictatorships and through conservative victories in fair elections. In the mid-20th century, centre-left politics supported state-led development and industrialization in
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5334-493: The White Australia policy , which banned all non-European migration to Australia. This policy was motivated by fears of economic competition from low-wage overseas workers which was shared by the vast majority of Australians and all major political parties. In practice the Labor party opposed all migration, on the grounds that immigrants competed with Australian workers and drove down wages, until after World War II , when
5461-470: The caucus ) on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne , the meeting place of the first federal Parliament. The caucus decided to support the incumbent Protectionist Party in minority government , while the Free Trade Party formed the opposition . It was some years before there was any significant structure or organisation at a national level. Labour under Chris Watson doubled its vote at
5588-545: The monarchy to parliament or endorsed moderate republicanism . Early progressivism and left liberalism evolved in the late-19th and early-20th centuries in Western Europe and the United States, while social democracy split from revolutionary socialism , which became associated with communism , and advocated reformist socialist positions. Social democracy became the dominant ideology in Western Europe during
5715-494: The post–World War II economic expansion and it spread to Africa after decolonization . Centre-left economics declined in popularity following the 1973–1975 recession and was replaced by neoliberalism . In the 1990s, Third Way politics emerged as a centrist variant of social democracy in Europe, and centre-left politics spread to Latin America during the pink tide . In the 21st century, centre-left politics are challenged by
5842-585: The 100th anniversary of its founding. It was published in 1991 as The Light on the Hill , with the title taken from Ben Chifley 's speech of the same name . He later published So Monstrous a Travesty , a book about the Watson government , to coincide with its 100th anniversary in 2004. In 2002, McMullin published Pompey Elliott , a biography of the First World War general Harold Edward Elliott . It won
5969-567: The 1910 elections Labour gained in the more Catholic areas and the representation of Catholics increased in Labour's parliamentary ranks. The federal parliament in 1901 was contested by each state Labour Party. In total, they won 15 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives, collectively holding the balance of power, and the Labour members now met as the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party (informally known as
6096-459: The 1921 All-Australian Trades Union Congress a resolution was passed calling for "the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange". The 1922 Labor Party National Conference adopted a similarly worded socialist objective which remained official policy for many years. The resolution was immediately qualified, however, by the Blackburn amendment, which said that "socialisation"
6223-627: The 1970s. It was initially developed in Australia and New Zealand, and it first gained influence in Germany as a response to the Cold War and environmental issues . The presence of green politics in national government is mostly limited to Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, though green political parties briefly held influence during the postcommunist period of Eastern Europe. Green political parties have been most successful in Belgium, Finland, France, and Germany, where they integrated into
6350-512: The 19th century held socialist society as an eventual goal. The first social democratic party was established in Germany in 1863. Social democracy had developed as a major political movement in Europe by the early 20th century as a response to the strength of capitalism. Challenging the idea that capitalism was nearing an implosion , reformist socialists such as Eduard Bernstein rejected Marxist ideas of historical materialism and class conflict , and social democrats established themselves as
6477-747: The 2007 federal election and the 2008 Western Australian state election , Labor was in government nationally and in all eight state and territory parliaments. This was the first time any single party or any coalition had achieved this since the ACT and the NT gained self-government. Labor narrowly lost government in Western Australia at the 2008 state election and Victoria at the 2010 state election . These losses were further compounded by landslide defeats in New South Wales in 2011 , Queensland in 2012 ,
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#17327659191796604-535: The ALP embarked on Third Way reforms similar to those later adopted by New Labour in the United Kingdom. The Labor party is often called the party of unions due to its close ties to the labour movement in Australia , with the majority of trade unions being affiliated with the Labor party. The party is equally controlled by unions and rank-and-file party members through affiliated unions being granted 50% of delegates at each state and national conference. At
6731-463: The ALP, the national secretariat, is managed by the national secretary. It plays a dual role of administration and a national campaign strategy. It acts as a permanent secretariat to the national executive by managing and assisting in all administrative affairs of the party. As the national secretary also serves as national campaign director during elections, it is also responsible for the national campaign strategy and organisation. The elected members of
