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RESULTS OF LATEST HEMP PARTY REGISTRATION EFFORT As at 13 January 2009, staff of the Commission had the following results for the 42 persons who were attempted to be contacted from the Party membership list: • 14 confirmations of membership That's one out of three. We extend our gratitude to the fourteen who confirmed for their unwavering support. It is a natural consequence of Prohibition that many cannabis users are alarmed by official contact, and some move about without leaving forwarding addresses at Post Offices. That is why we ask that you only become a member if you are settled and brave enough to reply to a registered letter or phone call from the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission), saying "Yes I am." If you can say "Yes, I am.", then "Yes We Can" make a difference. We need new members to replace these denying Peters! (see New Testament) Contact Graham Askey at the HEMP Party Bar over MardiGrass, or write to Graham Askey 9 Frank Street,Lismore, NSW 2480, or email graham.askey@gmail.com if you have questions.
Click on the form above for a higher definition version. If you wish to join, print out the
form, fill it out and sign it and post it to Mr G Askey A faxed or scanned copy of a signed document is not acceptable to the AEC. Mr G Askey Dear Mr Askey
At a further meeting on 19 February 2009, the Commissioners of the AEC determined to affirm the delegate’s decision to refuse re-registration to HEMP. The Commissioners’ statement of reasons for that decision is enclosed and will be placed on the AEC website in the next few days. This decision by the Commissioners of the AEC is a reviewable decision. A person (including an organization) affected by the decision may make a written application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the AAT) in accordance with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975. Applications for review should normally be made to the AAT within 28 days of your receipt of this advice. Full detail on the process of making an application to the AAT is available from the AAT website at www.aat.gov.au.
Shawn O’Brien April 2009
Statement of Reasons – Decision of the Australian Electoral Commission
The Determination of the Delegate to Refuse Application for Party Registration is Affirmed by the Australian Electoral Commission File reference: Reg3145 2007/622
The Australian Electoral Commission (the Commission) is established as a statutory authority of the Commonwealth of Australia under section 6 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act). The Commission as presently constituted consists of the following persons – Chairperson, the Hon James Burchett QC, the Electoral Commissioner, Mr Ed Killesteyn and the non-judicial member, Mr Brian Pink. The functions and powers of the Commission are set out in section 7 of the Electoral Act and include “to perform functions that are permitted or required to be performed by or under this Act”. Section 126 of the Electoral Act sets out the requirements for the making of an application for registration as a political party. Subsection 126(3) of the Electoral Act states that when an application for registration as a political party is received by the Commission, it shall be dealt with in accordance with Part XI and the Commission shall “determine whether the party can be registered”. One of the requirements contained in section 126 of the Electoral Act is that an application may only be made by an “eligible political party”. The term “eligible political party” is defined in subsection 123(1) of the Electoral Act and in the case of a political party that is not a Parliamentary party, it must have “at least 500 members”. Paragraph 126(2)(ca) of the Electoral Act requires that when making a written application for registration, the intended registered officer of the eligible political party shall “include a list of the 500 members of the party to be relied on for the purposes of registration”. The Party application In an application received by the AEC on 16 April 2007 the person who is the intended registered officer of the Help End Marijuana Party (HEMP) Party (the Party), Mr Graham Askey, lodged a written application with the Commission for the registration of the Party as a non-parliamentary party under Part XI of the Electoral Act. In that application, it was indicated that the Party would seek to receive election funding. After an initial consideration of the written application lodged by the intended registered officer, a Delegate of the Commission wrote to Mr Askey on 21 August 2007 issuing a notice pursuant to section 131 of the Electoral Act. Section 131 enables the Commission to issue a notice in certain circumstances inviting the applicant to vary the application where “after initial consideration of an application for the registration of a political party, the Commission is of the opinion that it is required to refuse the application….”. In the Delegate’s letter, the Delegate advised Mr Askey that staff of the Commission had completed a random sample check of the Party’s membership list on 8 August 2007 and, based on the results of that check, the Delegate was of the opinion that he could not be satisfied that the Party had the required 500 members. Mr Askey was advised that this random sample check of 20 persons claimed to be members of the Party had resulted in 6 persons confirming membership, while one person denied membership and 13 persons failed to respond to both telephone calls and subsequent letters from the AEC. Mr Askey was invited to submit a fresh membership list and to advise whether he wished the application to proceed. In a letter dated 3 October 2007 addressed to the then Electoral Commissioner, Mr Ian Campbell, Mr Askey responded to the Delegate of the Commission stating that the membership sampling undertaken by the Commission was “fundamentally flawed” as it was, inter alia, “a test of, party resources, fear or laxity of members, residential mobility or whether the person has a telephone listed in their name”. Various other concerns were raised about the delays in undertaking the membership checks and whether those checks complied with the requirements of the Electoral Act. Specific reference was made to the NSW Supreme Court decision in Save Our Suburbs (SOS) NSW v Electoral Commissioner of NSW [2002] NSWSC 785. Mr Askey asserted that the membership forms “should be accepted at face value” by the Commission. Mr Askey did not provide any further membership details, requesting “that the application go ahead as is …..”