This page has been set up to answer some of the common questions we get about the the Vote Planet Party.
PARTY QUESTIONS
Who RUNs VOTE PLANET?
Vote Planet is run by executive members of both alliance member parties, One Planet and Save the Planet. The current Vote Planet executive includes Kammy Cordner (President), Adrian Whitehead, Andrea Otto, Tiffany Harrison and Timo Juntunen.
Who does the work?
Vote Planet is run on the efforts of volunteers and is always looking for people to help administration and campaign-related tasks.
How is Vote Planet Funded?
Vote Planet is funded through private donation of the members and supporters. You can donate the party generally or fund specific candidates.
WHO EXACTLY CAN JOIN THE PARTY?
Vote Planet has a branch structure. The branches comprise member parties that make up the Climate Emergency Action Alliance (Vote Planet). If you would like to become a member, join either of the Alliance parties and you automatically become a Vote Planet member.
Link to either party here.
Link to either party here.
POLITICAL QUESTIONS
Why a new party? Why not just join the Greens, Socialist Alliance etc, etc.?
Yes, the Greens are way ahead of the Liberals, National Party and the ALP, and the Socialist Alliance has had a climate emergency policy for a number of years. However, the Greens don’t argue for the uncompromising full-strength emergency mobilisation polices needed to urgently restore a Safe Climate and sustainability and both the Greens and Socialist Alliance have a raft of non-environmental issues that inevitably dilute their focus on the Climate Emergency. Plus the Socialist Alliance is not likely to appeal to people on the right of politics.
The Vote Planet will not be distracted by issues unrelated to the building of a Safe-Climate-restoring economy, done at Emergency Speed. And we will work with other political parties across the political spectrum to get this outcome.
The purpose of the Vote Planet is to campaign so effectively on our core goals that we make it a political necessity for all other major parties – including the Greens – to lift their environmental policies and performance to match our position. It then will be possible to build a Safe-Climate-restoring economy in Australia at Emergency Speed. We can do this through public education and using political leverage at elections.
The Vote Planet will not be distracted by issues unrelated to the building of a Safe-Climate-restoring economy, done at Emergency Speed. And we will work with other political parties across the political spectrum to get this outcome.
The purpose of the Vote Planet is to campaign so effectively on our core goals that we make it a political necessity for all other major parties – including the Greens – to lift their environmental policies and performance to match our position. It then will be possible to build a Safe-Climate-restoring economy in Australia at Emergency Speed. We can do this through public education and using political leverage at elections.
If I vote for a minor party such as Vote Planet or the Greens won't I just be wasting my vote?
Many Australians are confused by how our voting system works and think voting for a minor party or independent is a waste. This is simply not the case.
As voters we rank the parties in order of our preferred choice on our ballot papers from "1" (most preferred) to least preferred. If no candidate gets the required number of votes to win, which in a single member electorate is 50% of the vote plus 1 vote, candidates with the least votes get knocked out and their votes are distributed at full value to remaining candidates.
See this 1 minute video for a more detailed and graphical explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xs1TUGwqiE
Multi-member (eg. Senate, Victorian Upper House) electorates are slightly more complex. However, the same principles apply: a minimum number of votes is required for each available position, and those candidates with the lowest number of votes are knocked out of the race and have their votes redistributed at full value until all the positions are filled. The only difference is that excess votes from candidates who have already been elected to a position have their votes redistributed at a reduced value proportional to the amount of excess votes they received until all positions are filled.
Excess vote redistribution is explained in the following 7 minute video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTamidDoG6g
As voters we rank the parties in order of our preferred choice on our ballot papers from "1" (most preferred) to least preferred. If no candidate gets the required number of votes to win, which in a single member electorate is 50% of the vote plus 1 vote, candidates with the least votes get knocked out and their votes are distributed at full value to remaining candidates.
See this 1 minute video for a more detailed and graphical explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xs1TUGwqiE
Multi-member (eg. Senate, Victorian Upper House) electorates are slightly more complex. However, the same principles apply: a minimum number of votes is required for each available position, and those candidates with the lowest number of votes are knocked out of the race and have their votes redistributed at full value until all the positions are filled. The only difference is that excess votes from candidates who have already been elected to a position have their votes redistributed at a reduced value proportional to the amount of excess votes they received until all positions are filled.
Excess vote redistribution is explained in the following 7 minute video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTamidDoG6g
Would voting for Vote Planet just dilute the Greens vote making it unlikely that they would win a seat?
Running single-issue minor parties actually helps the Greens vote by attracting first preference votes away from other parties such as Labor and Liberal. Most of these votes then flow to the Greens through the preference system. Hence the more minor parties there are running whose preferences go to the Greens, the better it is for the Greens and the more likely they are to win a seat. The only risk to the Greens is if a minor party does so well that they win the seat instead of the Greens.
WHAT ABOUT NON-CLIMATE POLICY ISSUES SUCH AS HOUSING, ANIMAL RIGHTS OR LAND TAX?
We have deliberately restricted Vote Planet's policies to a limited focus around key issues on climate change with the hope that we can attract wide support for emergency speed action to restore a safe climate. All candidates have agreed to our 4 goals which include the creation of a world that is environmentally and socially sustainable and working to eliminate high levels of inequality. Candidates also have to pass a good character test which includes not being racist or sexist. In the context of these constraints, on any other policy issue, a Vote Planet candidate is effectively an independent and you would need to ask their personal views.
What's Vote Planet's theory of change?
Provide a vision and a path to climate emergency mobilisation:
- Use electoral campaigning as a tool to educate the public and other candidates on the climate emergency and the response needed.
- Use preferential voting to leverage better outcomes to hold other candidates to account.
- Advocate for a Climate Emergency and Mobilisation Act.
- Hold sitting MPs to account.
- Steps in the right direction wherever possible but protest where steps in the right direction are inadequate and frankly suicidal.
- The first electoral step is the cross bench but ultimately we aim to win parliament.