6858-584: The Federal Labor Party back to office at the 1972 and 1974 federal elections, and passed a large amount of legislation. The Whitlam government lost office following the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis and dismissal by Governor-General John Kerr after the Coalition blocked supply in the Senate after a series of political scandals, and was defeated at the 1975 federal election in
6985-534: The Great Depression and World War II . A post-war consensus formed among policymakers in Western Europe that rejected both classical liberalism and democratic socialism in favour of social democratic ideals. With the end of fascism, countries in Western Europe adopted social democracy and liberal democracy. Social democracy was widely adopted and implemented in much of Europe, both by centre-left and by traditionally centre-right parties. Social liberalism
7112-500: The Labor party in both houses of the national Parliament meet as the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, also known as the Caucus (see also caucus ). Besides discussing parliamentary business and tactics, the Caucus also is involved in the election of the federal parliamentary leaders. Until 2013, the parliamentary leaders were elected by the Caucus from among its members. The leader has historically been
7239-594: The Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation. Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree (the Tree of Knowledge ) in Barcaldine , Queensland in 1891. The 1891 shearers' strike is credited as being one of the factors for the formation of the Australian Labor Party. On 9 September 1892
7366-501: The Liberal Party in the 2022 South Australian state election . Despite favourable polling, the party also did not return to government in the 2019 New South Wales state election or the 2019 federal election. The latter has been considered a historic upset due to Labor's consistent and significant polling lead; the result has been likened to the Coalition's loss in the 1993 federal election, with 2019 retrospectively referred to in
7493-740: The Northern Territory in 2012 , Federally in 2013 and Tasmania in 2014 . Labor secured a good result in the Australian Capital Territory in 2012 and, despite losing its majority, the party retained government in South Australia in 2014 . However, most of these reversals proved only temporary with Labor returning to government in Victoria in 2014 and in Queensland in 2015 after spending only one term in opposition in both states. Furthermore, after winning
7620-518: The Senate as proposed was too powerful, similar to the anti-reformist colonial upper houses and the British House of Lords . They feared that federation would further entrench the power of the conservative forces. However, the first Labour leader and Prime Minister Chris Watson was a supporter of federation. Historian Celia Hamilton, examining New South Wales, argues for the central role of Irish Catholics. Before 1890, they opposed Henry Parkes,
7747-499: The ULP was immediately elevated to balance of power status with 10 of 54 lower house seats. The liberal government of Charles Kingston was formed with the support of the ULP, ousting the conservative government of John Downer . So successful, less than a decade later at the 1905 state election , Thomas Price formed the world's first stable Labor government. John Verran led Labor to form the state's first of many majority governments at
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#17327659191797874-824: The United Kingdom and the United States during the 19th century. Green politics is an ideological movement that advocates a political focus on ecology and nonviolence . It challenges modern industrialisation and institutions through a lens of social justice while rejecting traditional political philosophy and organization. Definitions of the scope of green politics may vary; it may be limited to explicitly environmentalist parties, or it may broadly cover political movements descended from New Left or left-libertarian ideas. Besides environmentalism, green politics often includes support for disarmament , ending nuclear power , decentralized democracy, feminism , and immigration . Green politics developed from various left-wing ideologies, including social democracy and Marxism, in
8001-469: The United Kingdom in the mid-20th century, where it took the form of new liberalism . The identification of centre-left ideologies as "liberal" is most common to the United States. Liberalism is less common in regions such as Africa and Asia, where there is no individualist or liberal democratic tradition. Progressivism is the support of continuous social reform to improve society gradually , opposing revolutionary or conservative politics. It
8128-491: The banks and a strike by the Communist-dominated Miners' Federation , Chifley lost office in 1949 to Robert Menzies ' Liberal-National Coalition. Labor commenced a 23-year period in opposition. The party was primarily led during this time by H. V. Evatt and Arthur Calwell . Various ideological beliefs were factionalised under reforms to the ALP under Gough Whitlam , resulting in what is now known as
8255-474: The blame for the economic crises, and support for the centre-left declined in favour of conservative neoliberalism . At the same time, the end of several right-wing dictatorships in Southern Europe prompted support for centre-left politics among these countries in the 1970s. A decline in the relevance of trade unions , historically a prominent voter group for social democratic parties, contributed to
