Normally, I wouldn’t cover an election I can’t vote in. This is not because I don’t love my interstate friends as much as my local ones, it’s a simple matter of time. With so many political parties to read about at every election, and so many policies for each party (I must confess to a sneaking appreciation for single-issue parties – so quick to read and write about!), there just isn’t time to cover everyone else’s elections, too. Arguably, between full-time work, part-time study, and far more time-consuming hobbies than any sane person should have, there isn’t time to cover my own elections.
However, this election is a bit special. For one thing, it’s essentially the sequel to the 2013 Election (Senate Election Part 2: Attack of the Drones). Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is, in fact, a continuation of the same event. The extra, final chapter that the author directed to be read only three years after her death. The Secret of Hanging Parliament, as it were. And boy, am I betraying my age as a child of the 80s…
The other interesting thing about this election, of course, is that because it’s part of the Federal Election, its results are going to effect everyone in Australia in a way that your standard election interstate would never do. Which is kind of fascinating and appalling. You have the power, my Western friends. Use it wisely! And to make it more fun, the Western Australian electorate gets to vote after they’ve already seen what the new government is doing. There is a sort of surreal aptness to this. I’ve heard friends from WA complain about the fact that, due to timezone differences, they can still be casting their ballots at a point when votes from the Eastern States have already decided the election.
Well, Western Australia, here’s where you get your own back! We Easterners may have thought that we had decided the election, but it turns out that you get the final say after all. And maybe, just maybe, you will change the entire face of politics in Australia for the next three years. Which is a pretty cool superpower to have, really.
Anyway, in honour of this unique situation, I am going to undertake a more modest version of my usual tiny party policy-reading madness. Looking at the Western Australian ballot, I can see thirty-three groups, plus two un-grouped Independents. Most of these parties, of course, contested the Federal Senate Election last year, and had representatives in Victoria. Given that it’s only been about six months, I’m not going to analyse all these parties again. I can’t – I’m in the final throes of rehearsal for a big concert next weekend and will be out rehearsing virtually every night next week.
Instead, I will list all the parties who contested the last election below, with links to my commentaries on them, and will write new posts about the six parties and two independents that were not on the Victorian Senate ticket last year (new parties bolded). If I have time, I will try to go back and quickly analyse group voting tickets for this election, to see if anything has changed, but honestly, I think that’s pretty unlikely to happen. Not enough hours in the day.
Good luck, Western Australians – read up on your exciting smorgasbord of political parties, and use your vote wisely! Australia is watching you…
Ticket A ~ The Wikileaks Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket B ~ The Nationals ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket C ~ Russell Woolf and Verity James ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket D ~ Australian Democrats ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket E ~ Pirate Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket F ~ Australian Labor Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket G ~ Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket H ~ Freedom and Prosperity Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket I ~ Voluntary Euthanasia Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket J ~ Liberal Democrats ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket K ~ Australian Voice Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket L ~ Building Australia Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket M ~ Mutual Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket N ~ Family First Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket O ~ Sustainable Population Party (formerly Stable Population Party) ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket P ~ Palmer United Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket Q ~ Australian Sports Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket R ~ Liberal ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket S ~ Shooters and Fishers ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket T ~ Help End Marijuana Prohibition ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket U ~ Republican Party of Australia ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket V ~ Smokers Rights ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket W ~ Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket X ~ Australian Christians ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket Y ~ Secular Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket Z ~ Rise Up Australia Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AA ~ The Greens ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AB ~ Democratic Labour Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AC ~ Katter’s Australian Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AD ~ Animal Justice Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AE ~ Sex Party ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AF ~ Socialist Alliance ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ticket AG ~ Outdoor Recreation Party (Stop The Greens) ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ungrouped Independent ~ Teresa van Lieshout ~ Official Youtube Channel ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Ungrouped Independent ~ Kim Mubarak ~ Official website ~ My thoroughly biased commentary
Surely you can do a re-write on the Sustainable Population Party??? They’ve come a long way since your out-dated link/info was written!
Hi Liam,
I wish I could, but I simply don’t have time. (Remember – this blog is something I do as a hobby. I don’t get paid for it, so it has to fit in around work commitments and commitments that contribute to my professional development, and I have a lot of those at present) I was initially planning to skip the WA Election entirely, because I’ve really got too much going on at the moment, but it seemed important to at least do a brief update covering the newest players.
I do encourage readers to visit official websites of the different parties and read them for themselves. The SPP is far from the only party to have developed significantly since last September – many of the parties I reviewed still had policy areas under construction at that time, so I imagine there is a lot that is out of date. The purpose of this blog is to give a bit of a snapshot of the different parties and their policies – and rest assured, people who are interested in individual parties after reading one of my commentaries do follow the links to those parties. I am sure this will include the SPP.
Catherine