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Australian Electoral Commission
File reference: Reg3780
The delegate of the Australian Electoral Commission determined that the Stable Population Party of Australia should be registered under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
On 31 May 2010, the Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC) received an application from the Stable Population Party of Australia for registration as a federal political party under the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act).
Political parties may apply for registration for the purposes of federal elections in accordance with the requirements of Part XI of the Electoral Act. 'The Act requires the AEC to maintain a publicly available 'Register of Political Parties'. The Register is available on the AEC's website.
The provisions specifically relevant for the current application under consideration are sections 4, 123, 124, 126, 129, 132, 132A and 133 of the Electoral Act. An extract of the relevant provisions is available adjacent to this document on the AEC website.
In relation to this Party, the relevant provisions require it to:
This new political party is established on the basis of a written constitution, which sets up an organisation with established principles and sets out its objectives. One of its objectives includes endorsing candidates to contest Senate and House of Representatives elections.
The party has its own phone number, as well as a physical address and a postal address. The AEC was unable to assess its ongoing financial activity because the party is only recently becoming active.
FAD assessed the party as meeting the test of being a political party under s4 of Electoral Act.
FAD assessed the application against the technical requirements in s126(2) of the Electoral Act as listed above. The application meets the technical requirements in s126(2).
The role of party secretary is clearly described and meets the requirements of s123 of the Electoral Act.
Section 123 of the Electoral Act requires a non-parliamentary party to have at least 500 members who are entitled to enrolment. The statutory declaration by the secretary states that each of the members on the list has been accepted as a member of the Party in accordance with the rules of the Party.
The AEC checks the membership list of each political party applying for registration to see if at least 500 members appear or have appeared on the electoral roll recently.
When the membership list submitted by the Stable Population Party of Australia with its application for registration was checked against the electoral roll, the number of people for whom matches could be found was 17 in excess of the minimum 500 members eligible for electoral enrolment.
The sample size of members to be contacted during the membership testing of the Stable Population Party was determined according to advice provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The total number of eligible members provided by the party was 517. The sample size to contact was 28. The number of denials of membership allowed was 2, that is at least 26 members to confirm their membership.
All 28 the persons contacted by the AEC confirmed that they were members of the Stable Population Party of Australia. The party is assessed as having the required number of members.
The party provided a reasonably detailed constitution with its application. The party's constitution states the endorsement of candidates at a federal election as one of its objectives and includes significant detail in relation to the structure of the party. It also discusses the terms and conditions of membership of the party in detail.
The constitution defines the positions of the executive committee including the role of the secretary in a manner consistent with the provisions of s123 of the Electoral Act.
Section 129 prohibits the registration of parties with certain names. Specifically, the name shall not be approved if any of the following conditions are met. That it:
The name sought is Stable Population Party of Australia and the party abbreviation requested is Stable Population Party. The AEC checked the Federal Register of Political Parties and that of each State and Territory and there are no similar party names. The AEC considers that the proposed name and abbreviation do not invoke any of the prohibitions in s129.
On 17 June 2010 the delegate determined that the party's application had passed its initial consideration for registration and the application was advertised for public objection on 23 June 2010.
The issue of writs on 19 July 2010 for the federal elections meant that no further action could be taken on this application until the final return of all outstanding writs on 17 September 2010.
No objections to the registration of the Stable Population Party of Australia were received.
I am satisfied the party is an eligible political party under s123 of the Electoral Act and that there are no reasons to prevent its registration.
The Stable Population Party of Australia is registered.
Sue Sayer
Director Funding and Disclosure
Delegate of the Australian Electoral Commission
23 September 2010
The AEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.