8382-449: The burden of welfare from the state to the family. Centre-left politics seeks equal opportunity in society. Centre-left groups are more likely to prioritize issues of long-term or abstract importance than other ideological groups. These include environmentalism, the arts, science, social equality , and foreign aid . Advocates of centre-left politics typically support laws and government programs to support marginalized groups such as
8509-589: The cartoonist Will Dyson . McMullin wrote a biography of Dyson, Will Dyson: Australia's Radical Genius , that was shortlisted for the 2007 National Biography Award , and was one of three books to be cited as "highly commended" by the judging panel. McMullin has written several entries in the Australian Dictionary of Biography . He was commissioned to write the official history of the Australian Labor Party to coincide with
8636-538: The centre-left in Western countries. Promotion of general welfare, supporting members of the family, and the ideal of the Harmonious Society all have implications for centre-left politics. The welfare state of East Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are sometimes described as Confucian. These welfare systems have been influenced by Confucian familialism , which shifts some of
8763-614: The centre-left is the extent to which centre-left parties should reform markets versus regulating pre-existing markets. Centre-left parties in Europe and the United States have supported corporate governance reform to protect the investments of shareholders . The economies of Nordic countries such as Denmark and Sweden are often upheld by proponents of centre-left economic policies as successful applications of these policies. These economies heavily emphasize international trade as well as collaboration between government, industry, and labour. In post-war Europe, West Germany established
8890-587: The centre-left supported the Plan De Man . During the Great Depression in the 1930s, social democracy became a viable alternative to other left-wing ideologies, and state intervention saw popular support throughout the western world. It was also seen as a potential means to counteract rising far-right movements that were developing in Europe. The centre-left was particularly strong in Sweden, which
9017-509: The centre-right, implemented this foreign policy in Europe during the Cold War, but it has become less prominent due to the rise of anti-globalist far-right parties. The immigration policies of centre-left groups vary depending on the political circumstances of a given country, and they may seek to greatly expand or greatly restrict immigration. In principle, centre-left parties generally believe in multiculturalism and support high immigration. The key issue of centre-left immigration policy
9144-455: The developments of the Digital Revolution , the subsumption of the lower class into the middle class in developed nations, and an increase in support for populism . The ideologies of the centre-left include social democracy , social liberalism , progressivism , and green politics . Centre-left politics often incorporate elements of libertarianism and occasionally favour limited state intervention. As with all political alignments,
9271-451: The elderly, the handicapped, and the unemployed. Measures to this effect include financial assistance and anti-discrimination laws . Liberal internationalism is associated with the centre-left through its idealism , constructivism , and progressivism. Liberal internationalists seek cooperation between nations, often including support for common security and arms control between nations to facilitate peace. The centre-left, along with
9398-581: The end of the decolonization period, which had been dominated by far-left politics. Most post-colonial African political parties adopted some form of socialism or social democracy, though social democratic policies have seen limited success due to the unstable nature of democracy in Africa. By the beginning of the 21st century, the centre-left had almost entirely overtaken further left groups in politics globally, with other forms of left-wing politics seeing little support in democratic nations. Globalization and
9525-482: The entire people and the common good while rejecting the Marxist position of aligning specifically with the working class. Liberty under social democracy is defined as a collective concept based in equality rather than an individualist concept. Democratization , the welfare state , public education , and Keynesian economics are all major components of social democratic politics. Social democracy has influenced
9652-513: The exact boundaries of centre-left versus far-left or centrist politics are not clearly defined and can vary depending on context. Centre-left ideologies are common in stable political systems, which typically allow for political debate with an ideological centre. Social democracy is a reformist offshoot of socialism that supports the modification of capitalist economies rather than their total abolition. It seeks to regulate capitalism to protect social equality , advocating reforms that benefit
9779-744: The federal and state/colony level, the Australian Labor Party predates both the British Labour Party and the New Zealand Labour Party in party formation, government, and policy implementation. Internationally, the ALP is a member of the Progressive Alliance , a network of progressive , democratic socialist and social democratic parties, having previously been a member of the Socialist International . In standard Australian English ,
9906-410: The first Labour Prime Minister of Australia , and the world's first Labour head of government at a national level ( Anderson Dawson had led a short-lived Labour government in Queensland in December 1899), though his was a minority government that lasted only four months. He was aged only 37, and is still the youngest prime minister in Australia's history. George Reid of the Free Trade Party adopted
