Today New Matilda’s special coverage of minor parties kicks off. We’ve asked a range of minor parties to respond to questions about their policies and preference deals and we’ll be running the results in a series of articles this week and next. Today, we put the Sex Party and Rise Up in the spotlight.
Widespread disappointment with the ALP and Coalition has prompted the creation of a record number of minor and micro parties this election. Many voters are seriously considering giving their vote to these alternative groups, either as a protest, or in the hope of driving progress on issues neglected by the focus on budget surpluses and stopping the boats. But the mainstream media often treat the minor parties as a sideshow or joke, and the agendas of the minor parties have gone largely unscrutinised.
New Matilda is providing a forum for these new political groups to present their platforms. Some will be familiar to NM readers, others less well known, and some hold views many find repugnant or unacceptable. In the interests of a fair, transparent and democratic national debate, we made the offer to as many parties as possible.
The trading of minor party preferences, so crucial to electing ALP, Liberal and Green candidates, also warrants the closer scrutiny of minor party platforms — as does the scramble for the last senate quota in each State and Territory.
Where will your preferences go if you vote for Joe Bloggs in the Senate? Tools such as Below The Line allow you to easily view the preference flows of all Senate candidates. If you don’t like what you see, this series will arm you with enough information to help you vote below the line.
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