Politics, Poetry and Reviews

Tag: australian politics (Page 3 of 17)

Federal Election 2019: Meet Katter’s Australian Party

Summary

Website: https://www.kap.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KattersAusParty/
Slogans:
The Voice of Regional Australia
Themes: Aaaaaaalll the crazy.  Crocodiles, better rights for regional pubs, north Queensland to be a separate state.  And that’s only the beginning!  Oh, also less gun control, more Christianity, and we need to grow the population, but not through immigration.  Hold onto your hats, my friends, for this is a wild ride indeed.  (And yes, there is a policy on rodeos)
Electorate:
Upper House: QLD
Lower House: Capricornia, Dawson, Herbert, Kennedy, Leichhardt, Maranoa, Wright
Preferences: To be updated if and when the how to vote cards are released.
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Federal Election 2019: Meet the Non-Custodial Parents’ Party (Equal Parenting)

Summary

Website: http://www.equalparenting.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.equalparenting.org.au/
Previous names: Non-custodial Parents Party
Slogans:
Because children need both parents
Themes: Misogyny.  Oh, alright, father’s rights, being right wing, not paying child support, hating your ex, being generally selfish.  In case you can’t tell, I didn’t take to the NCPP.
Electorate:
Lower House: Cunningham
Preferences: A straight conservative ticket: the Liberals, United Australia, Sustainable Australia, Labor and the Greens.    Sustainable’s place on the ticket might indicate a care for the environment, but I suspect it mostly indicates a distaste for Labor and the Greens…
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Federal Election 2019: Meet the Australian Mental Health Party

Summary

Website: https://www.amhp.org.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAustralianMentalHealthParty/
Slogans:
Better Minds, Inclusive Society, Smarter Economy
Themes: Policies which allow the whole person to flourish.  Centrist, but probably more left-leaning, since they are very much people before economy.  Climate change is real, and while their policies are non-specific, they evidently feel we ought to do *something*.  Very big on person-centred systems.
Electorate:
Upper House: QLD, WA (running as Ungrouped Independents in both states)
Preferences: In both states, the AMHP has preferenced only candidates from the Greens, Labor and the LNP, but rather idiosyncratically ordered.  According to their website ‘Based on our analysis and debate within the party, we think these candidates will best represent good policy on mental health and well-being.’

So in WA, their first two preferences are Greens candidates with strong disability advocacy cred, and their first Labor candidate is a Yawaru man from Broome who advocates for constructive relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.  Their first Liberal Party candidate is Trish Botha, who is fourth on the Liberal ticket, and an evangelical pastor.

In QLD, they preference Tania Major, a Kokoberra woman and an Aboriginal activist, and the fourth ranked candidate on the Labor ticket, followed by Paul Scarr, from the moderate wing of the Liberal Party, then Frank Gilbert of Labor, who I suspect was chosen for his experience working at Lifeline, and Nicole Tobin of the Liberal Party, who is an advocate for special needs children.

Essentially, it looks to me as though the AMHP takes the view that they don’t really care about your other political leanings, provided you are committed to disability and/or mental health advocacy.  I’m a bit concerned about the evangelical pastor, however, because some evangelical churches are extremely poor at dealing with mental health issues.

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Federal Election 2019: Meet the Victorian Socialists and the Socialist Alliance

Summary

Website: https://www.victoriansocialists.org.au
https://socialist-alliance.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicsocialists/
https://www.facebook.com/SocialistAlliance/
Slogans:
For the billions, not the billionaires
Our lives are worth more than their profits
People before profit
Themes: Socialism.  Solidarity with everyone.  Equality, pro-union, anti-discrimination.  Ambitious climate change policy.
Electorate:
Socialist Alliance
Upper House: NSW, WA
Lower House: Brisbane, Fremantle, Lilley

Victorian Socialists
Lower House: Calwell, Cooper, Wills
Preferences: As usual, the Socialist Alliance provides a fine barometer of which parties on the ballot are the most left-leaning.  Accordingly, they put the Greens first in both states; in Victoria, they are followed by the Australian Workers Party and Independents for Climate Action Now, neither of which are running candidates in WA.  After that, in both states, we have HEMP; NSW then gets affordable housing, WA and NSW then have the Animal Justice PArty; NSW takes a quick break for some Pirates, after which all votes are funneled to their traditional home in the ALP.
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Federal Election 2019: Meet Reason Australia

