Hello all,
Did the Pirate Party Victorian branch consider running for the state election this year?
I know it’s too late now, but I was looking forward to seeing the Pirate Party in the mix this time round.
As many Victorians will have noticed, the Pirates would have been a much needed Druery-free alternative to much of whats on offer…
Keen to repeat his results at the 2013 Federal Senate election, Glenn Druery and his Minor Party Alliance have descended full force upon Victoria with many dodgy parties vying for a seat on the Victorian Legislative Council.
This could result in handing unknown politicans power just like in the current Federal Sentate.
A quick glance at the many new parties registered and the news will reveal that most are involved with Druery, such as supposedly left-of-centre parties Animal Justice Party (who helped preference the Libs into a ACT senate seat over the Greens at the 2013 election) and Voluntary Euthanasia Party.
Even the Greens are repeating their disastrous alliance with Palmer United Party.
I’ve avidly followed the Pirare Party since it’s inception and still have high hopes for it in Victoria.
I beleive this party is the best placed to follow through with implementing a direct democracy platform (rather than say Senator Online party) due to the members IT background and the international Pirate Party network.
But I am disappointed they weren’t registered for this Victorian election. Is there an official reason?
Is it because in Vic you don’t have the 500 party member minimum?
Had this been advertised as the reason, I think many would’ve felt obliged to join - I for sure would’ve.
Will the pirate party show interest in running at future Victorian council and state elections?
The twist in the Victorian electoral act is that it requires 500 members to personally confirm their membership to the electoral commission - in writing - before a party can register. You really need considerably more than 500 to make that realistic. We’re growing fast and state registration is a high priority - and we’ll get there in time. But unfortunately not this time.
Thanks for the support, & best of luck on polling day!
Actually, the Vic Electoral Act doesn’t stipulate the form of membership evidence; that’s left up to the Vic Electoral Commission. The Commission accepts a list of names and addresses unique to the party. It still requires at least 500 members though, which is a hefty target to reach (and you’ll want some extra).
Mark, you might be thinking of the NSW process which is substantially more onerous than any other state/territory.
We are looking to be registered for elections in at least the eastern states by 2017 (which is before the next round of elections in each of these states).
While I understand the desire for there to be state branches as soon as possible, it is infeasible to form a stable state branch of a party within months of an election.
We’re working towards formally forming state branches where there are enough members to do so (see the Branch Formation Working Group Terms of Reference), at which point draft state policy platforms will be developed, and the Pirate Party will have a strong footing on which to run an election campaign in the next election.
tl;dr: it’s coming next election, keep your eyes peeled for when we start the state branch recruitment campaign (early next year!)
I was a bit disappointed too. I would like to know what the top Pirate Party preferences for this election would have been. There are so many candidates.
