【正确答案】 According to the principle of liberal theory, governments should play only a minor part in the nation's economy. The major principle is that the economy should be run as a "free market" system with as little interference from the government as possible. However, the actual history of the Australian political economy demonstrates a very uneven application of this principle. Even at the establishment of the Australian "free market" system, there was a need for major political intervention to help provide a supply of cheap labor through the assisted migration scheme. By the last few decades of the 19th century the government was playing a very large part in the economy. It invested in massive capital works programs and developed a large bureaucracy of government workers to administer and run major aspects of economic life. The Government continued to play a large part in the economy in the post World War Ⅱ period. By the 1970s the Government was responsible for 30% of the GDP. Since the 1980s, there has been a significant dismantling of the government's involvement in, and regulation of, the Australian economy. Economic rationalism has been the major policy orientation. There have been significant shifts away from government in communication, banking, and in the provision of water and sewerage services.