China and Australia’s Parliamentary Systems
By: Chloe Lynch
Tags: Australia, Parliment, China, Expository Essay, Government

As of today, tensions are high between Australia and China after Prime Minister Scott Morrison led calls for a global inquiry into the origin of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. China has lashed back at Scott Morrison with state media saying describing Australia as “gum stuck to the bottom of China’s shoe.” China has already imposed trade implications on Australia, announcing plans to place an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley and a ban on imports from four Australian abattoirs. Amidst this current crisis and a bubbling feud between China and Australia, it is interesting to contrast and compare the two countries parliamentary systems.

China is a ‘democratic dictatorship’ currently led by President Xi Jinping. As a modern-day state, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) was found in 1949 by the current ruling party, the Communist Party of China (CPC). The formation of the PRC was a result of the CPC reigning victorious after battling the then-ruling Chinese Nationalist party, known as the Guamandong in a civil war. Since then the CPC has maintained power, exercising their complete control in all forms through social, political, economic and cultural life on China.

China is referred to as a one-party state due to the organs, agencies and institutions of the PRC being so intertwined with the CPC’s party structures. There is somewhat of a formalised split within the CPC where two distinct factions are at work. The two different groups are referred to as Princelings and Populists. The reason for having two factions is because it acts as a defence mechanism against potential threats of a party leader converting the nation into an autocracy, the same as what the country experienced during the Mao Zedong era (1949–1976). It would seem that each camp is granted a 10-year term to govern China while the other faction serves as an internal opposition. Although there is a division within the party, the overarching consensus is that the CPC must retain power at all costs and quickly eliminate any threats to the CPC.

China is a communist country or as some may claim ‘Socialists with Chinese characteristics’ meaning economic freedom doesn’t necessarily entail complete freedom. China puts a massive emphasis on building the economy. Part of the ‘Chinese dream’ promoted by Xi Jinping in 2013 was to double the 2010 G.D.P per capita by 2020 (roughly $10,000). The nation has been successful in doing so, as of 2018 it had achieved a G.D.P of $9,770. China essentially offers a trade-off for economic prosperity, in return citizens must conform to the regime and maintain complete political obedience. It would be wrong to completely write off China as a repressive and violent regime, it may not be a pluralist society as such (ex. Australia), but it is a far less strict state compared to North Korea. The CPC is not necessarily out to deprive citizens of their individual rights and political freedoms, it’s just the fact that it views public consultation and judicial oversight as constraining. Without a free and independent media to hold them to account, it can act as it pleases. The CPC is very strong in fortifying that no single person or organisation will undermine/attempt to undermine the regime put in place. Sentiments of this are seen in the preamble to the PCR’s constitution as well as stating in article 1 of the constitution “The socialist system is the basic system of the People’s Republic of China. Disruption of the socialist system by any organisation or individual is prohibited.”

Australia is extremely different from China in terms of how its parliamentary system operates. Australia is a 2-party, liberal democracy which belongs to a constitutional monarchy, it follows a Westminster model that includes a ‘separation of powers’ and a bicameral legislature.

Being a constitutional monarchy, the queen selects a Governor-General to represent her in Australia- with the advice of the Prime minister. The Governor-General can dissolve parliament and is the last person to sign off on bills. The Governor-General will just about do anything that the Prime minister recommends. Federally speaking in Australia, national legislative power is invested in a bicameral government; the house of representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). For a party to form government it must win a majority of the 151 seats available. Seats in parliament represent electorates. Except voting operates slightly differently between the senate and the house of representatives, in the lower house electorates are geographically defined, a preferential voting system is used, and members will face re-election every 3 years whereas in the upper house 12 senators are representing a state/territory(state/territory is an electorate), a proportional representation voting system is used and every 3 years half the senate is up for election. Australia’s parliamentary system is a big reason Australia enjoys such a free-living quality of life.

Australia is one of the purest democracies in the world. According to the Economist’s intelligence unit’s (EIU) 2019 democracy index, Australia ranked in the top 10 of all nations. One aspect of Australia’s strong democracy is that it is a legal requirement for any person of or over the age of 18 to vote in elections. This ensures ‘fence-sitters’ or centrists must pick a side so that the nation does not move too heavily to the left or right.

The two political parties that form Australia’s two-party system are the Labor Party and the Liberal Party. In modern-day politics, the Labor party is considered centre-left and the Liberal party is considered centre-right. Historically speaking the Labor party has described itself and still does as a ‘socialist democratic’ party but since the prime ministership of Robert Hawke (1983–1991), the Labor party has moved closer towards being ‘socialist liberals’. Labor seeks to represent the unions and the ‘blue-collar’ workers typically attracting voters from the lower and middle class. The liberal party’s ideology is regarded as conservativism and Australian liberalism. It promotes free markets, small government and places an emphasis on building the economy. The liberal party prefers minimal government intervention, allowing individuals and big companies to maximise it’s profits by cutting taxes. The party doesn’t particularly believe in free health care, it prefers privatisation of hospitals and schools as such. The liberal party typically attracts high-income earners and people living in rural areas.

A major difference between China and Australia is that Australia embraces a separation of powers whereas China embraces not having a separation of powers. In early 2019 Xi Jinping was quoted saying “We must never follow the path of Western ‘constitutionalism,’ ‘separation of powers,’ or ‘judicial independence.’’ A judiciary system that is not independent of the executive government is extremely flawed, it allows the government to act as it pleases and not be held accountable. An aspect of the separation of powers is the media. Although media is not officially included as part of the separation of powers, it is sometimes referred to as ‘the fourth estate’ because of the role it plays in society. China does not have a separation of media from parliament or the executive government, so as well as having no judiciary system to be held accountable by, China does not have a free media either that can express public outcry at decisions, meaning all media is state-run therefore it is pure propaganda. A benefit Australia enjoys from not having a state-run media is that a proper election process is ensured (Ironically Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp owns two-thirds of Australian media, Murdoch is a notorious supporter of the right) as voters can read into different sides of the election and not be force-fed one party’s agenda.

Candidly, Australia and China don’t share hardly any if not anything in common. One thing the countries do have in common is both countries treat the economy with extreme importance. Scott Morrison the Prime Minister of Australia is very vocal about the need for a strong economy as is Xi Jinping. Both countries appreciate one another immensely, Australia exports and China imports. In recent years strong Asian demand especially Chinese demand for Australia’s education, tourism and other professional services has boosted the Australian economy.

Fundamentally China and Australia have very different parliamentary systems. The way each society is governed also differs greatly. China is an oppressive communist state that is governed under a dictatorship. Political obedience is required and any threat to the CPC is quickly shutdown. Australia follows a highly regarded Westminster model, is a pure democracy and follows one of the longest-serving constitutions dating back to 1901. The Australian government is required to act in accordance with its legislation otherwise face a judiciary system, unlike China who can act erratically. The countries are dissimilar in most aspects, but both remain operational. China and Australia do have a deteriorating relationship so It will be interesting to see how both the nations come out the current global pandemic.