A dynamic electorate? Analysing the geography of minor parties at Australian state and federal elections, 1997-2006. Stephen Smith Bachelor of Arts (Honours) UNSW A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra 2011 PLEASE TYPE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Smith First name(s): Stephen Joseph Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: 1081 PhD in Geography School: Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences Faculty: UNSW Canberra Title: A dynamic electorate? Analysing the geography of minor parties at Australian state and federal elections, 1997-2006. Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) Australian minor parties have played an important role in the Australian electoral landscape, yet have received sporadic coverage in Australian electoral geography literature. The dearth of coverage of minor parties has been evident in the contemporary context. This thesis seeks to broaden knowledge of geographies of minor parties through an investigation of Australian state and federal elections conducted between 1997 and 2006. Six minor parties are investigated in this thesis: Australians Against Further Immigration, Australian Democrats, Family First, The Greens, One Nation and Unity. To conduct this investigation, a conceptual framework that combines an assessment of geographies of electoral performance, presence and participation was developed. A mixed methods approach incorporating qualitative and quantitative methodologies and assessments of three case study elections were adopted. This thesis has been informed by an interest in the contemporary experiences of minor parties as participants in Australian electoral settings. Exploring the six selected minor parties enables the evaluation of notions that minor parties provide a vehicle for electoral change and offer an alternative to the major parties to be made. The ability of minor parties to engage with the electorate through information dissemination and exploiting electoral landscape conditions to build a constituency is crucial for sustaining an electoral presence. Besides electoral performance, this thesis suggests that there are other barometers focussed on electoral presence and participation that should be considered when assessing minor parties. A main finding of this thesis is that candidate standings are an important indicator of how minor parties sustain an electoral presence and their visibility at an election. This thesis also recognises that minor parties face handicaps as electoral participants, confronting challenges such as attracting publicity, utilising limited resources, fluctuating electoral fortunes, small constituency size and competition from rival political parties. These contributions show that a geographical perspective can broaden the existing knowledge base of minor parties. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). Signature ……………………………………..………………Witness August 1, 2012 Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed Date August 1, 2012. AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed Date August 1, 2012 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed Date August 1, 2012 i Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis has been a challenging and most rewarding experience. There have been a number of notable achievements along the way. The completion of this thesis would not been achievable without the support, assistance and advice of a number of people to whom I owe a great deal of gratitude. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors: Prof. Brian Lees, Assoc. Prof. Paul Tranter and Prof. Kevin Dunn for their patience, support, guidance and advice throughout the completion of my thesis. The mentorship of these three academics has been a major driving factor for me in developing my research skills and furthering my interest in the field of geography. I am grateful to those individuals who have responded to my inquiries regarding obtaining election results data and relevant reference material that I have used as part of my thesis. In particular, I would like to thank the staff from the various state and federal electoral commissions across Australia for their assistance in this regard. I am also grateful for the advice and suggestions that I received from a number of other individuals as well. My thanks are extended to Dr Henk Eijkman, Dr Scott Sharpe and Dr Alec Thornton. My thanks is also extended to Julie Kesby for her assistance in explaining the mapping and census software that I have used to prepare maps presented in Chapters 6 and 7. Special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Neil Argent for his assistance in explaining to me the process of regression analysis. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the participants in the interviews that I conducted as part of my thesis for finding time in their respective busy schedules to participate. I am appreciative of their insightful responses, which have added greatly to the discussion presented in this thesis and my ii knowledge of Australian minor parties. I am also thankful to the staff of the research participants for their assistance in organising the opportunities to conduct these interviews. I am grateful for being a recipient of a University College Postgraduate Research Scholarship and an UNSW@ADFA Completion Scholarship, which has helped finance my studies. I am appreciative of the assistance that I have received from various administrative staff members within the School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, UNSW@ADFA to complete the many administrative tasks associated with my PhD. Finally, undertaking a PhD thesis is not complete without the support of family and friends who help to keep things in perspective and make sure that life away from the thesis is not forgotten. I am thankful for all the support and interest of my friends and in some instances colleagues, in particular Karen, Karin, Kathryn and Therese. It is great privilege to have friends like you. I am also most grateful to my parents, David and Kathryn, and my brother Andrew for their love and understanding, as well as supporting my academic pursuits. I hope that you are proud of the finished product. iii Previously published material The following papers have been published and/or have been presented in the public domain and contain material based on the content presented