Australia’s Authoritarianism

Australia. Source: Australia’s Guide

Table of Contents

Overview

This is the story of Australia’s embrace of authoritarianism during COVID-19. This page focuses on the philosophy, history, type of government that led to Australia’s authoritarianism. Likewise, the federal government’s involvement in Australia’s authoritarianism is discussed on this page. Please note that this page serves as an overview of history and political philosophy; it is not intended to be complete, as summarising hundreds of years of writing is not feasible.

Australia’s System of Government

Overview

Mandatory Voting

Preferential Voting

Why Australia Embraced Authoritarianism

Australia’s Founding: Democracy & the Majority over Individual Rights

We are all beholden to the philosophy of our time, or at least of our recent time. When countries are formed and constitutions and laws are created, philosophy — and hence ideas — must be translated into legal terms.

But by whom? Whose ideas form the founding of countries? And why does it matter..?

The US was founded in 1776. Whilst many philosophers contributed to the Founding Fathers’ writings, John Locke’s writings were the most influential, particularly his defence of natural rights, which led to the following text in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Source: The Declaration of Independence

Note that the individual and his rights come first, before the government. This text is the basis for the America’s focus on individual rights, such as the right to freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms. America places more importance on individual rights over the majority and democracy. That is, even if the majority of Americans wanted to silence the speech of a individual person, that person’s individual rights override the concerns of the majority. Likewise, even if Congress passed “hate speech” legislation, such a law would be unconstitutional and hence struck down by the judicial branch of government. The individual is paramount.

Whereas America was largely founded on the classical liberalism of John Locke, Australia was largely founded on the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. Whilst Locke’s writings in the late 17th century influenced America’s founding, Bentham’s writings in the late 18th century and early 19th century influenced Australia’s colonies’ foundings.

[Natural rights] are nonsense upon stilts.”

Jeremy Bentham

Infamously, Bentham rejected the idea of natural rights, calling them “nonsense upon stilts”. Bentham instead believed that rights were created by law, and that there were no rights without government. That is, government first, individual rights second. Moreover, Bentham also believed that governments should optimise for the greater good, with governments attempting to achieve happiness for the greatest number of citizens. Both claims are the complete opposite of the American model of rights and who’s responsible for citizens’ happiness. Bentham’s ideas are why Australia has no Bill of Rights and hence very few individual rights. (A few rights are protected by Australia’s constitution — e.g., the right to vote — which is discussed here.)

Bentham’s utilitarianism meant that earlier Australians — and, indeed, today’s Australians — saw the state as a grand utility to be used for the greater good. Australia places more importance on the majority and democracy over individual rights. That is, if the majority of Australians wanted to restrict certain rights of a individual person (e.g., the right to protest), the majority and democracy overrides the rights of the individual. Likewise, if the legislative branch of government — and, as COVID-19 showed, the executive branch and/or unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats — wants to pass a law or use emergency powers, there are few constitutional protections because Australia has no Bill of Rights. The judicial branch of government is not set up to protect individuals’ rights. Democracy and the majority are paramount. Unfortunately many Australians believe that democracy is the protection against government authoritarianism: If governments overstep, then citizens will vote them out of office. But what if all the major parties agree on authoritarianism? What if no one stands up for individual rights? For example, Bentham’s philosophy helped lead to the state and territory governments banning protests and implementing vaccine mandates under emergency powers, with all major parties — the Liberal Party, the National Party, Labor, and the Greens — agreeing. Where are voters meant to turn if the majority of Australians and the major parties believe that their individual rights must be restricted? In Australia, there is basically nowhere to turn. A few individual rights (e.g., the right to vote) were protected in Australia during COVID-19 because, again, Australia values democracy and the majority over the individual. Australia’s model of individual rights was found completely inadequate during COVID-19.

Australia Inherited its Freedom

Countries’ foundings play an important part in the mindset of citizenries. For example, even hundreds of years after America’s founding based on the classical liberalism of John Locke — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — many Americans today still revere Locke’s natural rights philosophy, under which inalienable, individual rights are granted by God and defended by the US government. Similarly, after China’s Great Leap Forward, many Chinese revere Mao and hence today’s China’s authoritarian dictatorship under the CCP.