Summary

Website: https://reason.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReasonAustralia/
Previous names: Australian Sex Party
Fiona Patten’s Reason Party
Slogans:
It’s time for Reason!
People before Politics
Themes: Evidence-based policy, in favour of action on climate change, pro-euthanasia and safe zones around abortion clinics, pro-legalisation of sex work, decriminalisation of drugs, surprisingly good on aged care.
Electorate:
Lower House: Cooper, Melbourne, Menzies
Preferences: I can’t find any How to Vote cards online.  Evidently, that would be unreasonable.
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Federal Election 2019: Meet Sunny Chandra and Robert Whitehill

Summary

Website: http://sunny4senate.com
http://www.robertwhitehill.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunny4senate/
https://www.facebook.com/Robert-Whitehill-Independent-Senate-Candidate-for-Victoria-387949562009940/
Slogans:
Regional Growth, Renewable Energy, Immigration Matters
Best for everyone
Themes: Chandra: better infrastructure and more money for regional Victoria, renewable energy.  Centrist.
Whitehill: public transport, so very much public transport, renewable energy, autistic acceptance, anti-bullying. Centre left.
Electorate:
Upper House: VIC
Preferences: Chandra and Whitehill have preferenced the Secular Party first, followed by Independents for Climate Action Now, the Animal Justice Party, the Small Business Party and the Pirate Party.  The odd one out is the Small Business Party – the others are all fairly progressively aligned, and interested in climate change and the environment.  There’s a mild libertarian streak in here, too.  It’s an unusual mix.

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Federal Election 2019: Meet the Health Australia Party

Summary

Website: https://www.healthaustraliaparty.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HealthAustraliaParty/
Slogans:
People. Environment. Democracy. Society. Economy.
Individually we are one drop, together we are an ocean.
Themes: Progressive social values, slight libertarian tendencies.  Worried about the environment.  Big into natural health.  Inclined to feel that the science on vaccination is not settled.  It is, but I’ve already written that post once this month, and I’m not doing it again.
Electorate:
Upper House: NSW, VIC, WA
Preferences: The Health Australia Party has issued a single how to vote card which tells voters to put them first and then to number at least 6 parties above the line or 12 candidates below.
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Federal Election 2019: Meet # Sustainable Australia

Summary

Website: https://www.sustainableaustralia.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoteSustainable/
Slogans:
Better, not Bigger
Secure Jobs. Affordable Housing. Better Planning.
Themes: ‘Sensible centre’ party, chiefly interested in overpopulation, sustainability, the environment, job security.  Worried about immigration.
Electorate:
Upper House: ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA
Lower House: Berowra, Bradfield, Cunningham, Fairfax, Farrer, Flinders, Goldstein, Higgins, Hotham, Kingsford Smith, Lindsay, Mackellar, Macnamara, North Sydney, Richmond, Robertson, Shortland, Warringah, Whitlam
Preferences: Sustainable Australia is giving us no clues to who they prefer.  Their HTV cards for each Senate region read: Vote 1 above the line, then number at least 5 other boxes in order of YOUR preference.
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Federal Election 2019: Meet the Australian Labor Party

Summary

Website: https://www.alp.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaborConnect/
Slogans:
A fair go for Australia
Themes: Centre left economic and social policies.  Pro-worker, will take action on climate change.  Generally likes putting money into education and health.  Do you actually need me to tell you what the ALP is about? No, you do not.
Electorate:
Upper House: All of them
Lower House: All of them
Preferences: Labor has put the Greens either second or third on all of their how to vote cards.  Hinch gets second billing in VIC, and independent Craig Garland gets second billing in TAS.  Animal Justice is in third place everywhere except the ACT and the NT, where they aren’t running, and in WA, where they are third, behind the Western Australian Party.  Amusingly, HEMP appears in their top six in four states.  The Democrats show up in fifth place in Victoria and SA, and the LDP  make it into the top five in WA and SA.  There are guest appearances from Sustainable Australia, Katter’s Australian Party (!!), the Secular Party, The Women’s Party, ICAN, the Centre Alliance and the Lambie Network.

In the states with smaller Senate papers, the UAP and the Liberals or Nationals are turning up at the end of the six, allowing them to avoid preferencing Fraser Anning in the ACT, and Rise Up Australia, Fraser Anning and the CEC in NT.  In WA, the Nationals are evidently considered a better choice than either the right wing nut jobs or the more anarchical left wing parties like the Pirates or the Socialists.

These strike me as pretty solid, respectable how to vote cards.  Evidently at the senate level, at least, Labor has decided that the true enemy is the extreme right, not the Greens.  Long may this last.  They clearly don’t adore the extreme left, though it’s interesting to see that the AJP is apparently now considered somewhat respectable, and I’m still highly amused at HEMP’s presence on their how to vote cards.  There is no real excuse for Katter, but what can you do?

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