2024 will mark eighty years since the creation of the Liberal Party by Robert Menzies in 1944.
The creation of the Liberal Party as a party-of-government from the non-Labor centre-right of the political spectrum, marked the beginning of the modern two-party system. The rise of the Liberal Party arguably shaped the modern labour movement as much as it impacted contemporary Australian liberalism.
However, the Labor and Liberal parties are currently experiencing record low proportions of the primary vote as well as declining membership numbers. This has led, in part, to incursions by minor parties and independents into electorates historically held by Labor and the Coalition. Given these conditions it is timely to examine how the Labor and Liberal parties arrived at this position and how they might go about reversing what could be terminal trends.
This gathering will be an important health check on the dominant two-party system and a moment to reflect on the structural integrity of Australan democracy at a pivotal time.
