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Sustainable Australia Party
Sustainable Australia Party –
Universal Basic Income
AbbreviationSAP
SpokespersonKelvin Thomson
LeaderCeleste Ackerly
FounderWilliam Bourke[1]
Founded2010(as Sustainable Population Party)
Registered23 September 2010;13 years ago(23 September 2010)[2]
HeadquartersCrows Nest,New South Wales,Australia
Ideology
ColorsGreen and navy blue
Slogan#EnvironmentFirst[5]
House of Representatives
0 / 151
Senate
0 / 76
North Sydney Council
2 / 10
Victoria Park Town Council
1 / 8
Website
www.sustainableaustralia.org.au

TheSustainable Australia Party(officially registered asSustainable Australia Party – Universal Basic Income)[a]is an Australian political party that was formed in 2010.[6]

History[edit]

The party has been registered federally since 2010. It was previously named theSustainable Population Partyand later theSustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption,before adopting its current name. In 2016 it also registered in theAustralian Capital Territory,and contested the2016 Australian Capital Election.In 2018 it also registered inVictoriafor the 2018 state election[7]and NSW for the 2019 state election.[8]

In 2010 the party opposedKevin Rudd's support for a "big Australia",saying that a large population would be" disastrous ",[9]is "way beyond [Australia's] long-term carrying capacity",[9]and that "population growth is not inevitable".[9]The party claims that "'stable population' policies would mean a more sustainable 26 million at 2050, not the Labor/Liberal 'big Australia' plan for 36 million and rising."[10]

Sustainable Australia used to be called the Sustainable Population Party. Its current name was registered with theAustralian Electoral Commissionon 18 January 2016. The party missed out on registration for the2010 federal electionby several days, but leader William Bourke ran unsuccessfully for theSenateinNew South Waleson an independent ticket with poetMark O'Connor.The party was registered shortly after the election, on 23 September 2010.[6] The party was registered as "Stable Population Party of Australia", but on 28 February 2014 the Australian Electoral Commission approved a name-change to the "Sustainable Population Party".[6]On 19 January 2016, the AEC approved a further name change to "#Sustainable Australia" (including ahashsymbol).[11]

The party ran at least two Senate candidates in every state and territory in the2013 Australian federal electionand many local candidates also.[12]Timothy Lawrence was the candidate for Australian Stable Population Party in the2014 Griffith by-election,arising from the resignation of Kevin Rudd. Lawrence received 666 votes, 0.86% of the primary vote. The party also contested theApril 2014 re-run in Western Australiaof the 2013 federal Senate elections.[12]The party endorsed Angela Smith, an environmental scientist and a local candidate, for the2015 Canning by-election.In September 2015 the party campaigned on a number of issues including education, paid jobs, infrastructure, health care, renewable energy and housing affordability.

In the2015 North Sydney by-electionits candidate and founder William Bourke received 2,189 votes, representing 2.88% of the primary votes.[13][14]

The party has been involved in a preference harvesting scheme organised byGlenn Druery'sMinor Party Alliance.[15][16]

In the2016 federal election,Sustainable Australia was led temporarily by ex-Labor Minister for Sustainability,Andrew McNamara.[17]The party fielded twosenatecandidates in each of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, as well as a candidate in theDivision of Sydneyfor theHouse of Representatives,[18]where Kris Spike received 605 votes, 0.69% of the votes.

The party received media attention in 2017 when Australian entrepreneurDick Smithjoined the party.[19][20]

Sustainable Australia won its first parliamentary seat in the2018 Victorian state election.The party received 1.32% of the primary vote in theSouthern Metropolitan Region.However, after favourable preference deals with other partiesClifford Hayeswon the 5thLegislative Councilseat inSouthern Metropolitan Regionfor the party.

