In the media
"Running scared": As major parties collude on electoral reform they won’t stop communities demanding better alternatives
Media release, 15 November 2024
A reported bid by the major parties to rush donation reforms through Parliament before Christmas should be seen as a cynical attempt at collusion to protect a waning political duopoly. Quite simply – this is the “legacy political brands” running scared and trying to do everything they can to stop a political evolution.
What the major parties don’t seem to understand, is that after decades of being taken for granted this evolution in Australian politics is being led by grassroot community campaigns which will not cower as major parties try to stop or outspend them. This evolution is happening whether the major parties like it or not.
If the reported reforms are rammed through by Labor and the Coalition they will create an uneven playing field and they will make it harder for independents to campaign fairly and effectively at future elections.
Australians deserve better than the major parties doing a deal over electoral reform that protects their own interests. This reform will not stop the rot when it comes to the public’s perception of the major parties, and the trend of voters looking for positive alternatives to support.
Australians are fed up with major party politics, with 1 in 3 voters choosing alternatives such as community independents and minor parties at the last election. Instead of responding with better policy and community focussed campaigning, the major parties think it’s easier to change electoral rules in their favour.
Allowing major parties to sandbag seats at risk with $90 million in election funds, while limiting other candidates to just $800,000 in spending, is a crass attempt to reduce the chances of electoral success for minor parties and independents.
Duopolies don’t deliver good results in any sphere of society. Consumers and voters have suffered at the hands of duopolies in the grocery sector, in aviation and in politics.
In response to these proposed reforms, my message to any community-backed candidate who is considering a run at the 2025 election is: put your hand up and give your community a real choice at the next election.
Other relevant posts
Calls to change small business definition
ABC The World Today, 5 December 2024
Kylea is interviewed about her crossbench push to change the definition of a small business from the current maximum of 15 employees, to include those enterprises with up to 25 workers. The Federal Government has foreshadowed potentially revisiting the issue in the second half of next year.
Teal MPs push for changes to 'small business' definition as election looms
ABC News, 5 December 2024
Kylea and seven other crossbench colleagues have called on the Government to change the definition of "small business" from organisations of up to 15 employees, to up to 25, to help smaller businesses comply with new Fair Work laws.
Liberal MP Paul Fletcher sees red over teals, but look deeper and there's more at play
ABC News, 4 December 2024
The May 2022 rise of community independent parliamentarians is "a straightforward [story] of constituency neglect, which almost always drives the emergence of fringe or third-party groupings in this country", Annabel Crabb writes in ABC News.
Coalition dares to dream about Peter Dutton as PM
Daily Telegraph, 30 November 2024
Liberal strategists are charting a path to a 2025 election victory, but "already, Teal seats in Sydney have largely been written off", according to this News Corp interview with a Liberal MP.
Independent raises alarm on social media ban
ABC Radio National, 29 November 2024
Despite growing ranks opposing the bill, a ban on social media for under 16s passed the Senate late on the final sitting day of the year. In a radio interview about the ban, Kylea warns that the Bill "doesn't do what it says on the tin".
Australia Has Barred Everyone Under 16 From Social Media. Will It Work?
New York Times, 29 November 2024
The New York Times covers Australia's new social media law, noting that how the restriction will be enforced online remains an open question. Kylea has said that law would stop short of holding social media companies accountable for the safety of the product they are providing. “They are not fixing the potholes; they are just telling our kids there won’t be any cars,” she is quoted as saying.
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