. The November 2007 general election and the by-elections in Gippsland, Mayo and Lyne brought section 127 of the Electoral Act into operation which prevented any further action being taken in relation to the application of the Party during the periods specified in that section. The initial decision On 14 May 2008, the Deputy Electoral Commissioner as delegate of the Commission refused the Party’s application under section 126 and provided a statement of reasons for the decision as required by subsection 133(3). Commission staff advised Mr Askey by letter dated 15 May 2008 and included a copy of the Delegate’s statement of reasons for the decision. Those reasons concluded that the Delegate was not satisfied that the Party had the necessary 500 members to be eligible for registration under sections 123, 124 and 126 of the Electoral Act. The Delegate relied on the check of the sample of 20 persons named as members that was completed in August 2007 as the reason for concluding that he was not satisfied that the requirements of Part XI had been met because “ the results of the test indicated a significant probability that there were not 500 members”. In a letter dated 22 May 2008, Mr Askey wrote to the then Electoral Commissioner in relation to the decision of the Delegate to refuse the registration of the Party under Part XI of the Electoral Act. In the opening paragraph of this letter Mr Askey sought a review of the Delegate’s decision by the Commission, for which provision is made by section 141 of the Electoral Act. In that letter Mr Askey challenged the sampling test used by the staff of the Commission to ascertain whether the Party had 500 members, arguing that the sampling was inconsistent with the requirements of the Electoral Act. Mr Askey raised further points about the sampling methodology used by the Commission staff and the ability of members to resign from the Party. Mr Askey also adopted the earlier submissions made by his letter of 5 October 2007 [which appears to duplicate his letter of 3 October 2007].
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 Commission to maintain a ‘Register of Political Parties’. Applications to register political parties are determined under section 126 of the Electoral generally by a delegate of the Commission. Section 141 of the Electoral Act permits persons affected by a decision made by the delegate of the Commission to make a written application to the Commission to review the delegate’s decision. Applications are required to:
The Party’s application for review lodged by Mr Askey claimed that the random sample membership test applied by Commission staff and the results of which were relied upon by the Delegate of the Commission to parties seeking registration was an invalid exercise of the power to undertake membership checks to establish whether the Party had “at least 500 members” .
Subsection 123(1) of the Electoral Act defines an “eligible political party” as a political party that is either a Parliamentary party or has at least 500 members. Subsection 123(3) indicates that a member of a political party means a person who is both a member of a political party and is entitled to enrolment under the Electoral Act (see Part VII for the enrolment requirements). Subsection 126(2) requires that an application to register a political party that is not a Parliamentary party be accompanied by a list of the names of 500 members to be relied on for the purposes of registration. In considering the application, the staff of the Commission conduct
a series of tests to assist the Commission or its delegate to determine
whether the Commission may be satisfied that an applicant party has
at least 500 members, including: The random sample test of membership involves contacting a random sample of 20 people from the membership list by phone and by mail if necessary. Where more than one of the randomly selected people from the membership list cannot be confirmed as a member, then the membership test has been failed. The membership tests are intended to allow the delegate of the Commission
(and on review the Commission itself) to be satisfied that an applicant
Party has the required 500 members. Consideration of the review The application for review of the decision of the Delegate to reject the application to register the Party was considered at the Commission meeting of 5 November 2008. At that meeting, the Commission requested that staff of the Commission undertake further investigation involving the conduct of another random sample membership check against the list of 500 members provided by the Party using a test to be supplied by the Australian Statistician. The test required a responding sample of 40 people selected randomly from the membership list. If five or more of the people contacted denied being members of the Party, then it is statistically probable that the number of actual members in the membership list is less than 500. The staff of the Commission wrote to the 40 randomly selected persons on the Party membership list on 24 November 2008 to seek their cooperation to confirm whether or not they were members of the Party. Further letters were despatched by Commission staff on 4 December 2008 by registered post with two additional persons being randomly selected as replacements for two randomly selected members who had failed to include telephone contact details. The letters from the Commission staff enclosed replied paid and addressed envelopes to facilitate replies. As at 13 January 2009, staff of the Commission had the following results for the 42 persons who were attempted to be contacted from the Party membership list: • 14 confirmations of membership; The random sample membership check did not disclose any
cross-party or internal duplicates and no members under 17 years of
age.