10033-402: The first time since 2011. This victory marked the first time in 15 years that Labor were in government in all mainland states. In 2024, Labor lost in a landslide in the 2024 Northern Territory election . losing its first mainland state or territory since the 2018 South Australian election . Labor would also lose in the 2024 Queensland state election . The policy of the Australian Labor Party
10160-476: The floating of the dollar and privatisation of state enterprises such as Qantas airways and the Commonwealth Bank . The Labor Party is commonly described as a social democratic party, and its constitution stipulates that it is a democratic socialist party. The party was created by, and has always been influenced by, the trade unions, and in practice its policy at any given time has usually been
10287-620: The floor of Parliament. Labor, led by Curtin, then led Australia through the years of the Pacific War . In December 1941, Curtin announced that "Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom", thus helping to establish the Australian-American alliance (later formalised as ANZUS by the Menzies Government ). Remembered as a strong war time leader and for
10414-597: The focus on free markets. Labour-government relations and the right to unionize have been less prominent ideas in East Asia. Centre-left politics often involve transfer payment systems, such as welfare and early childhood education , with the goal of creating higher employment while avoiding a welfare trap . Closely associated with this is the implementation of a progressive tax , in which higher earnings are taxed at higher rates. Some early centre-left groups supported gradual reform toward socialism, but this position
10541-413: The idea that the upper class seeks to harm or exploit members of society, instead arguing that these are unintentional effects of laissez-faire economics. Left liberalism supports liberal capitalism and a mixed economy , which have been adopted by virtually all liberal nations. Political pluralism and strong social institutions are prioritized by liberalism. Social liberalism was developed in
10668-441: The ideology lost influence in other countries during the 1970s. Social democracy also became a popular ideology in many African governments after the decolonisation of Africa . Social liberalism, or left liberalism, overlaps significantly with social democracy. This form of liberalism argues in favour of capitalism and the benefits it provides for society, but it also advocates regulations to reduce wealth inequality . It rejects
10795-672: The inclusion of previously excluded groups in society through citizenship and its associated rights . Income inequality also became a major focus, and centre-left parties in the region promote redistributive policy . Liberalism in Latin America has historically been conservative and oligarchic rather than a centre-left liberalism of progressivism or egalitarianism. Several centre-left parties supported reforms toward economic liberalism in line with those supported by their right-wing counterparts, in some cases leading to backlash that saw incumbent centre-left leaders replaced by far-left populists. Ideological diversity developed in Africa after
10922-451: The largest landslide of Australian federal history. Whitlam remains the only Prime Minister to have his commission terminated in that manner. Whitlam also lost the 1977 federal election and subsequently resigned as leader. Bill Hayden succeeded Whitlam as leader. At the 1980 federal election , the party achieved a big swing, though the unevenness of the swing around the nation prevented an ALP victory. In 1983, Bob Hawke became leader of
11049-532: The liberal-nationalist Movement Party . The centre-left was Orléanist , but supported a liberal interpretation of the Charter of 1830 , more power to the Parliament , manhood suffrage and support to rising European nationalisms . Thiers served as Prime Minister for King Louis Philippe I twice (in 1836 and 1840), but he then lost the king's favour, and the centre-left rapidly fell. The centre-left during
11176-449: The limited success of centre-left politics in the 1980s. Furthermore, centre-left policies faced new challenges that necessitated a reconsideration of the welfare state, including population ageing that threatened pension programs and women in the workforce that heavily altered the job market . Green political parties first became prominent in the 1980s when they became influential in European politics. Third Way politics developed as
11303-623: The main Liberal leader, and of free trade, seeing them both as the ideals of Protestant Englishmen who represented landholding and large business interests. In the strike of 1890 the leading Catholic, Sydney's Archbishop Patrick Francis Moran was sympathetic toward unions, but Catholic newspapers were negative. After 1900, says Hamilton, Irish Catholics were drawn to the Labour Party because its stress on equality and social welfare fitted with their status as manual labourers and small farmers. In
11430-498: The media as the "unloseable election". Anthony Albanese later led the party into the 2022 Australian federal election , in which the party once again won a majority government. Despite Labor's win, Labor nevertheless recorded its lowest primary vote since either 1903 or 1934 , depending on whether the Lang Labor vote is included. In 2023, Labor won the march 2023 New South Wales state election returning to government for
