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Introduction

Table of ContenTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 – MAKING THE BEST OF THE SYSTEM WE HAVE
CHAPTER 2 – THE CURRENT DYNAMIC IS ‘PROGRESSIVE VERSUS CONSERVATIVE’
CHAPTER 3 – OUR CURRENT PARTY STRUCTURES ARE INEFFECTIVE
CHAPTER 4 – INDEPENDENTS CAN’T FORM EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 5 – BREAKING INTO THE CARTEL
CHAPTER 6 – PATHWAYS TO SOMETHING NEW
CHAPTER 7 – A POTENT POLITICAL FORCE NEEDS PEOPLE
CHAPTER 8 – PRODUCING LEADERS
CHAPTER 9 – KEEPING IT SIMPLE
CHAPTER 10 – DRAFT ORGANISATIONAL MODEL
CHAPTER 11 – PEOPLE
APPENDIX 1 – HISTORICAL COMMENTARY ON THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
APPENDIX 2 – AUSTRALIAN COMMENTARY

The major political parties we have today are designed for a 20th-century Australia that no longer exists. They are not functioning effectively. Progressive Australians will be best served by forming a large new political party that is open, modern, and transparent. It would seek to become the progressive option for government within our two-party system.

The current state of the two main parties presents an opportunity for a big evolutionary leap forward in organisational structure and design, rather than small, hesitant steps.

How we organise ourselves is a choice that affects our lives. Over the course of the 21st century, the global average temperature will go up by 2–4 degrees, the world population will reach over 10 billion, and humanity will face serious resource depletion. Humanity’s adverse effects on the natural world have become increasingly evident.[1] New challenges— much like COVID-19—will arise and continue to
put pressure on our existing societies. Maintaining a prosperous and equitable society during this time will be challenging, and it will be essential to have both social unity and a strong social fabric. We can only deal with these challenges as a strong civil society, not as individuals.

To have the best chance of making a long-term difference, we should organise into a party that can attract a large number of participants, takes a systematic approach to producing future leaders, and has the ability to win election majorities outright and to form effective executive governments.

Key characteristics of our democracy include: two options for executive government, a reality within which there can be only one main progressive political force; and an executive branch of government which is drawn from the legislative. The two-party system has significant strengths in its ability to provide stable government. Although this system has its downfalls, we can’t reasonably change it. We are better off being objective and using the system to our best advantage. The current split in Australian politics is best represented by the terms ‘Progressive’ and ‘Conservative’.

Progressives will be best served by a single, modern, vibrant organisation that is open, transparent, and able to successfully channel both a quantity and quality of talented individuals into parliaments across the country. It is in our interests to include as many people on the progressive side as possible. It should be an easy and appealing organisation to join and in which to participate.

As progressives, it is not in our interests to break up into smaller groups, tribes, parties, and individuals. Our system does not reward this approach. It is in our interests to work out rational and logical ways to work together within a single large organisation in significant numbers and in a way that is relevant to life today. Sentimental attachment to the political structures and parties of the past and present will not help.

People don’t all have to agree on everything to belong to the same political party—especially in a system like ours. This new organisation will contain different groups and points of view. It’s about having open discussions among progressive Australians about how we best organise ourselves. People both within and outside our current organisations have a strong mutual interest in working together.

The entrance of an organisation of this type into Australian politics is much more likely to lead to sustained periods of progressive government. Our party structures are not set in stone and must have the capacity to evolve in line with societal needs.

We can make use of advances in communication technology previously unavailable to society, in the way that we seek social and political involvement. A new institution can be custom-designed for 21st-century Australia—a bit like pressing the organisational ‘reset button’ and going from the 1890s to the 2020s. A new 21st-century organisation of this type can be established with the advantages of a clean slate and no baggage.

This work does not consider or examine:

  1. the judicial branch of government, instead focusing solely on the executive and legislative branches
  2. Australian state governments, instead focusing on
  3. federal politics and the House of Representatives
  4. how parliamentary leaders are selected
  5. caucus solidarity
  6. funding models
  7. gender representation
  8. youth politics
  9. operations of the ‘party machine’.

[1] Cilluffo, Anthony & Neil G. Ruiz. 2019. “World’s population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century”. Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century/