Trade Liberalisation and the Australian Labor Party
Author(s)
Leigh, Andrew
Abstract
The three most substantial decisions to reduce Australia’s trade barriers – in 1973, 1988 and 1991 – were made by Labor governments. Labor’s policy shift preceded the conversion of social democratic parties in other countries to trade liberalization. To understand why this was so, it is necessary to consider trade policy as being shaped by more than interest groups and political institutions. Drawing on interviews with the main political figures, including Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, and John Button, this article explores why the intellectual arguments for free trade had such a powerful impact on Labor’s leadership, and how those leaders managed to implement major tariff cuts, while largely maintaining party unity.
