Interstate rivalries in Australian politics are starting to look like State of Origin rugby league matches, and Queensland senator Matt Canavan has pulled on his maroon jersey. Canavan, the Resources Minister, has not only blasted Westpac for refusing to finance the controversial Adani coal mine in central Queensland but has accused the bank of acting like it was still operating under its previous name, the Bank of NSW.
He reckons the bank is a wimp and has generalised his attack to say: "Some corporations unfortunately today are wimps in regard to standing up to these activists." The activists in question are anti-coal environmental activists and Westpac's decision follows those of other major banks.
![Matt Canavan, who represents northern Queensland voters.](/web/20170509012111im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/s/2/p/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvyg1f.png/1493857147021.jpg)
Canavan went further and urged Queenslanders to boycott Westpac. "May I suggest those Queenslanders who are seeking a home loan or a long-term bank deposit or some such in the next few months might want to back a bank that is backing the interests of Queenslanders."
He is apparently taking steps to close his own Westpac account and switching to the Bank of Queensland. Whether petulant or merely a symbolic gesture, such boycott tactics are usually associated with the left side of politics. It is another example of the aggressive style of Turnbull government ministers when facing actions by the corporate sector not to their liking. A similar instance followed corporate backing for same-sex marriage.
But the more interesting element of Canavan's actions is the overt playing of the state's rights card. This is a twist on the age-old debate about the role of the Senate, in which it was traditionally seen as a state's house where state loyalties would play out. In this traditional view, the upper house was a defender of the states, especially the smaller states, whereas the House of Representatives, the people's house, would take the national view.
This is not a case, of course, of cross-party state interests taking precedence over party loyalties but an expression of such party loyalties. Canavan's own government has sprung to his support rather than Labor senators from Queensland. Nevertheless, he is on the same page as the Queensland state Labor government of Annastacia Palaszczuk, who recently blasted Malcolm Turnbull for being disrespectful towards the states and state premiers.
Even when state loyalties are not overt they are embedded within the operation of cabinet government. They begin with the selection of cabinet itself, where the balance of state representation is carefully scrutinised. Each state must have neither too many nor too few cabinet ministers. Once in cabinet, these ministers are constantly alert to state interests.
Another recent instance came with Treasurer Scott Morrison's announcement of a Productivity Commission review of the methodology for distributing GST revenue between the states, in line with what is called horizontal fiscal equalisation.
Morrison reportedly acted after allegedly coming under "intense pressure" from his Western Australian cabinet colleagues. For some time, the Western Australian government under recently defeated premier Colin Barnett had argued that the distribution was unfair to his state. The review followed "years of intense behind-the-scenes lobbying", according to a media report, by cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Social Services Minister Christian Porter and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
There was no mention of all the other lobbying that happened, by Barnett and by new Labor premier Mark McGowan, so Morrison was casting his cabinet colleagues in a favourable light. This was party-political spin with threatened federal Coalition seats in Western Australia in mind. Nevertheless, there was probably some truth in Morrison's assertion regarding his colleagues that "they have been effective voices for their state in government". They were acting as ministers for Western Australia.
A third example is Christopher Pyne, from the electorate of Sturt in Adelaide, who is Minister for Defence Industry. Pyne would like to be known as the minister for South Australia. His proof of effectiveness is the contract signed by the Turnbull government to build the new submarine fleet in Adelaide. There were many reasons for this massive gift to South Australia but one was the need to shore up Coalition seats in South Australia, including Pyne's, under threat from Nick Xenophon's team before the last federal election.
There are many lessons from the state-based interventions in the financing of the Adani coal mine and the GST review. It is unsurprising that the interventions come from ministers from the smaller states, Queensland and Western Australia. Like the successful Queensland State of Origin team, they draw not just on state loyalty but on a lingering sense of grievance that, left to its own devices, the national political system will hurt their interests. Grievance finds its expression in sticking together against the perceived enemy.
They begin with the selection of cabinet itself, where the balance of state representation is carefully scrutinised.
The smaller, resource-rich states still don't trust the Sydney-Melbourne-Canberra axis to stand up for them, whether it is the private sector in the case of Westpac or the public sector in the case of the Australian government. Victorian and NSW ministers in federal cabinet don't possess the same sense of common interest and feel more secure that they have the numbers. The idea of a minister for Victoria or a minister for NSW is hard to contemplate.
It is healthy to be reminded, from time to time, that our national political conflicts are not just based on Coalition versus Labor versus Other political party loyalties but on those deeper attachments, like our state of origin, which influence many of our political representatives.
John Warhurst is an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University. john.warhurst@anu.edu.au