11557-615: The minds of voters, which earns them support in good economic conditions but loses them support in poor economic conditions. Environmentalism is a major component of green politics. Centre-left groups generally support a mixed economy with moderate economic interventionism . Keynesian economics has historically seen support among the centre-left. This is an interventionist economic philosophy that emphasizes income rather than pricing. These ideas have since declined in popularity in favour of balanced budgets and low government spending. Closely related to centre-left politics are concepts of
11684-437: The national party system. In addition to the most common centre-left ideologies, other ideologies are sometimes described as centre-left or have centre-left variants. Democratic socialism supports the abolition of capitalism in favour of socialism, though it opposes the creation of a communist state . It was historically seen as a centre-left position, and may sometimes be described as such, but modern democratic socialism
11811-482: The official choice of Labor to influence from King O'Malley , who was born in the United States and was reputedly an advocate of English-language spelling reform ; the spelling without a u is the standard form in American English . It has been suggested that the adoption of the spelling without a u "signified one of the ALP's earliest attempts at modernisation", and served the purpose of differentiating
11938-432: The party after Hayden resigned to avoid a leadership spill. Bob Hawke led Labor back to office at the 1983 federal election and the party won four consecutive elections under Hawke. In December 1991 Paul Keating defeated Bob Hawke in a leadership spill. The ALP then won the 1993 federal election . It was in power for five terms over 13 years, until severely defeated by John Howard at the 1996 federal election . This
12065-420: The party also contests local government elections or endorses local candidates. In others it does not, preferring to allow its members to run as non-endorsed candidates. The process of choosing candidates is called preselection . Candidates are preselected by different methods in the various states and territories. In some they are chosen by ballots of all party members, in others by panels or committees elected by
12192-691: The party claims to be the oldest in Australia. However, the Scone Branch has a receipt for membership fees for the Labour Electoral League dated April 1891. This predates the Balmain claim. This can be attested in the Centenary of the ALP book. Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia , 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies. The first election contested by Labour candidates
12319-402: The party from the Australian labour movement as a whole and distinguishing it from other British Empire labour parties. The decision to include the word "Australian" in the party's name, rather than just " Labour Party " as in the United Kingdom, has been attributed to "the greater importance of nationalism for the founders of the colonial parties". The Australian Labor Party has its origins in
12446-483: The party's policies, elect its governing bodies and choose its candidates for public office. Members join a state branch and pay a membership fee, which is graduated according to income. The majority of trade unions in Australia are affiliated to the party at a state level. Union affiliation is direct and not through the Australian Council of Trade Unions . Affiliated unions pay an affiliation fee based on
12573-451: The platform as a prerequisite for a change in policy. For example, privatisation legislation under the Hawke government occurred only after holding a special national conference to debate changing the platform. The Australian Labor Party National Executive is the party's chief administrative authority, subject only to Labor's national conference . The executive is responsible for organising
12700-437: The platform binds Labor governments, how and when it is implemented remains the prerogative of the parliamentary caucus. It is now rare for the platform to conflict with government policy, as the content of the platform is usually developed in close collaboration with the party's parliamentary leadership as well as the factions. However, where there is a direct contradiction with the platform, Labor governments have sought to change
12827-411: The policy foundation from which we can continue to work towards the election of a federal Labor government." The platform gives a general indication of the policy direction which a future Labor government would follow, but does not commit the party to specific policies. It maintains that "Labor's traditional values will remain a constant on which all Australians can rely." While making it clear that Labor
12954-498: The policy of the broader labour movement. Thus at the first federal election 1901 Labor's platform called for a White Australia policy , a citizen army and compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes. Labor has at various times supported high tariffs and low tariffs, conscription and pacifism , White Australia and multiculturalism , nationalisation and privatisation , isolationism and internationalism. From 1900 to 1940, Labor and its affiliated unions were strong defenders of
13081-476: The political spectrum, with centre-left and centre-right variants both being common. Christian democrats often support the welfare state, and social justice has been a frequent theme among Christian democracy parties in Latin America. Christian democracy in Europe is not usually associated with the centre-left, instead favouring the centre-right. Though it is often associated with conservatism, some elements of Confucianism invoke ideas that are associated with
