How the Coalition works

How the Coalition works

The Coalition between the Liberals and the Nationals is the longest political partnership in our country’s history. The alliance has worked in the past because they’ve traditionally been aligned in their values. But every alliance can be tested, and this year some differences in the positions of the Liberals and Nationals on key issues - particularly around energy - have taken some ironing out. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll dive into:

• the history of the Coalition

• how it works

• and the possible challenges ahead…

Prefer to listen or watch?

Listen to Andrew Williams and Larissa Moore cover this topic in this Squiz Shortcut podcast episode, or check it out on YouTube - and hit subscribe while you’re at it.

Listen time: 10 minutes

Squiz the Shortcut

What’s been going on with the Coalition?
The relationship between the Liberals and the Nationals has gone through a couple of rocky patches this year. There was a brief breakup after the federal election, then they got back together again. Last week, things were looking dicey again over the issue of net zero, but now they’re OK - it’s been quite a ride…

So, they’re like the Ross and Rachel of federal politics…
Something like that… They’re back on firmer ground after last week’s decision by the Liberals to walk back from the target of net zero by 2050, which now matches up to the Nats’ policy position after they dumped it the week before. 

What would’ve happened if the Liberals didn’t take that route?
There would’ve been a significant division, and it could’ve spelled splitsville again - perhaps this time for good. That’s not something either of them wants to happen, though.

Why not?
Because, divided, they're not as strong, and politics is a numbers game… The whole reason the Liberals and the Nationals are in a Coalition is to form a larger group in parliament. This gives them greater numbers, meaning they’ve got the ability to challenge the Labor Party in elections and in votes on legislation in the parliament. 

Can you put some numbers around that…
Yep… There are 150 seats in the Lower House. The Labor party currently holds 94 seats, while the Coalition holds a combined 43 seats... Breaking that down further, the Liberals - including the Liberal National Party in Queensland - have 34 seats, and the Nationals hold 9… As you can see, standing alone, they’re a lot weaker, so it’s in their interests to get along. And historically, they’ve always been on a similar page…

Yep, lots of us have grown up with it being this way. So, how does the arrangement work?
The alliance was first formed more than 80 years ago, back in 1946, when the National Party was called the Country Party. It’s the older, more established party of the 2…

How far does the Country Party go back?
It was set up over a 100 years ago to represent the concerns of voters from rural and regional Australia - many of them farmers who were dealing with high prices on equipment, fuel and fertiliser due to the steep tariffs on imported goods we had in place back then… 

And the Liberal Party?
It was established in 1944 by Robert Menzies to act as a counter to the Labor Party and the union movement, by representing people who were self-employed and from the middle class, so a different side to the workers traditionally advocated for by Labor. Menzies was the leader of the United Australia Party at the time; it was folded into the new Liberal Party. 

When did the Coalition first win government?
As we mentioned, the Country Party and the Libs formed the Coalition in the lead up to the 1946 federal election - and they first won government in 1949, with Menzies as Prime Minister, and the Country Party’s leader Arthur Fadden as Deputy PM. The arrangement was mutually beneficial back then, and it remains that way on paper, even though it can be tricky to manage at times. 

Tell me about the benefits…
The Nationals are limited to the number of seats they generally win (there are more voters and seats in urban areas), so they need another party to partner with them if they’re to have a chance at governing. Likewise, on their own, the Liberals traditionally haven’t won enough seats to govern in their own right, so pooling with the Nationals, who share a similarly conservative policy platform, makes sense. That way, they capture both urban and rural voters… 

Got it, what else?
Another advantage is that Australia's preferential voting system allows the 2 parties to run candidates against each other in seats without splitting the vote, which would benefit the Labor Party. 

How does that work?
In practice, voters can preference the other Coalition party after their first choice, which ensures that the combined vote is used efficiently to win the seat (for example, listing the Liberal candidate as 1 and Nationals as 2 or vice versa, to ensure the seat is won by the Coalition).

What’s the structure of the Coalition?
Although they work together, they still have their own structures and elect their own leaders. And in case you were wondering, the leader of the Coalition is always from the Liberal Party for the simple fact that it’s bigger and has the most seats. 

And what’s in the Coalition agreement?
The 2 parties have an official agreement which details their shared policy platforms and portfolio roles. As for exactly what’s in it, it’s a private document known only to the Coalition members, meaning it isn’t made publicly available, so we can’t be certain of the details. What we do know is that after every election, the terms of the agreement are renegotiated. And, as we saw after the last election in May, that process doesn’t always run smoothly. 

