Battler (underdog)

Last updated

Battlers, in Australian colloquialism, are ordinary working-class people who persevere through their commitments despite adversity. [1] [2] Typically, this adversity comprises low pay, family problems, environmental hardships and personal recognition woes. [3] It is a term of respect and endearment intended to empower and recognise those who feel as though they exist at the bottom of society. It has seen recent use in mainstream politics to describe a demographic of Australian people, most notably by former Prime Minister John Howard, who used it to describe his working-class voting base. [4]

Contents

Definition

The term "Aussie battler" generally refers to working-class Australians; [5] specifically, those who feel they must work hard at a low paying job to earn enough money. [6] Such a term is actually well respected by Australian society at large, as they stoically face perceived financial hardships in spite of Australian workers being among some of the highest-paid and resourceful in the western world. "Aussie battler" is an example of self-aggrandising language, designed to counter feelings of stigma or inadequacy, and to bolster confidence in being a member of the Australian underclass. It refers to an Australian who continues to struggle in the face of hardship. It is a term of respect and endearment, not simply used to assess someone's financial situation; the ordinary working man earning a living against the odds. The common variation "little Aussie battler" further adds to the notion that the battler is at the bottom of society, working under bigger things above. [2]

In Australian English, "battler" is a power word similar to the concept of the "hardworking family". It is used by various political personages and entities for their own purposes. Where in one context a person may use the term to refer to people of low socioeconomic status to call for greater welfare, others may use it to refer to a family saving for a private education to call for government payments to private schools.

Middle class

Some people are self-defined battlers without fitting the above definition for having too much money. In 2003, social scientist and author Michael Pusey described the condition behind this to talk show host Rachael Kohn as "Middle Class Battler syndrome". [7]

Political rhetoric

Following the election of the Liberal National Coalition government under the leadership of John Howard in 1996, the phrase was adapted and widely adopted within Australian public discourse. Howard scored a sweeping victory at the 1996 federal election, an achievement some commentators explained by reference to his winning over many traditional Labor Party voters, whom they now termed "Howard's battlers". [8] [9]

The term was allegedly popularised by Andrew Robb, the 1996 Liberal Party campaign director, who used it to describe those blue-collar voters who felt ignored by Labor and who were successfully targeted by the Liberals during the election campaign.[ citation needed ]

In a radio interview in 2004, Howard was asked what he thought a battler was and replied that:

... it's not an exclusive definition, the battler is somebody who finds in life that they have to work hard for everything they get... normally you then look at it in terms of somebody who's not earning a huge income but somebody who is trying to better themselves, and I've always been attracted to people who try to better themselves. [10]

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney in September 2007, US President George W. Bush referred to Howard as a battler. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Party of Australia</span> Australian centre-right political party

The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia. The party is one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party. The Liberal Party was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Australia Party. Historically the most successful political party in Australia's history, the party is now in opposition at a federal level and does not hold government in any Australian state or territory with the exception of the island state of Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Beazley</span> Australian politician (born 1948)

Kim Christian Beazley is an Australian former politician and diplomat. Since 2022 he has served as the Chairman of the Australian War Memorial. Previously, he was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments. After leaving parliament, he served as ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2016 and 33rd governor of Western Australia from 2018 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Latham</span> Australian politician (born 1961)

Mark William Latham is an Australian politician and media commentator who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from December 2003 to January 2005, leading the party to defeat at the 2004 federal election. He left the ALP in 2017 and joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation in 2018, gaining a seat for that party in the New South Wales Legislative Council at the 2019 New South Wales state election and winning re-election in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 41st Parliament of Australia

The 2004 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 9 October 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Mark Latham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Abbott</span> Prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015

Anthony John Abbott is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fran Bailey</span> Australian politician

Frances Esther Bailey is a former Australian politician. She is a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993 and 1996 to 2010, representing the Division of McEwen in Victoria. She held ministerial office in the Howard government as Minister for Employment Services (2004) and Small Business and Tourism (2004–2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Southcott</span> Australian politician

Andrew John Southcott is an Australian politician and medical practitioner. He was the Liberal member for the House of Representatives seat of Boothby from the 1996 election until he stood down at the 2016 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian McGauran</span> Australian politician

Julian John James McGauran is an Australian former politician who served as a member of the Australian Senate, representing the state of Victoria. Elected as a member of the National Party, he resigned from the Nationals and joined the Liberal Party of Australia in February 2006. His brother, Peter McGauran, was the National member for Gippsland until 2008, and was Minister for Agriculture in the Howard government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 42nd Parliament of Australia

The 2007 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 24 November 2007. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 of the seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The election featured a 39-day campaign, with 13.6 million Australians enrolled to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Bennelong</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Bennelong is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named after Woollarawarre Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip. The seat is represented by Jerome Laxale since the 2022 Australian federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WorkChoices</span> Australian industrial relations law

WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard government in 2005, being amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, sometimes referred to as the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, that came into effect on 27 March 2006.