Australia inherited its relative freedom from its founding by the British — a parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, private property rights, etc. Australians have never fought a war for freedom, as the USA did. Nor have Australians ever been ruled over by a dictator — although Joh Bjelke-Petersen showed the authoritarianism of which many of today’s Australian politicians would be proud — that could lead to the necessary constitutional reform to embrace individual rights over democracy & the majority.

Together with Australia’s founding on the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham & Australia’s inheritance of relative freedom from the UK, we can see two of the main reasons why Australia’s founding — without a basis for individual rights — helped lead to authoritarianism during COVID-19.

One cannot escape the founding of one’s country, to a certain extent.

Australia’s “Individual Rights”

What rights do Australians have?

The Unfounded Intellectual Arrogance of Australia’s Elite

The Return to a Penal Colony..?

Many commentators claimed that Australia returned to its penal colony past during COVID-19; after all, Australians are both the descendants of convicts and their jailers.

But is this claim true?

Not exactly. Thirty percent of people who live in Australia weren’t born in Australia. After WWII, Australia saw a massive influx of immigrants from many countries, including the UK, Italy, Greece, and Poland. Likewise, today’s Australia has a population of around 26 million, with nearly 1 million Britons, around 700,000 Indians, and around 600,000 Chinese and New Zealanders. Did Australia’s immigrants integrate well enough to take up the mindset of convicts’ jailers? Does such a mindset still exist amongst Australians?

Whilst it’s true that countries’ citizens imbibe the founding of their respective countries — e.g., Americans are arguably the most freedom loving people in the world because of their founding — the analysis isn’t deep enough to be the only reason why Australia embraced authoritarianism.

Australia’s Hidden History of Police Authoritarianism

A Fear Mongering Media

Anti Intellectualism & Poor Civic Education

A Disengaged Citizenry

The Rise of the Administrative State

The Left’s Long March Through the Institutions

Federal vs. State/Territory Governments COVID-19 Responsibilities

Fingers were pointed between the federal and state/territory governments during COVID-19, with every government blaming another government at some point during the pandemic. The most controversial aspect of federal vs. state/territory was hotel quarantine.

Hotel quarantine was a system in which travellers — either international or state/territory travellers — were forced to stay in hotels for up to two weeks after crossing a border. These hotels were mostly private hotels but also government-built and run facilities. Victoria’s hotel quarantine system infamously indirectly led to the death of 801 Victorians, after COVID-19 escaped from hotel quarantine and infected aged care homes.

Hotel quarantine is the responsibility of the federal government under Sections 51 of Australia’s constitution. However, both federal and state/territory governments agreed in National Cabinet — consisting of every federal, state, and territory leader — in March 2020. This led to many premiers blaming the federal government, despite being a part of the National Cabinet that made the decision.

Federal:

  • Procuring vaccines & RATs. (Note: RATs were available on the free market before state/territory governments complained when state/territory PCR test sites were well over capacity after travel rules required a negative PCR test.)
  • Ensuring vaccines are covered by Medicare.
  • Regulatory approval of vaccines and RATs.
  • Regulatory overview of medical professionals.
  • Distributing vaccines to state/territories.
  • Running Australia’s immunisation register.
  • Authorising the deployment of the military.
  • International border closures.
  • Entry requirements to Australia (e.g., vaccinated travellers only).
  • JobKeeper / JobSeeker.

State/Territory:

  • Hotel quarantine.
  • Running vaccination hubs.
  • Vaccine mandates (excludes federal government employees).
  • State/territory border closures.
  • Entry requirements to the state.
  • PCR test sites.
  • Lockdowns and restrictions within the state/territory:
    • Curfews.
    • Stay at home orders.
    • Restrictions of movement (e.g., 5km radius restriction, Victoria’s “ring of steel” / “sieve of bullshit”).
    • Work/study from home orders for businesses/schools/universities.
    • Mask mandates / social distancing.
    • QR code mandates.
    • Restrictions on gathering / protests are illegal.
    • Restrictions on the types of surgeries in hospitals.