THE RISE OF NEW POLITICS AND MARKET LIBERALISM IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW-ZEALAND

The rise of 'New Politics' concerns since the 1970s parallels the rise in popularity of market liberalism. Although often considered to be o pposites, both goals have been pursued vigorously and simultaneously b y social democratic governments in Australia and New Zealand. This art icle examines the circumstances of this unlikely marriage and, by appl ying multivariate analysis to election survey data collected in each c ountry in 1990, examines the implications of these apparently contradi ctory policies for public opinion and party support. We conclude that value orientations associated with New Politics have mixed association s with party support. Postmaterialist and materialist value orientatio ns are linked to attitudes towards the specifically Australasian old l eft strategy of 'domestic defence'. The findings suggest that the effe cts of value change are more far-reaching in New Zealand, where social liberalism may have overtaken collectivism as the dominant value clea vage in the party system.