News & Articles

NEWSLETTER No.2

JUNE 2005

WHY DIRECT DEMOCRACY NOT PARLIAMENTARY RULE?

‘Direct Democracy Not Parliamentary Rule’ was launched at Ballarat on the 3rd December 2003 on the 150th anniversary of the Eureka rebellion, to highlight the important role that direct democracy played in the Eureka rebellion. The idea behind the Party is very simple. The possibility of radical change is directly linked to the people (not the State or the corporate sector) holding ultimate political authority. While people equate parliamentary rule with democracy, the chances of radical change are minimal if non existent.

While people believe that the democratic process is limited to the act of giving a signed blank cheque to representatives to make decisions on their behalf, the chances of real change, any change, are minimal. As radical activists, the greatest challenge we face is exposing the farcical nature of parliamentary rule. Parliamentary democracy has become the darling of the Bush administration because it reinforces the power of those people who currently hold power. The greatest stumbling block we face is people’s willingness to think that the two minutes of illusory power they exercise when they vote every 3 years has something, anything, to do with democracy. Democracy - rule of the people, by the people, for the people, is based on the people having the power to make the decisions that directly affect them and the people having access to the common wealth to make those decisions a reality. You can make all the decisions you want, but you can’t make those decisions a reality unless you have access to the resources necessary to make those decisions a reality.

‘Direct Democracy Not Parliamentary Rule’ has been formed to highlight there are alternatives to parliamentary rule. We want to break down the myth that power lies in Parliament and people can change their lives by voting in parliamentary elections. We aim to do this during the period when the system is most vulnerable, when politicians are forced to go through the ritual of getting people to vote for them. We aim to register as a political party before the next Federal election, not because we want people to elect us into Parliament, but because we want to use the electoral process to highlight we live in a foolocracy not a democracy and promote direct democracy as an alternative to the parliamentary farce.

You have a number of choices you can exercise at the 2007 Federal election. You can ignore the whole process and vote informal or not vote at all, you can vote for your favourite political party and hope that this time they’ll keep their promises or you can join ‘DIRECT DEMOCRACY NOT PARLIAMENTARY RULE’ and try to break down the myths surrounding the electoral process.

WHY A POLITICAL PARTY?

We need 550 members, although we only need 500 members to apply for registration as a Federal political party, we want to have an extra 50 in case some members are deemed to be ineligible to be on the Australian Electoral Roll. If we can register as a political party, we can:

a) Have the name ‘DIRECT DEMOCRACY NOT PARLIAMENTARY RULE’ put next to our candidates name on the ballot paper,
b) We can nominate for seats all around Australia without having the problem of finding 50 people to nominate us for that seat.

We currently have 80 members, 470 short of our total. If we want to be in a position to have candidates in the 2007 Federal election, we need to have 550 members by July 2006. We need the numbers by July 2006 because it can take some time to register a political party, especially if there are objections to its registration. That means we would need about 8 members a week to obtain the necessary numbers.

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING FOR THE 2007 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN?

DO YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN A MOVEMENT THAT WANTS TO PRICK THE PARLIAMENTARY BALLOON?

Then get a hold of our application form through the web or by post P.O. Box 5035, Alphington 3078, Victoria AUSTRALIA.

JOIN US AND BECOME A BURR UNDER THE PARLIAMENTARY SADDLE

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP

As of the 18th of June 2005, we had 80 financial members’

VICTORIA = 65
SOUTH AUSTRALIA = 6
NEW SOUTH WALES = 5
NORTHERN TERRITORY = 1
QUEENSLAND = 1
WESTERN AUSTRALIA = 2

TOTAL , 80

I’ve taken the liberty of including an application form with this newsletter. If each current member finds a new member, we can double our membership overnight.

NOMINATIONS REQUIRED FOR:

NATIONAL CONVENOR / REGISTERED OFFICER TREASURER SECRETARY

If you’d like to nominate but don’t know three other members of ‘Direct Democracy Not Parliamentary Rule’, don’t worry just send in your nomination and we’ll organise for three members to support your nomination. Nominations close 1st September 2005.

NOMINATIONS RECEIVED
National Convenor / Registered Officer – Joseph TOSCANO
Treasurer: Anthony MUNSLOW

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (A.G.M.)

The Annual General Meeting will be held in the first week in October, possibly n Wednesday or Thursday evening (5th or 6th of October). If you’d like to come, give us as much notice as possible so we can arrange a suitable venue and catering. Members who cannot attend will be able to send in a postal ballot. Postal ballots must be received one business day before the A.G.M.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

Any proposals to alter the Constitution must be received by the 1st of July 2005. Proposed Constitutional changes require the support of 5% of members to be placed on the agenda.

WE HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM DIRECT DEMOCRACY WHICH IS ENCLOSED WITH THIS NEWSLETTER. I’VE TOLD THEM THAT CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS IN THE ‘DIRECT DEMOCRACY NOT PARLIAMENTARY RULE’ PARTY CAN ONLY BE DECIDED BY THE MEMBERSHIP AT THE A.G.M. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PROPOSAL PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE 2005 A.G.M., PLEASE LET US KNOW IN WRITING BY THE 1ST OF SEPTEMER 2005. THE PROPOSAL NEEDS THE SUPPORT OF 5% OF OUR MEMBERS TO BE PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE 2005 A.G.M.

I’VE ALSO ENCLOSED THEIR CONSTITUTION FOR YOU TO HAVE A LOOK AT, SO YOU CAN DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT TO PLACE THE MATTER ON THE AGENDA. I’VE ALSO ADDED MY REPLY TO THEIR LETTER.

LOCAL CHAPTERS

One good way to get the idea of Direct Democracy Not Parliamentary Rule out into the public arena is by forming a local chapter of the group. We encourage members to form a local chapter. If you require help to form a local chapter, contact the National Convenor / Registered Officer for help by email, phone or mail.

NEXT NEWSLETTER

The next newsletter will be posted out in the 1st week of August. If you want to make a contribution to the next newsletter, email them to supporters@rulebythepeople.org or mail them to P.O. Box 5035, Alphington 3078, Victoria, Australia.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

REMEMBER ‘AN ORGANIATION IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE EFFORT PUT IN BY ITS MEMBERS’.

Joseph TOSCANO / National Convenor / Registered Officer Direct Democracy Not Parliamentary Rule