Registration of Political Parties in Australia - Assignment Example

Administrative Law Name Date Course Introduction Registration of political parties in Australia is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission. The registration is governed by Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth). According to section 123, an eligible political party means a political party that is either a parliamentary party or has at least 500 members1. Rick Mitterband a left-wing activist had applied for the registration of his party under part XI. The political party will be referred to as Democracy not Murdocracy Citizens’ movement. However, the Electoral Commission has refused to register the party due to the use of the word democracy which it has termed misleading2. All the political party with the word democracy will also not be registered by the Electoral Commission. Prior to this three applications had been made opposing the registration of the political party. One of the applications made complicates the matter for Rich as a result of comments he made during a televised public media3. The Electoral Commission wants the issue referred to the Australian Intelligence Security Organization (AISO). However one of the officials of the Electoral Commission had assured Rick that his party would be registered and he should go ahead and book the printer which he did for $ 50,000. Rick therefore risks losing his money and failing to register the political party as a result of the conditions outlined by the Electoral Commission and objection by a retired Army Brigadier General. The paper discuses the legal remedies for Rick to register his party under the name he chose and avoid being investigated by AISO. Discussion The political parties in Australia play an important role in terms of expanding the democratic space. It is through the political parties that the people can be able to voice their opinions and navigate to power. Radical empowerment of the people through seeking laws that disperse and decentralize the over concentrated media ownership. The protection of civil rights as well as the liberty of Australians is the other goal of the party. This is an indication that the political party is aimed at addressing the problems facing the local people across different social classes. During the public meeting, Rick indicated that the party will get a list of 500 members who support their cause. This is in accordance to section 123(1) (a) (ii). A political party with at least 500 members is eligible for registration by the Electoral Commission. The registration of political parties is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission in accordance to section 1244. The party has also complied with the provisions of section 126(2) (a) which require the name of the party to be set out. The political party has also complied with section 127 which forbids the registration of political parties during the election period. The Electoral Commission in its decision not to register the party has done so under section 129(1) (d). According to section 129(1) (d), the Electoral Commission can refuse to register a political party if it so nearly resembles the name or abbreviation or acronym of the name of another political party. This is due to the use of the word Democracy in the name of the political party. According to section 131(3) (b), the applicants may lodge with the electoral commission a written request that is signed to proceed with the application in the form in which it was lodged. This gives Rick an opportunity to lodge an application for the purposes of ensuring that his party is registered under the same name despite the refusal by the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission will then be required to publish a notice of application after receiving it from the party in accordance to section 132(c). During the application, Rick has to provide reasons to show that the name of the party will not mislead the voters in any way as a result of using the word democracy. The Australian Citizen for Democracy Movement while had filed an application is an incorporated association and has not been registered as a political party. As a result of this the voters will not be confused in any way by the use of the words democracy and citizens movement in Rick’s party. According to section 141(c)(b), the Electoral commission after reviewing certain decisions may refuse to uphold an objection made under section 134A(1)5. This provides an opportunity for Rick to have his party registered under the same name after the application made is reviewed by the Electoral Commission. Rick also has an opportunity to make an application with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This is in accordance to section 141(8)(b). According to section 141(8)(b), a person whose interests are affected by the decision may subject to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth). According to section 2(A)(b) of the Act, the Tribunal must pursue the objective of providing a mechanism of review that is fair, just, economical informal and quick6. This is therefore one of the most important avenues for Rick to ensure that the decision of the Electoral Commission is reviewed and the party registered under the name that he chose. Rick has to make an application to the Tribunal for the purposes of review. According to section 25, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has the powers to review certain decisions. The decision by the Commission not to register the political parties can therefore be reviewed by the tribunal and hence giving Rick an opportunity to have his party registered under the name that he chose. In the case of Wollard and Australian Electoral Commission and Liberal Party of Australia, an Appeal was made against the Australian Electoral Commission for refusal to register the party “Liberals for Forests”7. According to the Australia Electoral Commission, this is because the name was