| Book Review | Labour History, 93 | The History Cooperative

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to Labor History online. About 254 words from this article are provided below; about 438 words remain.

If you are a individual subscriber to Labour History, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a subscriber to Labour History, you can:: • subscribe here.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of Labour History (82 - present).
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

Book Review

Ian Marsh (ed.), Political Parties in Transition? Federation Press, Sydney, 2006. pp. x + 240. $49.95 paper.
In an election year such as 2007 Australia's political parties take centre stage. As the pre-election debate heats up each party clamours to convince the voting public that they are the more responsible, the more responsive, and above all the most representative party of all. One would be forgiven for thinking that the voices that lead each news bulletin, particularly the loudest voices from the two major parties, are indeed representing a substantial membership and are in touch with the views of the wider Australian voting public.	1
The reality, however, is somewhat different. In Australia, as in other democracies, the major political parties are declining in terms of membership, voter identification, and in the percentage of the vote they attract. Minor parties and independent candidates seem somewhat more attractive to voters, but the structure and funding of our electoral system, and the influence of the major parties themselves, work to shut smaller players out of the political game to varying degrees. This structural bias in favour of the bigger parties is also thought to contribute to policy convergence as the major parties mimic each other in order to exclude the minor parties. This view of major party dominance is the foundation of the cartel thesis of contemporary political parties, originally advanced by Richard Katz and Peter Mair, and it is this thesis that is tested in the Australian context in this collection	. . .

There are about 438 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.