In all of the circumstances, including the results of the further random sample membership check requested by the Commission on 5 November 2008, the applicant for registration has failed to satisfy the Commission that the applicant party can be registered. In particular, the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant Party has 500 members as required by sections 123 and 126 of the Electoral Act, given that the list submitted under paragraph 126(2)(ca) of the Electoral Act (which the Party refused to vary despite being afforded the opportunity by the section 131 notice) contained no more than 538 alleged members and the results of the test of those 42 persons claimed to be members indicate a significant statistical probability that there are not at least 500 members, as 11 out of the 42 denied that they were members. Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant to subsection 141(4) of the Electoral Act, affirms the decision under review.
J C S Burchett E Killesteyn B Pink
12th April 2009 - Hello people. MardiGrass time again, and another drive for members who are settled enough and brave enough to be able to confirm their membership with the AEC. We have not heard back on the results of the latest membership check, so the registration process continues.
December 2008 : The AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) is currently doing another membership check in response to our appeal against the previous check, where not enough members confirmed that they were members. As a result we failed the membership test instituted under Howard for parties without sitting members. If you are contacted by the AEC please confirm your membership promptly.
NEW MEMBERSHIP DRIVE FOR BRAVER HEMP PARTY MEMBERS Please don't join
the HEMP Party unless you are willing to confirm your membership
to AEC officials on the phone. If you are unfindable or unwilling
to confirm membership, don't join, because it stuffs it up for the
rest of us. Sorry, but that's how it works. Give us as many ways to
contact you as possible to make it easier to confirm your membership
with the AEC. HEMP PARTY-NOT DEAD YET The Nimbin based HELP END MARIJUANA PROHIBITION party is in limbo, undead, neither registered nor de-registered. We did not contest the 2007 Federal elections because we had not been re-registered in time. The Howard government had arbitrarily de-registered all political parties, without a current representative in Parliament in December 2006. Our application for re-registration, complying with all the requirements of the Electoral Act, was submitted early in April 2007. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) took until August, three weeks before the election was called, to advise us that we had failed their membership test. We replied asking that our application be accepted as is, or be reviewed by the commissioners. We intended to appeal any negative review. The calling of the election froze this process and nothing has happened since.
Fourteen out of twenty menbers fail to confirm membership. Registration fails.
