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Institutions and Relationships Policy in Western Liberal Democracies

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Institutions and Relationships Policy in Western Liberal Democracies INSTITUTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS POLICY IN WESTERN LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES BY CHRISTOPHER DAVID NIMMO A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy Victoria University of Wellington 2015 ABSTRACT This thesis explores the influence of institutions in the development of policies dealing with adult intimate relationships in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States between 1990 and 2014. Over this period, the social importance and acceptance of non- “traditional” relationships has increased in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. However, despite all three countries working from what Gauthier describes as a “non- interventionist” approach to family policy, relationships policies have developed in markedly different ways in each. I argue that divergent translations of similar social trends are the result of differences between the structures of decision-making and institutions of interest representation in each country, and of policy legacies that make particular policy avenues more readily accessible. Electoral systems, parliamentary procedures and party structures govern which interests are able to exercise power within legislatures, while other institutions such as courts, bureaucracies, and law commissions contribute to the policy-making process in different ways. Countries are less likely to move in a non-interventionist or pro-egalitarian relationships policy direction where candidate selection procedures allow religious conservatives to play a significant role in both major parties, but religious conservatives have had little success in reversing non-interventionist policy changes after the fact. Instead, pro- traditionalist policy changes are typically minor regulatory changes or expenditures that are vulnerable to budget pressures. Legal interests expressed through law commissions or justice bureaucracies have a key role in enabling transitions to non-interventionist policies, particularly in the treatment of non-marital relationships, although the treatment of these relationships in core government activities such as taxation and welfare may also contribute to decisions in this area. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge Dr Sandra Grey, a wonderfully supportive and knowledgeable supervisor, and a fine example of a public academic. I would also like to acknowledge the other academic staff (present and former) of Victoria University of Wellington who have (knowingly or not) contributed to my interest in this subject, particularly Dr Patricia Nickel, Dr Carol Harrington, Dr Rhonda Shaw, Professor Dr Wan Rafaei Abdul Rahman, Dr Kathy Stuart and Professor Kevin Dew. My thanks also go to the administration team at the School of Social and Cultural Studies for their support and encouragement, to the cleaners who make sure that the University is a pleasant place to work, to the library staff who have run off after books and journals for me, to the people who maintain the New Zealand and Australia Legal Information Institutes, and to all my postgraduate colleagues for their support. Most of all I want to thank all my family for their encouragement of me over the course of my studies, particularly my mother Kathy, my father David, brother Jeremy, my Grandma Dalma and Avia Elizabeth. My Ave Gordon fits into a special category of his own, having both encouraged me with his wonderful smiles and contributed as Secretary of Justice to the legislation I studied. CONTENTS Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 6 Institutionalism and policy ......................................................................................... 6 Comparative policy studies ........................................................................................ 7 Family law ............................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Methodology .............................................................................................. 12 Case selection........................................................................................................... 12 Concepts ................................................................................................................... 13 Data collection ......................................................................................................... 14 Analysis.................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3: Socio-political contexts .............................................................................. 17 Relationship choice trends ....................................................................................... 17 Key institutions ........................................................................................................ 20 Chapter 4: New Zealand .............................................................................................. 26 Relationship entrance and definition ....................................................................... 26 Marriage ............................................................................................................... 26 Civil unions .......................................................................................................... 27 De facto relationships .......................................................................................... 28 Relationship exit ...................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 5: Australia ..................................................................................................... 35 Relationship entrance and definition ....................................................................... 35 Marriage ............................................................................................................... 35 Non-marital relationships..................................................................................... 38 Relationship exit ...................................................................................................... 42 Other Initiatives ....................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 6: United States .............................................................................................. 48 Relationship entrance and definition ....................................................................... 48 Marriage ............................................................................................................... 48 Non-marital relationships..................................................................................... 53 Relationship exit ...................................................................................................... 55 The federal government and marriage ..................................................................... 59 Chapter 7: Classifying Relationships Policies ............................................................. 63 Translating family policy ideal-types to relationships policy .................................. 63 Diverging models ..................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 8: Analysis ...................................................................................................... 70 Path dependency ...................................................................................................... 70 Interest representation .............................................................................................. 74 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 85 References .................................................................................................................... 90 Legislative references .............................................................................................. 90 Other references ....................................................................................................... 93 Figure 1: Absolute minimum ages of marriage in the United States ..........................51 Figure 2: Divorce regimes in the United States …......................................................56 Table: Characteristics of relationships policy models ……………………………….64 1 GLOSSARY ABS: Australian Bureau of Statistics DOMA: Defence of Marriage Act ACL: Australian Christian Lobby EGTRRA: Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act AFDC: Aid for Families of Dependent Children EITC: Earned Income Tax Credit AIFS: Australian Institute of Family FLA: Family Law Act Studies FPA: Family Protection Act ALP: Australian Labor Party FPP: First-past-the-post voting system ALRC: Australian Law Reform FTB-B: Family Tax Benefit B Commission\ GLAAD: (formerly) Gay & Lesbian AZRS: Arizona Revised Statutes Alliance Against Defamation BDM Tasmania: Births, Deaths and GLAD: Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Marriages Tasmania Defenders CAFC: California Family Code HIRS: Hawaiʻi
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