The third sector and democracy in Australia: neoliberal governance and the repression of advocacy

ABSTRACT

Pluralism is a key component of liberal democracy, ensuring that diverse groups of citizens have opportunities to contribute to the governance of their society. Third sector organisations (TSOs) are central to pluralist democracy, representing diverse interests through advocacy. Advocacy has many forms but the most visible are protests or public demonstrations aimed at widespread public engagement. However, curtailing advocacy capacity for TSOs has been a political objective of conservative governments for several decades, with the Morrison-led Liberal/National Party government re-engaging in this behaviour. The article illuminates this behaviour through a case study of a recent legislative proposal (2021) to limit TSO advocacy. A qualitative discourse analysis of government and parliamentary materials shows how the state masked proposed changes through an illiberal and populist tactic that narrowed the focus to a narrative of ‘trust’ and uncertainty lacking an evidentiary basis and despite recognition of the potential impact on Australian democracy.

多元化是自由民主体制的关键成分，它保证了不同的公民群体都有机会参与社会的治理。第三部门的组织对于多元民主制至关重要。它是通过促进来代表不同的利益。促进有着很多形式，最为常见的就是旨在广泛参与的示威游行。在过去几十年里，遏制第三部门组织的促进能力一直是保守派政府的政治目标，莫里森领导的自由/国民政府再次干起这种勾当。本文分析了近年的一项意在限制第三部门组织促进能力的提案（2021）。对政府以及议会资料的定性话语分析显示，政府是如何通过非自由主义的民粹策略来掩盖拟议中的变更的，即将焦点缩小到“信任”与不稳定的叙事，没有证据作基础，也无视其对澳大利亚民主体制的潜在影响。

KEYWORDS:

• Curtailing advocacy
• pluralism
• democracy
• illiberalism
• populist tendencies
• third sector organisations
• charities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For federal legislative purposes, see also Charities Act 2013 (Cth) s12(1)(l).

2 Note that administration of the register of environmental organisations maintained by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is slated to be transferred to the Commissioner of Taxation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ruth Phillips

Ruth Phillips is an Associate Professor in Social Work and Policy Studies at The University of Sydney. Her research focusses on social structures, inequalities and social justice, social work and social policy.

Ian Murray

Ian Murray is an Associate Professor in the Law School at the University of Western Australia. He teaches and researches at the intersection of Not-for-profit Law, Tax, Trusts and Corporate Governance.