13208-462: The politics of nearly every major democracy, though it has historically been most successful in the European Union , where it was the predominant ideology from 1945 to 1973. Sweden in particular has historically been closely associated with social democracy, as it was the first country to be led by a social democratic party, and social democrats in Sweden continued to be relevant even after
13335-661: The progressive Urbano Rattazzi , the heads respectively of the Right and Left groupings in Parliament. This alliance was called " connubio " ("marriage") for its opportunist characteristics. Liberalism was typically associated with the centre-right in the late 19th century, but liberal parties in France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom adopted left liberal policies through coalitions of middle and working class voters that survived until World War I . Progressivism developed as
13462-419: The purpose of increasing economic growth to fund public goods such as education, healthcare, and pensions. The Third Way may be defined as centre-left or as centrist . Christian democracy is an ideology that incorporates Catholic social teaching into a secular political philosophy. Though most enduring Christian democratic parties are centrist, those in Latin America have historically ranged across
13589-447: The region, which allowed redistributive and socially inclusive policies to be implemented. In East Asia, interventionism and developmental policy were adopted by right-wing parties rather than centre-left parties. Keynesian economics declined in popularity after the end of the post-war consensus, spurred by the 1970s energy crisis and the subsequent recession . The centre-left parties that had held power to that point received much of
13716-695: The size of their membership. Union affiliation fees make up a large part of the party's income. Other sources of funds for the party include political donations and public funding . Members are generally expected to attend at least one meeting of their local branch each year, although there are differences in the rules from state to state. In practice, only a dedicated minority regularly attend meetings. Many members are only active during election campaigns. The members and unions elect delegates to state and territory conferences (usually held annually, although more frequent conferences are often held). These conferences decide policy, and elect state or territory executives,
13843-482: The socioeconomic model of a social market economy , a regulated market economic system that promoted free markets and fair competition with regulation for social policies and a welfare state . The centre-left is descended from left-wing politics, which originated in the French Revolution and in the response to early capitalism. In France, the early centre-left was led by Adolphe Thiers , head of
13970-496: The state conference, in still others by a combination of these two. The state and territory Labor branches are the following: The Country Labor Party , commonly known as Country Labor , was an affiliated organisation of the Labor Party. Although not expressly defined, Country Labor operated mainly within rural New South Wales , and was mainly seen as an extension of the New South Wales branch that operates in rural electorates. Centre-left politics Centre-left politics
14097-445: The strength of Deakinite liberalism inhibited the party's growth. The state branches formed their first majority governments in New South Wales and South Australia in 1910, Western Australia in 1911, Queensland in 1915 and Tasmania in 1925. Such success eluded equivalent labour parties in other countries for many years. Analysis of the early NSW Labor caucus reveals "a band of unhappy amateurs", made up of blue collar workers,
14224-406: The triennial national conference; carrying out the decisions of the conference; interpreting the national constitution, the national platform and decisions of the national conference; and directing federal members. The party holds a national conference every three years, which consists of delegates representing the state and territory branches (many coming from affiliated trade unions, although there
14351-414: The turn of the century caused distress among voters, including increased perceptions of social inequality and fear of change, causing voters to move away from traditional centre-left ideologies toward populism . The Great Recession exacerbated this trend, bringing significant challenges to the rule of centre-left parties, particularly those with social democratic leanings. In Europe, this brought about
14478-421: The various Australian colonies by the emerging labour movement . Colonial Labour parties contested seats from 1891, and began contesting federal seats following Federation at the 1901 federal election . In 1904, the ALP briefly formed the world's first labour party government and the world's first democratic socialist or social democratic government at a national level. At the 1910 federal election , Labor
14605-631: The welfare state and regulated labour markets . In the 20th century, trade unions and their working class constituency were closely associated with social democratic and labour parties, especially in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and former British colonies in the Pacific. These associations generally lessened by the end of the century as union membership declined and centre-left parties shifted toward Third Way politics, which introduced elements of neoliberalism into centre-left politics, increasing