In the 2020 federal Groom by-election SAP's candidate Sandra Jephcott received 6,716 votes, representing 7.8% of the primary votes.[21][22]

At the2021 NSW local government elections,SAP'sNorth Sydney Councilcandidates William Bourke and Georgia Lamb were elected as Councillors with 13.1% and 10.7% of the primary vote in their respective wards.[23]William Bourke was subsequently elected Deputy Mayor by a vote of all North Sydney Councillors.[24]

In2023,SAP's Daniel Minson was elected toVictoria Park Town Council.[25]

Policies[edit]

Victoria[edit]

Sustainable Australia's Victorian MPClifford Hayeshas campaigned for a sustainable environment and called for acontainer deposit schemeto be introduced in Victoria to reduce waste and stop rubbish going intolandfill.[26]

Following this, Hayes also campaigned for a large environmental reserve in Melbourne's west to protect endangered species and ecosystems.[27]

Hayes also spoke strongly in favour of boosting Victoria's legislated renewable energy target, or VRET, to 50 per cent by 2030 in that state parliament's upper house, saying we have been in the middle of aclimate crisisfor a long term and we need to take action across all sectors from energy to transport, construction and more.[28]

In the2018 Victorian state election,policies that Sustainable Australia ran on included:[29]

  • Campaigning against rapid population growth
  • Campaigning for tighter residential planning laws
  • Scaling back Australia's migration rate to about 70,000 people a year, while preserving refugee intakes at 14,000 to 20,000.
  • Giving "real power to local communities in planning decisions"
  • Increasing charges to developers when land is rezoned for housing.

Federal and state policies[edit]

  • At the Federal level of government, a policy is to reduce the country's immigration intake, from record high levels[30]of over 200,000 to 70,000 people per annum.[31][better source needed]
  • Target a population in Australia of under 30 million "through to and beyond 2050".[32]
  • Setup an independent Federal Commission to monitor and expose corruption.[33]
  • On housing affordability, Sustainable Australia bases its solutions on restricting foreign ownership of residential property, cutting immigration, and on taxation measures (such as phasing out the 50% Capital Gains Tax discount on residential investment property and abolishing negative gearing on residential investment property). The party believes that "with a sustainable environment and much more stable population, you can simultaneously achieve affordable housing (due to less buyer demand) and better planning (to stop over-development)".[31][better source needed]
  • On the environment, the party advocates for reducinggreenhouse gas emissionsto 80% below year 2000 levels by 2050, or cutting further if possible.[citation needed]
  • Cut the cost of public transportation by at least half and expand train and/or bus networks.[32]
  • The establishment of a nationaljob guarantee.[32]
  • The implementation of auniversal basic income(UBI) orcitizen's dividendof "$500+ per week ($26,000 per annum, indexed from 2021) "to all Australians as a method of poverty prevention.[32]

Electoral results[edit]

Federal[edit]

Election year House of Representatives Senate Name of party
(at time of poll)
Votes (#) Votes (%) Seats +/– Votes (#) Votes (%) Seats +/–
2013 3,954 0.03
0 / 150
 Increase 12,671[34] 0.09 (#30)
0 / 76
 Increase Stable Population Party
2014 special N/A[b] 3,063 0.24 (#25)
0 / 76
 Increase Sustainable Population Party
2016 606 0.00
0 / 150
 Decrease 26,341[35] 0.19 (#30)
0 / 76
 Increase Sustainable Australia Party
2019 35,618 0.25
0 / 151
 Increase 59,265 0.41 (#16)
0 / 76
 Increase Sustainable Australia Party
2022 3,866 0.03
0 / 151
 Decrease 78,181 0.52 (#11)
0 / 76
 Increase Sustainable Australia Party

State[edit]

Election year Lower House Upper House
Votes (#) Votes (%) Seats +/– Votes (#) Votes (%) Seats +/–
2018 Victoria 8,183 0.23
0 / 88
 Increase 29,866 0.83
1 / 40
 Increase1
2022 Victoria
0 / 88
 17,537 0.47
0 / 40
 Decrease1
2019 NSW 69,831 1.53
0 / 93
 Increase 65,102 1.46
0 / 42
 Increase
2023 NSW 103,710 2.10
0 / 93
 Increase 42,902 0.85
0 / 42
 Increase
2020 ACT 4,593 1.71
0 / 25
 Increase N/A[c]
2021 WA 1,356 0.1
0 / 59
 Increase 4,405 0.31
0 / 36
 Increase
2022 SA N/A[d]
0 / 47
 Steady 4,003 0.36
0 / 22
 Increase

Political representatives[edit]

Members of Parliament[edit]