Faceless men is a term from Australian politics. The term is generally used to refer to men and women who exert political influence and are not elected representatives to state, territory or federal legislative bodies, yet are elected representatives to bodies that determine political party policies. However, the political tactic of elected representatives canvassing party members for support on policies varies widely amongst Australian political parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Howard</span> Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007

John Winston Howard is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, having previously served as the treasurer of Australia from 1977 to 1983 under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the second-longest in Australian history, behind only Sir Robert Menzies. Howard has also been the oldest living Australian former prime minister since the death of Bob Hawke in May 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Baillieu</span> Premier of Victoria, Australia, from 2010 to 2013

Edward Norman Baillieu is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2010 to 2013. He was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, representing the electorate of Hawthorn. He was elected leader of the Liberal Party in opposition in 2006, and served as Premier from 2010 until 2013 after winning the 2010 state election. He resigned as Premier on 6 March 2013, and was succeeded by Denis Napthine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Forgotten People</span> 1942 speech by Australian politician Robert Menzies

"The Forgotten People" is a 1942 Australian political speech and campaign slogan by Robert Menzies, an Australian politician who was Prime Minister of Australia 1939-1941 and again 1949-1966. It sought to emphasise his links to ordinary citizens and distance himself from elitism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard government</span> Government of Australia from 1996 to 2007

The Howard government refers to the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard government commenced following victory over the Keating government at the 1996 federal election. It concluded with its defeat at the 2007 federal election by the Australian Labor Party, whose leader Kevin Rudd then formed the first Rudd government. It was the second-longest government under a single prime minister, with the longest having been the second Menzies government (1949–1966).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Lyne by-election</span>

The 2008 Lyne by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Lyne on 6 September 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Mark Vaile. The by-election was held on the same day as the Mayo by-election, and the Western Australian state election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudd government (2007–2010)</span> An administration of the Australian government

The first Rudd government was the executive Government of Australia formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Rudd government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry. This took place just nine days after the defeat of the Howard government, which was a Coalition of members of the Liberal and National parties, at the 2007 federal election. The Rudd government concluded on 24 June 2010 when Rudd, under pressure from an impending leadership caucus ballot, stepped down from the leadership of the ALP and was succeeded by his deputy, Julia Gillard. Rudd was re-elected leader of the Labor Party in 2013 and served a second term as prime minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Watt</span> Politician

Graham Travis Watt is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2010 to 2018, representing the seat of Burwood. He is a member of the Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples</span> Apology by the Australian Government to Indigenous peoples for historical forced removals

On 13 February 2008, the Parliament of Australia issued a formal apology to Indigenous Australians for forced removals of Australian Indigenous children from their families by Australian federal and state government agencies. The apology was delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and is also referred to as the National Apology, or simply The Apology.

References

  1. ↑ New Zealand Oxford Dictionary Oxford University Press, 2005
  2. 1 2 "Australian National Dictionary Centre, Australian Words: A-B, Battler". Anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 5 August 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Sekiya, Noriko. "Aussie 'battler' as a cultural keyword in Australian English" (PDF). Griffith University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "Howard's battlers a broad church". The Age . 19 May 2004.
  5. ↑ "Joyzine: Australia Decoded". Artistwd.com. 2 September 1912. Archived from the original on 20 July 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Goodonyamate: A dictionary of Australian Slang Archived 9 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "ABC Radio National: The Spirit of Things - Hope and Happiness". Abc.net.au. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  8. ↑ Journal of Australian Studies, Issue 55, 1997, Abstract Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Exclusive (7 August 2007). ""Rudd Labor battlers dump Howard", The Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2007". News.com.au. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  10. ↑ "Brendan Nicholson and Jason Koutsoukis, "Howard's battlers a broad church", The Age, 19 May 2004". Melbourne: Theage.com.au. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  11. ↑ "Jane Holroyd, "Howard Bush's 'battler'", The Age, 7 September 2007". Theage.com.au. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.