

Application for registration approved – The Wikileaks Party - ra
http://www.aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/party_registration/Registration_Decisions/2013/5145.htm

======
_delirium
I looked around a bit, but I couldn't find any information about why they
preferred to start a separate Wikileaks Party, rather than joining the already
extant Pirate Party Australia.
[http://pirateparty.org.au/](http://pirateparty.org.au/) Anyone know?

~~~
femto
I'd think it is because the name "Wikileaks" has higher visibility and meaning
to the typical Australian voter than "Pirate Party". Despite common ground,
they also have a different highest priority, Wikileaks being transparency,
Pirate Party's being copyright reform. Separate parties will avoid tension due
to different priorities.

Having two parties is not too big a deal in Australia's preferential voting
system, as each party will probably pick up the other's preferences, meaning
their votes will get transferred if they get knocked out of the contest.

------
dfc
I apologize for being lazy. Can any Australian HNers describe what privileges
are afforded to registered parties? I thought the proportional voting scheme
in Australia was based on a party system but I did a little research and it
seems that the votes are cast for candidates and not parties. Thanks for
indulging my curiosity and laziness.

~~~
NamTaf
I believe one of the intentions would be that having a senator currently in
political asylum and wanted by the US would create a major diplomatic headache
for Australia and force their hand at actually addressing the issue of
Assange. Until now they've been able to sit back and ignore him because he's
locked away in the middle of London as a citizen. If he were to be a senator,
that would make things significantly more awkward. I found this [1]
interesting analysis of the situation.

As for how voting works:

For the House of Representatives [2], each person is voted in preferential
order. Each candidate must be allocated a preference or else your vote is
informal and not counted.

For the Senate [3], you may either vote 'above the line' or 'below the line'.
Voting above the line involves voting for a party. That party then takes your
vote and distributes it amongst the preferences they decide. You cannot
indicate preferences above the line - you must vote for a single party and the
party then does that for you.

Voting 'below the line' involves marking each candidate from each party. They
are still grouped in parties but you may number them in any order, so long as
you number them all.

I am not sure what being a party vs. being independent. Independents can be
elected to both houses, so I do not quite know what being in a part achieves.
The AEC website doesn't obviously offer any information detailing it, at a
casual glance.

[1]:
[http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/cru/2013/04/senator_assange.html](http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/cru/2013/04/senator_assange.html)

[2]:
[http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/How_to_vote/Voting_HOR.htm](http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/How_to_vote/Voting_HOR.htm)

[3]:
[http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/How_to_vote/Voting_Senate.htm](http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/How_to_vote/Voting_Senate.htm)

~~~
dmnd
If senate candidates are not members of a party, they are listed below the
line. This is somewhat of a disadvantage as only a small number of voters vote
below the line.

For this reason the incumbent independent senator Nick Xenophon has registered
his own 'party'[1] -- the Nick Xenophon Group -- and will now appear above the
line as well.

[1]: [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-02/nick-xenophon-has-
poli...](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-02/nick-xenophon-has-political-
party-registration-accepted/4793116)

------
marcooda
It's correct Australian's vote in candidates, which in these circumstances
would be great (not only for Assange's case) but more importantly to see
greater diversity in our Senate, because the majority right now are
Labor/Liberals.

Imagine in 100 years time, they become the major political party, forming
government. It could possibly be something entirely different.

------
damian2000
Their website:
[http://www.wikileaksparty.org.au/](http://www.wikileaksparty.org.au/)

