Federal Election 2019: Meet Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party

Summary

Policies & Commentary

Policies & Commentary

I reviewed Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party back in November for the Victorian State Election.  Since this was pretty recent, I’m not going to review his policies again, but I thought I’d take a quick look at the News section of their website for the last six months, to see what they found worth writing about.

Not a lot, as it turns out.

• The inaugural speeches of Stuart Grimley and Tania Maxwell in the Victorian Parliament are available for viewing (video with no transcript, and I’m afraid I don’t have a spare half hour to look at them right now)
• ‘Daniel’s Law’, Hinch’s flagship policy for a public register of child sex offenders has apparently taken ‘a giant leap forward… with the allocation of $7.8 million, over four years, to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission for the creation of a national public register of child sex offenders. The Budget will also provide $25.5 million over six years for the establishment of an independent National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse.’  This is pretty much the main thing Hinch entered Parliament to do, so he’s pretty pleased about this.  I am less certain that the policy is a great idea, but it does suggest that he has been quite effective at his job.
• Derryn Hinch’s speech censuring Fraser Anning is also available for viewing.  Again, it’s video with no transcript, but it’s only three minutes long.  He reckons that Anning’s comments are straight out of the NRA handbook, calls it ‘irresponsible, reckless and totally dangerous behaviour, not free speech at all,’ and finishes up by saying ‘you besmirch this place, you should be ashamed of yourself, and I hope you’re soon gone.’  Hear, hear.

So yeah.  Hinch is still Hinch, and he is nothing if not consistent.  He’s probably going to make it into the top half of my ballot, despite his pedophile register idea, because his other ideas are pretty good, and also, have you *seen* what else is on that ballot?  Eesh.

Eurovision Theme Song as determined by me, very objectively

There aren’t a lot of Eurovision songs that are overtly about justice, but one song just keeps coming to mind when I think of Hinch’s approach to, well, everything really.  A couple of years ago, Armenia wrote a song called ‘1944’, about the Armenian genocide.  Russia objected vociferously, on the grounds that Eurovision is supposed to be apolitical, but Armenia argued that this was *historical* not political, and their argument was accepted.  And then the song won.

I feel that the singer’s passionate need to be heard, and to achieve justice, combined with the certainty that Eurovision’s petty rules do not apply to her when justice is at stake is rather on-brand for our friend Derryn.  Also it’s a fantastic, dramatic song.