One of the real anomaly’s of the last Federal Election, particularly with regards to the Upper House, was the sheer number of small, niche, and narrow avenue political parties that made it onto the ballot paper. The reason for that, simply put, is that it’s not terribly hard to form your own party – all things considered.
The criteria to form a political party that’s officially registered by the AEC is quite simple. You’ve got to have a written party constitution, whilst simultaneously having either at least one person elected to Parliament in Australia, or having at least 500 signed up members of the political party (and, real talk, I’ve been to house parties that’ve had more than that there).
That, quite literally, is it. 500 signatures on a piece of paper, or a seat in Parliament house.
Jacqui Lambie can put her pen and petition paper away, because she’s already got the latter well and truly stitched up.
So when everyone’s favourite Chardonnay Aunty defected from the Palmer United Party back in November, she became a free swinging rogue on the highly hostile senatorial cross bench, free to do what she jolly well pleases.
And what she jolly well pleases looks like being “forming my own damned party, bitches.” Fairfax Media is reporting that the bullish Tasmanian senator that we’ve all come to love and adore just so gosh darned much has been seeking advice on the formation of a new party and on how to get candidates elected.
“Many ADF members and veterans have asked me to form a party to help them, but I’ll continue to advocate on their behalf for a fair pay rise as an independent,” Lambie stated. But at least for the time being it’s not her highest priority, “For the moment I’m too busy with Tasmanian crises in unfair renewable energy costs for our high energy users and manufacturers, record youth unemployment, health services, education and Bass Strait travel and freight costs – to put energy into any new political party.“
If she does indeed form her own party, it would be the latest in a string of high-profile political figures forming their own backing party. Fellow independent cross bencher Nick Xenophon late last year formed the Nick Xenophon Team or NXT (an acronym that leads me to believe his Chief Whip is going to be Triple H), whilst independent lower house member Bob Katter put together his own Katter’s Australian Party, whose charter I can only assume is built on a solid platform of Stetson hats.
Some experts are suggesting that any party formed by Lambie would play on her popularity in Northern Tasmania and would attempt to capitalise on the “Us vs Them” sentiments often carried by voters in rural areas of the Island State by running under a name along the lines of “Tasmania First.”
But as far as I’m concerned, if the positively golden opportunity to call it the Jacqui Had A Little Lambie party isn’t gleefully taken up, I am going to flip shit.
Photo: Stefan Postles via Getty Images.