Does the Coalitiion have a history of break-ups?
Before the Liberal Party existed, there were other Coalitions between conservative parties and the Country Party, but we’re going to focus on the modern Coalition (so, post 1946) between the Liberals and the Nationals. And that one has split up 3 times. 

What went down the first time?
That happened after the Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam, won the 1972 federal election. The Liberal and Country parties decided not to form a combined opposition, and they operated separately for a period before they reunited as a Coalition for the 1974 federal election. Then, in 1987, came a significant break-up…

Why was 1987 so big?
It came about after the Queensland National Party Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen launched his "Joh for Canberra" campaign… He was a popular Premier, and thought he’d have a go at using that popularity to become the Prime Minister. But that didn’t eventuate because claims of corruption began stirring in his home state - and they blew up into a stain on Queensland’s history called the Fitzgerald Inquiry.

What was the Fitzgerald Inquiry about?
It was formed to investigate systemic corruption in the Queensland Police Force and the state government, which wasn’t a good look for an aspiring PM. It led to charges against a number of ministers and the jailing of the former Police Commissioner Terry Lewis. It also forced the resignation of Bjelke-Petersen and ended his political career.

Yikes… What did that mean for the Coalition?
During 1987, the Coalition had become deeply divided, and it split up before the election that year, which weakened both parties, and cleared the way for the incumbent Labor PM Bob Hawke to win government again over the up-and-coming Liberal Leader John Howard. But the Coalition didn’t stay apart for long - the Libs and the Nats reunited soon after that election loss.

Speaking of election losses… Does that bring us to today?
It sure does… The Coalition copped a hiding in May, particularly the Liberals in capital cities. The party’s former leader, Peter Dutton, lost his seat, and the new Leader, Sussan Ley, has been carrying out a review of the party's policies ever since. But she’s been forced to placate the Nationals, who threatened to leave the partnership when she refused to fall in sync with some of their policies. She held out for a short time (she was also dealing with the death of her mum while this was all going down) - and the delay was what caused the most recent post-election split…

What were the policies at the centre of it?
The Nationals Leader, David Littleproud, pulled the party out of the Coalition when the Liberals wouldn’t cede to policy demands around nuclear energy, supermarket divestiture powers, a future fund for regional Oz and improved mobile phone and internet services for the bush. 

But they got back together?
Yep, within a fortnight they’d worked it out, with the Liberals agreeing in principle to the Nats' demands. Some recent analysis pieces about the state of the Coalition say it looks a lot like ‘the tail is wagging the dog’ (so, the smaller party influencing the direction of the larger one) and the election results have a lot to do with that.

Why is that?
We mentioned the Coalition was beaten in a landslide, but the Nationals only lost one seat, whereas the Libs lost 14 seats and their leader. So there’s some tension there, because without the Nats, the Liberals are looking in real trouble. 

What are the polls showing?
The latest Newspoll results back that up. They show support for the Coalition is at 24% - that’s its lowest approval rating in 40 years. The losses are translating to gains for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party, which is strongly anti-immigration. And although Ley is guaranteeing she’ll lead the Coalition to the next election, rumours are swirling of a leadership challenge. 

How long has she been in the top job?
Just over 6 months, and she’s managed to hold the Coalition together after some recent wobbles over their climate position, which they’ve just formalised by dumping net zero by 2050 - but even that doesn’t look like fixing things for Ley.

Why not?
There are some moderate Liberal MPs who are very unhappy about her rolling over in response to demands by right-wing members of the party and the Nationals… 

So what comes next?
If the moderates withdraw their support, it could mean more leadership troubles for Ley, and another period of instability for the Coalition. Analysts say the next political hot potato coming Ley’s way is a debate over immigration. The conservatives in the Coalition will be keen to stop the slide of support to One Nation, so she’ll need her oven mits ready for that one…

Group gifts without the group chat chaos

Organising teacher gifts, office farewells or team thank yous can turn into administrative nightmare only for someone to panic-buy at the last minute. But GroupTogether can do the heavy lifting for you by setting up a collection, everyone chips in online, and it all turns into a digital gift card for 100+ retailers. No awkward cash collections or tracking who hasn't paid. You can even schedule delivery and personalise the card, and the whole thing takes about 2 minutes start to finish. Head here for on GroupTogether.

Onto our Recommendations

Watching: This interview with Coalition Leader Sussan Ley by the ABC’s Sarah Ferguson on 7.30 this week covered the Coalition’s energy position, Ley’s leadership, and what’s going on inside the Coalition.

Reading: This piece by the ABC takes a look back through history at the Coalition and its breakups and makeups…

Recent Shortcuts