The Liberal Party of Australia as seen by Liberal backbenchers of the House of Representatives

Abstract

As the title indicates. this study tries to find out how a group of Liberal backbenchers of the Federal Parliament envisage the Liberal Party. Behind this j of course, is the idea that their "images" of the Party will throw some light upon its nature. One might well ask at the outset why this somewhat round-about "hearsay" approach, instead of a more direct and objective one, should be used to investigate the nature of the Liberal Party. A more direct and comprehensive approach would try to deduce the nature of the party primarily from its objective machinery, membership and actions. It would study formal and actual policies and the objective characteristics of Liberal voters. It would attempt an analysis, in concrete situations, of power relations within the party, including the influence of particular personalities and interest groups. No doubt this would get one nearer to a rounded, objective analysis of the Liberal Party.