too similar to that of Liberal Party of Australia and its abbreviations Liberal. The Tribunal which comprised of three Federal Court judges held that the names were not so similar and it directed the Australia Electoral Commission to register the party. The Tribunal states that the political parties use in their names generic words such as Democrat, Liberal or National. The political party belong to Rick can therefore be registered based on such grounds. The Tribunal will have to consider whether using the name Democracy will mislead the voters or not. It is also important to note that the decision may not be altered in accordance to section 26 after the application has been made. According to section 27(2), an organization or association of persons whether incorporated or not whose interests have been affected can make their application to the Tribunal. This makes Rick eligible to make an application to the Tribunal although the decision by the Electoral Commission has to be upheld for the period that the Tribunal will be reviewing the decision. According to section 30, the parties to the Tribunal include the applicants as well as the parties that are affected by the decision8. The Electoral; Commission and Rick representing his party will therefore be considered as party to the proceedings. However, the applicants who had raised an objection to the registration of the political party can also be parties to the proceedings. This is considering that the nature of information provided by the Retired Army Brigadier-General is sensitive in nature. The Interest of Rick has been affected by the refusal of the Electoral Commission to register his political party. This is based on the basis of the party using the term democracy. According to section 31, the Tribunal has the powers to determine persons whose interests are affected by decision. According to section 31(1), the Tribunal has the powers to decide whether the interest of a person has been affected by a decision. It is the constitutional right of the Australian to participate in the political process. The political parties are important vehicles in the political process. It is through the political parties that the candidates can contest in an election and advance their political interests. The refusal by the Electoral Commission to register the political party means that the Rick and his supporters will be unable to advance their political goals and objectives. This is considering that Rick and his party has clearly outlined their two main goals. Their interest has therefore been affected by the decision of the Electoral Commission to not to register the party on grounds of using the name Democracy. In the case of Fishing Party and Australian Electoral Commission and Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party an appeal was made to the Tribunal after the Australian Electoral Commission refused to register the Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party9. The issue was where the new party should be prohibited as it had similar two similar names with the Fishing Party. The Tribunal however noted that the names of the two parties are not sufficiently similar to create confusion among the voters. The similar words and lifestyle are sufficient to distinguish the two parties according to the Tribunal. The decision of the Tribunal led to the registration of the political party. This situation is similar to that facing the Rick’s Party where the word Democracy has been used. It is therefore through making an appeal to the Tribunal that the party can be registered under the name that Rick chose. According to section 32, Rick may appear before the Tribunal or may chose to be represented. This is also the same of the Electoral Commission. During the proceedings, the Electoral Commission will be required to give evidence with regards to the matter. The Electoral Commission has to show how the registration of the Rick’s Political party will mislead the voters by using the word democracy. One of the staff members who had been contacted by Rick during the registration process had even assured him that his party will be registered. It was through the assurance of the staff member that Rick ended up signing a cheque worthy $ 50,000 worth of placards, posters and leaflets to be printed. This is a further indication that the decision of the Electoral Commission has effects on Rick and his political party. The Tribunal has the powers to summon persons to give evidence or produce documents in accordance to section 40A10. Rick can therefore produce the documents before the Tribunal to prove that is actions were prompted by the staff member of the electoral commission. The Tribunal also has the powers to summon the staff of the Electoral Commission who gave an assurance to Rick that his party would be registered. According to section 40B, the Tribunal ha the powers to examine the documents produced as evidence under summons. Under section 36D, the parties will also be required to answer questions for the purposes of public interest. The Electoral Commission in its publication in the Commonwealth Gazette indicated that it will not enter into any legal correspondence with regards to the matter. This is an indication that the Electoral Commission is avoiding any judicial review of the case. The Tribunal is therefore the best alternative for Rick and his party to address the matter and ensure that his political party is registered under the name that he chose. According to section 34(A), the Tribunal may also direct that the dispute should be addressed through an alternative dispute resolution process. This is also one of the channels that can be used by Rick and the Electoral Commission to resolve the problem. The use of alternative dispute resolution in most cases does not involve the judicial review. This will be beneficial to both parties as the Electronic Commission does not intend to use the tax payers money to carry out a judicial review. According to