Victoria

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Formerly theSustainable Population Partyand theSustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption
  2. ^This election was only for Senate candidates in Western Australia
  3. ^The ACT has aUnicameralparliament
  4. ^The party did not contest any seats in theHouse of Assembly

References[edit]

  1. ^Bourke, William (25 November 2016)."The Greens drive regular Aussies into the arms of Pauline Hanson".Crikey.
  2. ^"Registration of the Stable Population Party of Australia".aec.gov.au.Australian Electoral Commission(AEC).
  3. ^"Your cheat sheet to every party running in the Senate this federal election".ABC News.16 May 2019.
  4. ^Eddie, Rachel (20 May 2022)."Socialists, separatists and splinter groups - your Victorian Senate ticket guide".The Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. ^"Our Party - Sustainable Australia Party".sustainableaustralia.org.au.Sustainable Australia Party.Retrieved12 June2023.
  6. ^abc"Current register of political parties".Australian Electoral Commission.22 February 2019.Retrieved7 March2019.
  7. ^"Currently registered parties".Victorian Electoral Commission.Retrieved21 February2019.
  8. ^"State Register of Parties".New South Wales Electoral Commission.Retrieved21 February2019.
  9. ^abc"Issue Background".Australian Stable Population Party.Retrieved5 September2013.
  10. ^"POPULATION - THE EVERYTHING ISSUE".Flyer Distribution.20 January 2013.
  11. ^"#Sustainable Australia".Current Register of Political Parties.AEC. Archived fromthe originalon 27 January 2016.Retrieved19 January2016.
  12. ^ab"Population Party - Candidates".Australian Stable Population Party.Retrieved7 September2013.
  13. ^"House of Representatives Division First Preferences".Archived fromthe originalon 7 December 2015.Retrieved6 November2013.
  14. ^"Results".ABC News.
  15. ^Bormann, Trevor (5 September 2013)."Bitter dispute erupts over Senate preferences in Queensland".ABC News.
  16. ^"Micro parties alliance boosts their odds".www.dailytelegraph.com.au.5 September 2013.
  17. ^"What went wrong?".My Sunshine Coast.
  18. ^"Candidates for the 2016 federal election".Australian Electoral Commission.12 June 2016.Retrieved12 June2016.
  19. ^"Dick Smith joins lower immigration party".News.Retrieved24 September2017.
  20. ^Masanauskas, John."Businessman Dick Smith joins political party Sustainable Australia".Herald Sun.Retrieved24 September2017.
  21. ^"AEC 2020 Groom by-election results".Retrieved17 January2021.
  22. ^"Garth Hamilton elected new Member for Groom for the LNP at by-election".ABC News.28 November 2020.
  23. ^"North Sydney - Notes on the Election".Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Retrieved22 January2022.
  24. ^"North Sydney mayor makes shock exit from mayoral contest".Retrieved22 January2022.
  25. ^"Members of Parliament (MPs) & Councillors".Sustainable Australia Party.
  26. ^"'We need solutions now': Tonnes of recycling in Victoria going into landfill ".Nine News.4 March 2019.Retrieved10 March2019.
  27. ^"From grassland to wasteland: Victoria breaks promise to create environmental reserve".The Age.12 May 2019.Retrieved16 May2019.
  28. ^"Yes2Renewables".Twitter.16 October 2019.Retrieved25 October2019.
  29. ^Carey, Adam (11 December 2018)."Party in the upper house: Who's who on new Victorian crossbench".The Sydney Morning Herald.Fairfax Media.Retrieved9 September2020.
  30. ^"Migration numbers from Australian Parliamentary Library".www.aph.gov.au.
  31. ^ab"Policy Platform".Sustainable Australia.
  32. ^abcd"Policies - Sustainable Australia Party".sustainableaustralia.org.au.Sustainable Australia Party.Retrieved23 March2024.
  33. ^Sustainable Australia Party (2015)."Sustainable Australia Party - Anti-corruption & Governance".Sustainable Australia Party.Retrieved19 June2024.
  34. ^"Senate 2013 First Preferences By Group".Australian Electoral Commission.Retrieved9 April2018.
  35. ^"Senate 2016 First Preferences By Group".Australian Electoral Commission.Retrieved9 April2018.

External links[edit]

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