14732-568: The word labour is spelt with a u . However, the political party uses the spelling Labor , without a u . There was originally no standardised spelling of the party's name, with Labor and Labour both in common usage. According to Ross McMullin , who wrote an official history of the Labor Party, the title page of the proceedings of the Federal Conference used the spelling "Labor in 1902, "Labour" in 1905 and 1908, and then "Labor" from 1912 onwards. In 1908, James Catts put forward
14859-475: The world's first Labour Party majority government at a national level, and after the 1904 Chris Watson minority government the world's second Labour Party government at a national level. It was the first time a Labour Party had controlled any house of a legislature, and the first time the party controlled both houses of a bicameral legislature. The state branches were also successful, except in Victoria , where
14986-459: Was also the first woman to serve as prime minister of Australia, remained prime minister in a hung parliament following the election. Her government lasted until 2013, when Gillard lost a leadership spill, with Rudd becoming leader once again. Later that year the ALP lost the 2013 election . After this defeat, Bill Shorten became leader of the party. The party narrowly lost the 2016 election , yet gained 14 seats. It remained in opposition after
15113-486: Was desirable only when was necessary to "eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features". Only once has a federal Labor government attempted to nationalise any industry ( Ben Chifley 's bank nationalisation of 1947), and that was held by the High Court to be unconstitutional. The commitment to nationalisation was dropped by Gough Whitlam , and Bob Hawke 's government carried out many free market reforms including
15240-415: Was developed in the United Kingdom by liberal politicians such as John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge , who advocated market restrictions to the benefit of the public. Keynesian economics became the mainstream in Western Europe during the 1950s and 1960s, while the social market economy was developed by social democrats in Germany at the same time. As social democracy became influential in Europe,
15367-454: Was forced out of the leadership by Kevin Rudd . Rudd went on to defeat John Howard at the 2007 federal election with 52.7 percent of the two-party vote (Howard became the first prime minister since Stanley Melbourne Bruce to lose not just the election but his own parliamentary seat). The Rudd government ended prior to the 2010 federal election with the overthrow of Rudd as leader of the party by deputy leader Julia Gillard . Gillard, who
15494-559: Was reinforced by the wave of democracy that followed, allowing socialists to participate in electoral politics. Social democrats made up the centre-left during the interwar period in Europe, advocating government regulation and intervention in opposition to the passive policies of the predominant Marxist and classical liberal parties. The centre-left and the centre-right in this period were primarily divided by their stance on trade unions, with social democracy advocating greater powers for unions in collective bargaining. In Western Europe,
15621-449: Was that of New Labour in the United Kingdom. Centre-left politics remained unpopular in much of Continental Europe at this time. Third Way politics lost support among the centre-left after the early 2000s, and neo-Keynesianism regained popularity. Centre-left ideologies were among those uplifted by the pink tide in Latin America in the late 1990s. Early centre-left politics and progressivism in Latin America has focused heavily on
15748-576: Was the 1891 New South Wales election , when Labour candidates (then called the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales) won 35 of 141 seats. The major parties were the Protectionist and Free Trade parties and Labour held the balance of power . It offered parliamentary support in exchange for policy concessions. The United Labor Party (ULP) of South Australia was founded in 1891, and three candidates were that year elected to
15875-633: Was the first party in Australia to win a majority in either house of the Australian parliament. In every election since 1910 Labor has either served as the governing party or the opposition. There have been 13 Labor prime ministers and 10 periods of federal Labor governments, including under Billy Hughes from 1915 to 1916, James Scullin from 1929 to 1932, John Curtin from 1941 to 1945, Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949, Gough Whitlam from 1972 to 1975, Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1991, Paul Keating from 1991 to 1996, Kevin Rudd from 2007 to 2010 and 2013, and Julia Gillard from 2010 to 2013. Under Hawke and Keating,
16002-488: Was the longest period the party has ever been in government at the national level. Kim Beazley led the party to the 1998 federal election , winning 51 percent of the two-party-preferred vote but falling short on seats, and the ALP lost ground at the 2001 federal election . After a brief period when Simon Crean served as ALP leader, Mark Latham led Labor to the 2004 federal election but lost further ground. Beazley replaced Latham in 2005; not long afterwards he in turn
16129-633: Was the only country at the time to have ruling party that was explicitly social democratic, the Swedish Social Democratic Party . Other European countries with social democratic governments included Denmark, Norway, and Czechoslovakia. The Democratic Party in the United States also implemented centre-left policies with the New Deal , as a lack of ties to socialist groups allowed for a stronger centre-left relative to other countries. Centre-left ideas proliferated rapidly after
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