section 34(a)(3), the parties to the dispute must Act in good faith11. This means that the matter will be resolved in manner that is likely to satisfy all the parties that are involved in the dispute. However, it is also important to note that the members of the public as well as the organizations that had objected to the registration of the party have to be involved. Through the use of this means to resolve the dispute, Rick will have to address the concerns that had been raised by different parties including those who were objecting the registration of the political party. The concern that had been made by the Retired Army Brigadier-General was also of concern to Electoral Commission. This was as a result of the statements that he made at the public event. The statement had maters that raised security concern leading to the concern that Rick does not have genuine interest in free and fair elections but intends to secretly overthrow the system. The Electoral Commission after reviewing the allegations referred the matters to Australian Intelligence Security Organization. The investigations by AISO may have serious consequences on Rick and his political party. This is because the issues to be investigated touch on National Security. According to section 29B, if an application is duly made to the Tribunal for review of security assessment, a copy of the application has to be made to the director general of security and to the common wealth agency which the assessment was given12. Rick should make an application to the Tribunal for the purposes of making a clarification with regards to the statements that he made at the public event. This will provide an opportunity for him to clarify on the comments that he had made. This is considering that the statement seems to indicate that he wanted the system to be overthrown as had been raised by the retired Brigadier General. The Tribunal on reviewing the matter may stop investigations from being launched against Rick for the allegations of intending to overthrow the system. Section 39(A) outlines the procedures that can be used for the purposes of reviewing the security assessment. The Director General of Security and the applicant are the parties to the proceedings and have to be present. This means that Rick has to be present as an applicant in order to provide more information to the Tribunal. The Tribunal depending on the nature of evidence provided may resolve the issues and hence avoiding the Australian Intelligence Security Organization from investigating Rick. According to section 39(A)(5), the proceedings will be carried out in private and the Tribunal will be responsible for determining the people who may be present during the proceedings13. The Tribunal members have the powers to ask questions to the applicants during the proceeding. The Tribunal also has the responsibility of protecting the identity of the people summoned to give evidence. It is the responsibility of the Tribunal to ensure that certain information that may affect the process is not disclosed. The retired Brigadier-General who raised the issue with the Electoral Commission may be summoned by the Tribunal to provider more information. Rick left-wing Union activists have to convince the Tribunal that the comments that he made did not mean to cause any harm to the National Security. Although he claimed that he made the comments while drunk, he has to show that the views do not represent that of his political party. A party that represents radical views and is a threat to national security cannot be registered. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the comments that were made by Rick during a public event as well as the use of the name Democracy contributed to the refusal of the Electoral Commission to register the party. As a result of the contents published in the Gazette by the electoral commission, a judicial review is not appropriate for Rick and his party. It is however evident that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is the appropriate channel that can be used by Rick to ensure that his party is registered with the name that he chose. The remarks that Rick made during the public event which was televised raised security concerns which led to the application for objection of registration of the party by a Retired Brigadier General. It is evident that this may attract investigations by the Australian Intelligence Security Organization. It is evident that Rick may avoid investigations by AISO through filing an application at the Tribunal. It is evident that the decision of the Tribunal will require the Electoral Commission to overturn its decision and register the party under the name that Rick Chose. References Wollard and Australian Electoral Commission and Liberal Party of Australia, (WA Division) Inc [2001] AATA 166 (6 March 2001) Fishing Party and Australian Electoral Commission and Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party [2009] AATA 170 (17 March 2009) Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) Cook, Katherine. "Recent developments in administrative law." aial (2012): 1. Allars, Margaret. "Nature of Merits Review: A Bold Vision Realised in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, The." Fed. L. Rev. 41 (2013): 197. Dalton, Russell J. Citizen politics: Public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies. Cq Press, 2013. Gauja, Anika. Political parties and elections: Legislating for representative democracy. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013. Fowler, Anthony. "Electoral and policy consequences of voter turnout: Evidence from compulsory voting in Australia." Quarterly Journal of Political Science 8.2 (2013): 159- 182. Jupp, James. Political Parties Routledge Library Editions: Political Science. Vol. 54. Routledge, 2013. Dalton, Russell J., David M. Farrell, and Ian McAllister. Political parties and democratic linkage: How parties organize democracy. Oxford University Press, 2011. Read More