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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

THE RISE OF THE FIRST NATIONS PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

I’m a few days late making this post but I figured it’s worth a comment or two.

Apparently the First Nations Party is set to be officially registered with the electoral commission as of next year, which means we will have the first indigenous political party contending for power in Australia.

Now I actually don’t have any problem with this at all – it’s a healthy addition to the democratic system. All groups, no matter who they are, how big or small they are or how good/bad they are should be allowed to have a crack and run for parliament. If there are certain interest groups willing to vote for them then so be it.

What concerns me however is the question of ethnic identity and how it’s going to factor into their constitution and mission as a party. If there are racially discriminate clauses in their constitution, will the Australian Human Rights Commission take action, as the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission did (and are still in the process of doing) against the British National Party – the First Nation Party of Britain? My guess is probably not.

It will be interesting to follow this party in the lead-up to the next federal election.

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