Australia and New Zealand are two societies in the throes of change whose political systems are undergoing some kind of metamorphosis. In New Zealand, the election held in October 1996, the first under the Mixed Member Proportional system, signalled the end of the two-party system and the advent of European-style coalition politics. Following the demise of the Australian Settlement, Australia is said to be in the process of reinventing its political tradition, which includes rethinking the terms of its original ...
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Australia and New Zealand are two societies in the throes of change whose political systems are undergoing some kind of metamorphosis. In New Zealand, the election held in October 1996, the first under the Mixed Member Proportional system, signalled the end of the two-party system and the advent of European-style coalition politics. Following the demise of the Australian Settlement, Australia is said to be in the process of reinventing its political tradition, which includes rethinking the terms of its original constitutional settlement. In several respects, change has undermined previous assessments of both polities. The articles in this volume therefore have a distinctly contemporary focus: they illustrate the main ways in which both countries either have changed in the last decade or are changing, and the implications for research and analysis.
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