Chapter 163: Election Law, Political Party Law
On April 3, 1903, a message from the Australian government completely rocked the political scene in Australia.
Since the establishment of Australia, political parties had never been brought up, and their legitimacy had never been established. This meant that most elections in Australia had been held by individuals, with political parties being essentially nonexistent.
However, after the announcement of a new government regulation on elections and political parties, the concept of political parties was brought back into public view.
According to the new regulations, political parties were now officially included in Australia's legal election process, meaning that Australia had officially recognized the legitimacy of political parties.
However, there was a key stipulation: political parties must be approved by the Senate before they can be established and must accept oversight from the Senate. If any party was found to have engaged in election fraud or violated the law, the Senate had the authority to penalize the party, even reporting to Arthur, who could declare the party illegal and force its dissolution.
The reason for recognizing the legitimacy of political parties was that, in Europe, political parties had become very common and were widely accepted. Given the large number of European immigrants in Australia, it was inevitable that political parties would eventually be legalized. Political parties had become a need for many Australians.
Nevertheless, Arthur retained the final authority. Political parties would be under the Senate's supervision and could only be officially established after passing the Senate's review.
The Senate elections were primarily under Arthur's control. Except for the current cabinet members, the other members of the Senate were nominated and appointed by Arthur. Even cabinet members had to be reviewed by Arthur and the Senate before they could be formally appointed.
By controlling the Senate, Arthur effectively controlled the lifeblood of political parties and had little concern about any potential subversion of Australia's political system.
The legalization of political parties brought significant changes to the Australian political landscape, and it greatly excited one particular party—the Australian Labor Party.
The Australian Labor Party had been established over a decade earlier, during the colonial period. It was a union of workers initially formed to promote Australian unity, but it had since evolved into an organization aimed at forming unions and protecting workers' rights.
Though the Australian Labor Party had been around since colonial times, it had disappeared after the successful establishment of the Australian Duchy and had been practically nonexistent in Australian politics.
People were too afraid to claim any affiliation with the Australian Labor Party. Before Arthur legalized political parties, any affiliation with a political party was seen as a threat by the fiercely loyal Australians.
Now, due to the influx of immigrants into Australia, political parties had to be legalized and granted the right to participate in elections. This gave the Australian Labor Party hope of re-entering the Australian political scene, especially since political parties had an inherent advantage over individuals in elections.
Arthur wasn't surprised and didn't oppose Australians joining various political parties.
However, adding restrictions to political parties was essential. In addition to the requirement for Senate review and oversight, no elections could allow for political donations, bribery, or corruption.
To prevent the corruption seen in European countries, Australia introduced election and political party laws. No political party was allowed to accept political donations privately; doing so would be considered election fraud.
This law was also meant to protect smaller political parties and the interests of the poor. In future elections, politicians backed by wealthy capitalists, who could afford large-scale campaigns and rallies, would have an advantage. Without capitalist backing, politicians couldn't afford to even give speeches, and thus, the poor would have little chance of getting their voices heard.
Such elections created two separate groups: the rich, who had the inherent advantage of being able to campaign, and the poor, who often couldn't afford to run a campaign at all.
In a so-called "free democracy," only the wealthy or those backed by capitalists would likely be able to run in elections.
Arthur would not allow capitalists to have free rein in either the House of Commons or the cabinet. The royal family might grant some power to the people, but that power was meant for all Australian citizens, not the capitalists.
Australia's political parties could only raise funds by calling on their supporters to donate to the Election Federation, which was responsible for establishing and overseeing political parties in the House of Commons and Senate. The Election Federation would distribute 70% of the funds based on the number of seats held by each party in the House of Commons.
The remaining 30% would be evenly distributed among all registered legal parties in Australia, ensuring that both small and large parties would receive some funding to support their activities.
The amount of funding a party received would be based on its representation in the House of Commons, which meant that political parties would have to rely on their members' abilities to campaign and compete for votes.
The Election Federation was composed of members from the royal family, the cabinet, the Senate, and the House of Commons. It ultimately reported to the royal family and was overseen by the Senate and House of Commons. This system was widely regarded as one of the most trustworthy solutions to ensure fairness and prevent corruption.
To show their support for political parties and fair elections, the royal family declared they would donate £10,000 annually to the Election Federation to support all political parties and their members.
This move also garnered the enthusiastic support of the Australian Labor Party, which had been established for over a decade. It effectively promoted the development of political parties in Australia.
According to the Senate's report, since the announcement in April regarding the legalization of political parties and the introduction of the election and political party laws, the Senate had reviewed nearly 20 applications for new political parties in just over two months.
Though more than half of the applications were rejected because their platforms didn't contribute positively to Australia's welfare or development, some of the ideas presented were simply whimsical thoughts, which inspired certain individuals to form parties.
(End of Chapter)
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