Table 1.

Australian political party ideologies

Political party	Ideology	Core values
The Liberal Party of Australia (LPA)	Liberal ideology: emphasis on minimal state involvement. Any government intervention is to help people help themselves(89,90) Neoliberal ideology: free market economics (that the economy works best when left alone by the government); unregulated market capitalism delivers efficiency, growth and widespread prosperity(33,90)	The freedoms of individuals and enterprises with minimal government interference
The Australian Labor Party (ALP)	Social democracy: aims to ‘humanise’ capitalism by striving for a balance between market economy and state intervention(89); economic and social interventions can rectify the shortcomings of capitalism; the state is the custodian of public interest and social change can and should be brought about peacefully and constitutionally(54,91). Support for government-funded welfare and taxation schemes(48)	Disagreement with trickledown economics A wealth-based tax system Social security Fair working conditions
The Australian Greens (Greens)	Green ideology: aims to create an ecologically sustainable society, encompassing a modernist ecology that promotes environmentally sound practices while maintaining a capitalist system(89); belief that there are environmental limits to growth and that these limits threaten prosperity and economic growth in the future(89); ‘environmentally sustainable capitalism’(89)	Social justice (a fair distribution of opportunity, wealth and peace in society) Cross-generational justice (social justice for future generations) Ecological sustainability Grassroots participatory democracy