1. The "Party Pooper Bill": The Beginning of a Political Cartel?

On the 26^th of August a bill was passed that had fairly large ramifications for the 40 odd minor parties that don’t currently have a representative in the federal parliament.  The Party Registration Integrity Bill, or as Twitter has named it, the Party Pooper Bill (#PartyPooperBill) will triple the minimum membership numbers required for minor parties to either maintain their federal registration, or for new parties to become registered.

And while much of the focus at the moment is quite rightly centered on the immediate threat to all the minor parties who have been getting ready to contest the upcoming federal election, there’s more at stake here than just the number of parties running in that election or whether the senate ballot paper is the size of a table cloth or just a placemat.

Join former Australian Democrats senator and current national president Lyn Allison, and national vice presidents Steve Baty and Elana Mitchell to discuss the Party Pooper Bill and what it means for politics in Australia. 

Show Notes:

Do your bit for Australian democracy and join us!
www.democrats.org.au/membership

Otherwise you can search for all registered political parties on the Australian Electoral Commission website and find the party that aligns with your values:
https://www.aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/party_registration/Registered_parties/

Read the AEC’s announcement on the Party Pooper Bill
https://www.aec.gov.au/news/electoral-laws.htm

Accountability in politics is more than a federal ICAC. Have a look at how our accountability platform will keep the bastards honest
https://www.democrats.org.au/accountability-campaign/