I just joined the Australian Democrats.

I wanted to support them because I think it is important that someone other than the government of the day has the balance of power in the Senate. This way they can take the hard edge off legislation or negotiate deals with the government. Otherwise the government can simply pass anything it likes into law without any negotiations.

An example of this is the GST. To my knowledge, the Democrats rejected the legislation in the Senate until the government agreed to remove the tax from ‘everyday items’ like bread, meat and fruit and vegetables. This isn’t a huge, life changing achievement but I think in an age of terrorism, racism and fear, we need someone in the Senate protecting our freedoms and privacy.

Check out the Democrat’s campaigns on: the national ID card, fuel, aboriginal people, climate change and the nuclear industry.