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See the political parties in Australia are very confusing. So the Liberal party are actually conservatives and the Labor party are liberal (progressive)?
The Liberal Party have a conservative and a liberal wing, called the drys and the wets respectively. They agree on small government (hence "Liberal") but disagree widely on social issues. The ALP similarly has a left and right faction, but they are far more factionalised than the Libs, to the point that members may pay extra fees to join one of the factions within the party. The two big factions in the ALP are Labor Unity on the right and the Socialist Left. There isn't the chasm between the parties like there is in the US, and the centre in Australian politics is far further to the left than in the US. The right of the ALP and the wets in the Libs overlap on many issues.
Op, the liberal party are about the same as American liberals, ie, the Democrats. We have a small fringe movement which is like your Republicans (the parties tend to come and go, but there is always one), then we have the labour party, which is to the left of your Democrats, similar to Bernie, then we have the Greens who are left of that, and even further left there's often a random communist in the depths of the ballot paper for the upper house (there can be a couple of hundred candiddates)
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Originally Posted by Bakery Hill
It will be interesting to see where the mid point of American politics settles after the Sanders and Trump phenomenon is unpacked and analysed.
Its probably due to compulsory voting; no party will ever win and retain office here without the support of middle, mortgage belt Australia.
I guess that just leaves me with two more questions, what is the art, fashion, and food scenes like in Sydney? And are they improving?
Last week they released the top 100 restaurants in Australia. Seven of the top 10 were in Sydney. Melbourne has done a great job of marketing itself as the "capital of everything", but in reality there's a struck match between Melbourne and Sydney on most things. artemis is correct though, if you like live music then Melbourne is your town. I'd say Melbourne also has more interest in "art" (painting, sculpture) than Sydney does, but in things like the dramatic arts Sydney probably edges out Melbourne (the Opera House isn't just a tourist attraction).
Last week they released the top 100 restaurants in Australia. Seven of the top 10 were in Sydney. Melbourne has done a great job of marketing itself as the "capital of everything", but in reality there's a struck match between Melbourne and Sydney on most things. artemis is correct though, if you like live music then Melbourne is your town. I'd say Melbourne also has more interest in "art" (painting, sculpture) than Sydney does, but in things like the dramatic arts Sydney probably edges out Melbourne (the Opera House isn't just a tourist attraction).
#1 and #2 are Vic
But yes, you can't ignore the Opera House. I think Sydney has done a fantastic job with festivals like Vivid, and Sydney Festival is pretty good.
Yes you are correct... number 1 is in Melbourne....Number 2 is Victoria. In fact, Melbourne only has one in the top ten. Tied with Hobart. Ouch!
The food thing is that Melbourne has more accessible food, think about things that are good in the $100 for two mark. Sydney has more fine dining options and the accessibility is improving. On the arts side Melbourne is better on the fringe but Sydney is getting better.
Politically I would say Australia sits in the blue dog Democrats area. Australians are still socially conservative but fiscally liberal. There is no real libertarian streak in Australia which kinds of rules out all the wackos that tend to populate the current American political landscape. As mad as Tony used to be he is still on the far saner side of Ted Cruz.
You know the blue dog democrats are the righter wing ones, don't you? No medicare, no dole, no sex ed.
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