Saturday, August 12, 2006
Preselection woes
A recent article in The West Australian newspaper highlights some of the serious shortcomings of the party system and their endorsement practices.
The article concerned a sitting Member of Parliament who is being challenged for preselection within his party. It suggested that a sitting member has a right to expect he will never be challenged for preselection within their party.
If that position were accepted, logic demands that a sitting MP should never have to face the inconvenience of contesting an election – a ridiculous suggestion.
Every party MP should expect to be challenged for preselection at every election – that is the way the system is supposed to work.
Sadly many party MPs don’t see it that way. After going to the effort of organising delegates (i.e. rigging the ballot) to secure endorsement, they feel aggrieved should anyone else should have the audacity to do the same thing the next time election time comes around.
As a result, the time between elections is spent working to secure the renewal of their endorsements instead of servicing their electorates. Endorsement as a party candidate depends on how many members are put into critical branches and on promises made or broken with power brokers and other candidates.
The party system as it currently operates is directly responsible for the lamentable standard of MP we are forced to endure.
In contrast, genuinely Independent MPs are free of such distractions and can devote themselves completely to the task of working for constituents.
A genuinely independent MP’s electoral fate is determined by the work they do for their electorate not by their prowess at abusing a party constitution to engineer success at preselection.
The article concerned a sitting Member of Parliament who is being challenged for preselection within his party. It suggested that a sitting member has a right to expect he will never be challenged for preselection within their party.
If that position were accepted, logic demands that a sitting MP should never have to face the inconvenience of contesting an election – a ridiculous suggestion.
Every party MP should expect to be challenged for preselection at every election – that is the way the system is supposed to work.
Sadly many party MPs don’t see it that way. After going to the effort of organising delegates (i.e. rigging the ballot) to secure endorsement, they feel aggrieved should anyone else should have the audacity to do the same thing the next time election time comes around.
As a result, the time between elections is spent working to secure the renewal of their endorsements instead of servicing their electorates. Endorsement as a party candidate depends on how many members are put into critical branches and on promises made or broken with power brokers and other candidates.
The party system as it currently operates is directly responsible for the lamentable standard of MP we are forced to endure.
In contrast, genuinely Independent MPs are free of such distractions and can devote themselves completely to the task of working for constituents.
A genuinely independent MP’s electoral fate is determined by the work they do for their electorate not by their prowess at abusing a party constitution to engineer success at preselection.
