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→System of Government: Preferential voting
Its Head of Government is called the [[Prime Minister]]; at the moment the Prime Minister is [[John Howard]], the leader of the Liberal Party. The Head of State is [[Queen Elizabeth II]], the Queen of Australia (who is the same person, but a different title, as the Queen of Great Britain), who acts through the [[Governor-General]].
Its Head of Government is called the [[Prime Minister]]; at the moment the Prime Minister is [[John Howard]], the leader of the Liberal Party. The Head of State is [[Queen Elizabeth II]], the Queen of Australia (who is the same person, but a different title, as the Queen of Great Britain), who acts through the [[Governor-General]].
Despite the name, the Liberal Party, which has been in power in Australia since 1996, is actually conservative, a paradox established since the years that Sir Robert Menzies was Prime Minister. Menzies helped found the Liberal Party in 1944 and was the Prime Minister from 1939 until 1941 and then again from 1949 until 1966. <ref>[http://www.liberals.net/liberalpartyhistory.htm History of the Liberal Party in Australia]</ref> Unlike in the USA there is no limit on the time a person can lead the country—it is the people's choice. The party that most Americans would recognize as "liberal" is the Labor Party whose leader is Kevin Rudd. The Labor Party are social democrats while the Liberals are liberal conservatives.
Despite the name, the Liberal Party, which has been in power in Australia since 1996, is actually conservative, a paradox established since the years that Sir Robert Menzies was Prime Minister. Menzies helped found the Liberal Party in 1944 and was the Prime Minister from 1939 until 1941 and then again from 1949 until 1966. <ref>[http://www.liberals.net/liberalpartyhistory.htm History of the Liberal Party in Australia]</ref> Unlike in the USA there is no limit on the time a person can lead the country—it is the people's choice.
Australia has [[preferential voting]], which is designed to ensure that the candidates with the most support get into office, rather than the candidate with the most primary votes.
So if three candidates, A, B, and C, get 40%, 35%, and 30% of the votes respectively (so no candidate has more than 50% of the votes), then the second preference of the voters who voted for C are distributed to the remaining candidates.
The result might be that A ends up with 45% of the votes, and B with 55%, indicating that 55% of the voters prefer candidate B over A.
One consequence of this voting system is that it encourages a multiplicity of parties and even independent candidates.
The second-largest political party, which most Americans would recognize as "liberal", is the Labor Party whose leader is Kevin Rudd.
The Labor Party are social democrats while the Liberals are liberal conservatives, but some of the smaller parties are more liberal or more conservative than Labor and Liberal respectively.