Join a political party, be a preselector
John Kilcullen
The following remarks relate to the
ACT, but they apply mutatis mutandis elsewhere.
· In the ACT 276,398 people are enrolled to
vote in the 2016 Federal election.
· The membership of ACT Labor is a small
fraction of the electorate, fewer than 2000 members; the ACT
membership of the Liberals and the Greens is smaller.
· Members’ most important function is preselection, i.e.
deciding who will be the candidates for three safe ACT Labor
seats (2 House of Representatives, 1 Senate) and the one (pretty safe) Liberal
Senate seat.
· In the most recent contested pre-selection, in 2010, the ALP candidates
for the House of Representatives seats was decided by fewer than 250 voters: see here, here and here. Andrew
Leigh was preselected by 144 votes to 96, Gai Brodtmann by 123 to 109. In 2013 ACT Liberal senator
Zed Seselja was
preselected by 114 to 84.
There is no reason why nominations
should be left in the control of such small numbers of people.
As a friend commented to me, we need to
“break down perceptions in the community that joining a party is such a big
deal (a bit like joining a cult) but instead something people should consider
getting involved in like any other community activity they might join.”
If you want to make a difference in
politics, become a member of a party. Don’t join a faction, don’t be
discouraged by what happens at Conference, but be sure to participate
in preselections.That
will have much more effect than a protest vote.
To join Labor
go here,
Liberal here,
Greens here.
In short, if you want to have a real
say in politics, join one of the parties. You don't join for life. If it
doesn't work out, walk out.
More information on
ACT Labor
Each ACT Labor
parliamentarian has to face preselection every three years. Every
“rank-and-file” member of the ALP in the ACT can vote in preselection
provided
they have been members for twelve months. You do not need to attend any
meeting or participate in any way: being a member for a year is all
that is required to vote in preselection. To become a member it is not necessary to belong to a union.
Every member’s vote counts equally; unions and factions have no special weight.
MPs and Senators are influenced by the
views of members even when pre-selection is not due for some time. They can be
influenced by indications of possible loss of support. If a significant number
of new people join and express discontent (for example, with Labor policy regarding Manus and Nauru), the behaviour of
incumbent Parliamentarians will begin to change.
Are there drawbacks to joining? There
are two: (1) you must pay a (significant) membership fee, and (2) you
promise to vote for the preselected candidates--but on the other hand, you have
a say in preselecting the candidates. A protest vote at a general election
achieves little or nothing in comparison with the opportunity to make your
protest within the party as a potential preselector.
Are political parties
evil?
Bob Douglas “Has
party politics become destructive to the public interest and the public good?”
asks: “What would happen if every electorate in Australia did what the Indi
electorate did in 2013 and elected an independent to the Parliament?” My
answer: Once they got to Parliament they would form alliances, i.e. parties,
behind the scenes. I would rather they openly declared their connections
beforehand. Independents often say that they will stand up for the interests of
their district. To win government a party has to get support for the same
policy package in many districts, so they have to work out a reconciliation of
a wide range of interests. Independents may work for some undeclared objective
and then not seek re-election, but members of a party care about its long-term
reputation. Members of a party go hostage for one another. If some behave badly
it reflects on the others. For more on the party system see here.
Malcolm Turnbull:
"This is going to be a very close election. Every seat matters, every vote
matters. And I say to every Australian... that every vote counts and they
should treat their vote, regardless of what seat they are in, as though it was
the vote, the single vote that decides the next government. Every vote
counts."
As Mr Turnbull knew, and everyone knows, this statement is simply
false. That is why parties run "marginal seat" campaigns and take a lot
of notice of the presumed wishes of swinging voters in those seats;
see Barrie
Cassidy, "Pork barrelling and the hoax of 'every vote counts'".
See also Peter
Martin. The parties tend to neglect the safe seats.
Politicians in marginal seats have to
pay attention to swinging voters. Incumbents in a safe seat have to pay
attention to the views of their preselectors. As a preselector your vote really
will count.
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