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Alfred Deakin
Historical figureAustralia1856-1919

Alfred Deakin

2nd Prime Minister of Australia (1903-1904, 1905-1908, 1909-1910) · Leader of the Protectionist Party and the Liberal Party (1909-1913)

Deakin served as Australia's second prime minister three times and shaped the early Commonwealth with tariffs, wage arbitration, pensions and the White Australia policy.

Compare yourself See the 12 scores
Profile on 12 axes9 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Alfred Deakin, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership0
    PublicPrivate

    Placed his party between free traders and socialists, then teamed up with the free traders to oppose Labor. Rated at the midpoint.

  2. 02Markets-30
    PlannedFree

    New Protection linked tariffs to fair pay and prices, and he supported compulsory arbitration. Rated toward regulated markets.

  3. 03Welfare-30
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority-30
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security+20
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure+30
    LocalCentral
  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious

    A lifelong spiritualist who took no clear public stand on religion in politics. Left blank.

  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10Culture+85
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade+65
    GlobalProtected

    A firm protectionist, though he also gave Britain a tariff preference. Rated toward protection.

  12. 12Foreign policy+20
    CooperationStrength

    He built up the army and navy, brought in compulsory military training and wanted the Empire to hold together more closely. Rated slightly toward strength.

3 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Alfred Deakin?

Alfred Deakin grew up in Melbourne and trained as a barrister before working as a journalist. He won a seat in the Victorian parliament at 23. Later he became a key voice for uniting the Australian colonies and helped write the Constitution. After federation in 1901 he was the country's first Attorney-General. He took over as prime minister from Edmund Barton in 1903 and held the job three times. In 1909 his group joined the free traders in a deal called the Fusion. He stepped down in 1913 and died six years later.

Political views

  • His government passed the 1908 law that set up national pensions for older people and for people with disabilities.Source: moadoph.gov.au
  • He called his Liberal Protectionists the party of the middle ground, between conservative free traders and extreme socialists.Source: en.wikipedia.org
  • His 'New Protection' linked tariffs to fair treatment of workers. Factories behind the tariff wall had to pay fair wages, and prices were policed to protect buyers.Source: moadoph.gov.au
  • He supported an arbitration court to settle industrial disputes, with the aim of ending strikes and lock-outs.Source: moadoph.gov.au
  • He gave strong weight to the White Australia policy, which aimed to keep out people he described as undesirable and coloured aliens.Source: moadoph.gov.au
  • He gave Britain a tariff preference with no strings attached and wanted more British settlers to come.Source: moadoph.gov.au
  • He put forward the first bill for compulsory military training and argued for an Australian navy.Source: en.wikipedia.org

Legacy

Many historians rank Deakin among Australia's most important leaders. Admirers say he built the machinery of the new nation, including the High Court, wage arbitration, tariff protection and the first national pensions. Later Liberals counted him among their founders. Critics point out that all of this sat alongside the White Australia policy. Today his speech on the Immigration Restriction Bill is cited as plainly racist. His 1909 Fusion also caused anger. Labor and some liberals said he had dropped his reform agenda, and Labor won the next election.

In their own words

“We have not simply protected the maker, but have provided that the wages must be paid.”
Federal election policy speech, 1906

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Alfred Deakin: questions

Which party did Alfred Deakin belong to?

He led the Protectionist Party. In 1909 he merged with the free traders and led the new Liberal Party, known today as the Commonwealth Liberal Party.

What is the Australian settlement?

It is the name given to a bundle of early national policies that Deakin did much to create. They were tariff protection, wage arbitration, White Australia, a strong role for the state and loyalty to the British Empire.

Was Alfred Deakin left or right?

He is hard to place. He backed wage rules, pensions and tariffs, which lean left, but he fought Labor and led a liberal party of the centre. His record on race and immigration was strongly exclusionary.

Sources