Mr Graham Askey Re: Application to register a political party Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party Dear Mr Askey On 10 April 2007, the Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC) received an application to register Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act). Your party's application for registration was advertised on the 20 July 2007 with a closing date of 20 August 2007 for objections, if any, to be submitted. The AEC has undertaken a series of tests to ascertain whether your party meets the requirements for registration. As a result of these tests, the AEC was unable to determine whether your party has at least 500 members (i.e. your party has failed a branch of the 'membership test'). If this is not rectified, your application may be refused following the close of objections period. Membership check Section 123 of the Electoral Act requires a non Parliamentary party to have at least 500 members (who are entitled to enrolment) to be eligible for registration. A party's eligibility is assessed in two ways. The secretary supplies a statutory declaration annexing the membership forms provided, declaring that the forms are signed by the people identified on them and that they have been accepted by the party as members. The AEC conducts a membership test on a random sample
of 20. members of the Party. The purpose of this test is to check
for incorrect memberships on the basis that if a party relies on memberships
of people who do not consider themselves members, then it is unlikely
to have the required membership to be eligible for registration. The
criterion for a successful random membership check is. to achieve
19 confirmations of party membership from the 20 people chosen at
random. To pass a membership test, you need to provide the AEC with a list of at least 500 members who are prepared to confirm their membership of the party. In order for your party to have the best chance of being registered in a time for the forth coming Federal election, you should rectify this failing as soon as possible after close of objections to your party's registration on 20 August 2007. Please advise the AEC whether you: •wish the application to go ahead having failed the membership test and be rejected; or •submit a fresh list of members. A copy of the relevant parts of section 4 and of sections 123, 126 and 131 of the Electoral Act are enclosed. Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Shawn O'Brien on (02) 6271 4667. Alternatively you can contact us by email at fad@aec.gov.au. Yours sincerely Paul Dacey, 21 August 2007 So only 30% of those registered as HEMP Party members confirmed. Our deepest thanks to the six that did. 2007 Ok, we're going for it again! Register now for the Federal election, and be prepared to keep your details up to date, and confirm your membership immediately if you are one of the lucky twenty that are checked. Anyone fails to respond, we fail to register. Also, for those living in NSW, we want to register as a party for council elections (held next year), same conditions as above, and if we are successful, we would like to hear from those interested in standing in their council elections as HEMP candidates. Ironically enough, this registration situation came about when we helped expose Malcolm Jones and the bogus "Marijuana Freedom Party" in 2004, and the Federal Government's response was to make it more difficult for Parties without sitting members, by requiring them to register each election and pass a membership check that requires a 100% response. We can only wonder if parties with sitting members would pass the same test. The Eureka Flag You see a lot of "Eureka Flags" on stickers, Tshirts, cups etc that have a white cross and stars with a dark blue outline around the cross and stars, and for the background.
That is not the way the Eureka flag looked. On the actual flag the cross and stars were made of a cheap undyed fabric (Hemp?) with a white embroidery outline, on a dark blue background.
27/1/2006 "The news is all bad?" Due to a How(h)ard change in electoral laws, parties without sitting members must do a new application each election. Our efforts with regard to exposing Malcolm Jone's fake parties have resulted in small parties being frozen out of the system. Our choices have been nobbled. This makes it extremely difficult to get a HEMP candidate up in future federal elections. The Greens have backed down on drugs policy. They have dropped their proposal to investigate regulating the supply of marijuana and ecstasy, which attracted unfavourable publicity during the 2004 federal election campaign. Instead they propose to establish a drugs policy institute to evaluate programs aimed at reducing the impact of drug use. The Greens leader, Bob Brown, said the new policy backed criminal penalties for supply or possession of illegal drugs and endorsed harm minimisation programs. I have no idea how or why ecstasy was included in that. NSW Labor courted us vigourously for preferences when elections were on, but were almost unreachable any other time. Abbott and Pyne have forshadowed a new crackdown on cannabis users in particular. (Remember the Pogroms) We are just not "their sort of people". Saliva testing drivers without any evidence that cannabis impairs driving. No limit specified like .08 of a joint, just illegal to drive with any amount at all in your system. The recent National Cannabis Strategy specifically excluded any submissions on law reform or medical use. They made it clear that they were NOT options. If only politicians would say this. 2000 Registration of Federal HEMP Party 2001 Ryan By-election Aftermath 2001 Elections - Press Releases Federal HEMP Party Constitution A RELEASE MEDIA
RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE ME This page pretty much tells the story of the HEMP Party. With the new registration requirements it would be very hard for us to get up an election attempt. It was a nightmare trying to locate our members when the AEC checked our membership. Our members seem to shift home a lot. We managed though, and it was noted that the major parties had the same problem. Then they came up with the bright idea to make parties without sitting members re-register every election. The cost of administering this, and campaign costs, make it too difficult an exercise for the immediate future.. Its also a very dirty business.
RATTLE THE RATS! 2004 Elections
VOTE FOR HEMP!
We think we stuffed up our preference deals so please go wildcard for us, and number all squares below the line so that your vote goes where you really want it to!!! Vote below
the line for NSW HEMP Senate Candidates! In the House of Representatives the only HEMP Candidate is Judy Canales in the seat of Capricornia in Queensland. We wish we had more candidates, and if you are interested in standing in future elections, please get in touch.
