Unlike Count Binface, joke parties can’t run in Australian elections — and that’s serious

3 months ago by zero_gravitas to c/australianpolitics

Australians think of ourselves as laid-back larrikins, but the major parties have made it nigh impossible for an Australian equivalent to Count Binface to emerge. That’s despite a long history in Australia of joke parties, like the Sun Ripened Warm Tomatoes Party, the Surprise Party and the Deadly Serious Party.

dillekant 19 points 3 months ago

Sadly, it costs so much that even serious non-joke parties cannot run. Just running candidates can cost as much as a new car.

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pHr34kY 10 points 3 months ago

The big blocker now is needing 500 members.

Just this week, I had to reenrol as a member of a party that only exists because all the small single-issue parties had to merge to make it on the ballot.

I'm busy, and I contribute almost nothing. But I make sure to stay signed so we continue to meet the bar.

There might be some clause about running as an independent though...

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Gorgritch_umie_killa 4 points 3 months ago

You're a member of Fusion. I've found some of their policies interesting in the past. They have a fairly active and interesting Mastodon account.

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dillekant 3 points 3 months ago

For Fusion, IIUC each of the parties individually had enough members (though maybe marginal), that's why they could run candidates in the past. You need the members to be cashed up enough to be able to run a candidate though. So for senate, realistically you need 3, and that's $6,000. If the party support is distributed around Australia, like Fusion's is, you must run 3x a number of states, and that adds up fast.

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MrFlibble4747 15 points 3 months ago

One Notion slipped through!

Perhaps more of a tragedy than a joke!

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Insekticus 5 points 3 months ago

Probably bankrolled by fuckwits.

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TrippaSnippa 4 points 3 months ago

Bankrolled by the richest fuckwit in the country, Gina Rinehart.

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mysticpickle 10 points 3 months ago

Gentlemen, this is Democracy manifest. GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY PENIS!

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Seagoon_ 7 points 3 months ago

Joke parties can run, they just have to have to run on a "normal" name.

I can see why, eventually there would be an Albanese sucks party or slurs against minorities

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wewbull 1 point 3 months ago

I can see why, eventually there would be an Albanese sucks party or slurs against minorities

...except that doesn't happen in AU/UK.

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Seagoon_ 5 points 3 months ago

extremists are becoming bolder the past few years

and there is foreign interference in democratic processes from adversaries

democracy is an agreement and to protect democracy there must be limits or loop holes will be exploited

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wewbull 3 points 3 months ago

Extremists are forming full fledged parties, not standing one by one where they are easily beaten.

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Nath 3 points 3 months ago

If you register a party and get people to vote for you, you're a part of the democratic process. There are several parties who have what I think of as extreme views.

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budget_biochemist 3 points 3 months ago

In the 2022 Victorian election (first one post-lockdown) there was a party called something like "Get rid of Dictator Dan". Dan Andrews was the premier at the time, his support of the health department's recommendations on Covid-19 made some people obsessed with him.

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Shoshin 6 points 3 months ago

What do you mean? Yes they can. The coalition has been running for years.

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AllNewTypeFace 5 points 3 months ago

Australia has had joke candidates in the past. There was Murgatroyd, who ran satirical campaigns in PMs’ electorates through the 80s and 90s. Was the law changed to prevent others from continuing this tradition?

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zero_gravitas 3 points 3 months ago

In 2021, the Morrison Coalition Government and Labor Opposition agreed to restrict the names of political parties. ‘Frivolous’ party names are forbidden, which kills the Count Binface Party stone dead. That’s despite a long history in Australia of joke parties, like the Sun Ripened Warm Tomatoes Party, the Surprise Party and the Deadly Serious Party.

Australia also places other barriers in the way of candidates. Count Binface needed the endorsement of 10 residents of Clacton to run in the by-election; an Australian independent would require 100.

In Australia, party candidates do not need any nominators (another advantage the incumbents have given themselves), but registering a party requires 1,500 members. That is prohibitive for parties focused on local or regional issues. In the UK, you only need two members: a treasurer and a returning officer.

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Psiczar 5 points 3 months ago

You’re fuck’n kidding right?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/...

Check out the list, but the United Party is a perfect example of a pub bet masquerading as a political party.

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NigelFrobisher 5 points 3 months ago

It’s very important for democracy that all candidates have oligarch money behind them.

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