IF HEMP HAS NO CANDIDATE IN YOUR ELECTORATE The Greens have an excellent cannabis law reform policy. We would also suggest that Labor is better than the Coalition. At least Latham inhaled, and the word "regulation" is in the Labor ten point plan on cannabis! Howard, on the other hand, smugly told us at the Lismore RSL (see photo below) he'd never even heard of "farmer's hemp", and is sworn to a zero tolerance war on drugs (that means us ) attitude. Remember cannabis is on the agenda. Mr Carr has already stated that he will be visiting the new PM for a deal on a medical cannabis trial immediately after the election. How about this weeks announcement by the Defence Department who have a treatment program called 'Weed Control' advising safer drug use such as, eating hash cookies instead of smoking joints! Is this in the field? Attitudes are clearly changing on cannabis, and Howard is out of touch. Voting below the line in NSW, after HEMP, the Greens have easily the best cannabis law reform policy , and then put Labor ahead of Liberal-National Coalition candidates. We particularly recommend the Greens NSW No1 Senate Candidate, John Kaye, the only Green in NSW likely to be elected, and a good advocate of cannabis law reform for us in Canberra. This statement was written
and authorised by The HEMP Party stands for an ecologically sound and socially just Australia. If elected, we would be supporting initiatives in these
areas,
Reasons to VOTE 1 HEMP.
This was a topic of extreme discussion recently
and a range of suggestions were made by an informal
Do YOU have any policy or campaign ideas to put the HEMP Party into the hearts and minds of Australia? We had a messageboard, but viagra and other spammers forced its closure. Only the real posts are left. Contact the HEMP Party 2004 Contacts: HEMP Party candidate, Michael Balderstone admits trying pot long ago, and says, "I didn't exhale..." Michael Balderstone
HEMP is back in the Political Games Arena!
May 2004 NSW HEMP Party Update. HEMP in DANGER of DEREGISTRATION! Get the Application Form here!
MAKE SURE THESE DETAILS ARE IDENTICAL TO VOTERS ROLL INCLUDE OCCUPATION AND PHONE ANY INACCURACY LEADS TO REJECTION OF FORM Send it to: 51 Cullen Street, Nimbin, NSW 2480. Mr G Askey
Registered Officer Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party 9 Frank Street LISMORE 2480 It's an exciting time on the planet for Cannabis Law Reform. Radical changes are happening in Canada, Europe and England. Not so in Australia because our leader takes his orders from the United States, it seems. With your help we can be on the 2007 ballot paper and with luck replace a shooter with a toker in the NSW Upper House. While we have had some success this year, the best Mardi Grass yet, pressure on sniffer dogs in Byron Bay forced them out of town, exposure of Malcolm Jones MLC in trying to impersonate us by forming the bogus Marijuana Freedom Party to hijack our vote and preferences may yet see him expelled from Parliament. HEMP voters preferences were pivotal in electing Green Senator Kerry Nettle into Federal Parliament. Our submissions on the Medical Marijuana Trial Legislation helped, but there is still a long way to go. This is why we need a HEMPster in Parliament, and that's not impossible. The Shooters Party scraped in with 80,000 votes, roughly the same number of people who've been unjustly arrested for cannabis offences in NSW over the four year life of the Parliament. First we need to get official registration with the NSW State Electoral Office. We still need another 250 new members, so get in touch!! "At the present time declaration
of membership forms have been lodged by 471 persons who are enrolled
and who claim to be members of the party. As you are aware 750 such
forms are required to support the application.
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THANKS to the intelligent & compassionate people who voted for the HEMP Party in the Federal Election on Nov 10, 2001. SENATE In NSW 32,641, as at 6/12/2001. In QLD 25,132, as at 28/11/2001.
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A Message from George Bernard Shaw
The old notion that people can "keep themselves
to themselves" and not be touched by what is happening to their neighbors,
or even to people who live a hundred miles off, is a most dangerous
mistake. The saying that we are members one of another is not a mere
pious formula...It is a literal truth; for though the rich end of the
town can avoid living with the poor end, it cannot avoid dying with
it when the plague comes.
People will be able to keep to themselves as much as they please when they have made an end to poverty; but until then they will not be able to shut out the sights and sounds and smells of poverty from their daily walks, nor feel sure from day to day that its most violent and fatal evils will not reach them through their strongest police guards.
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Authorised by: Mr G. Askey, for the HEMP Party, 9 Frank Street,Lismore, NSW 2480. http://www.hempparty.net Copyright © 2009 Help End Marijuana Prohibition Party. This Site maintained by HEMP Media. Email: hemp@exemail.com.au  |
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