Democrat disruptions

Internal problems plague all political parties. In recent days Australia has witnessed a very high level disagreement between the Prime Minister and Treasurer over the future leadership of the parliamentary Liberal party. In a minor upset by comparison, the former national president of the Australian Democrats, Richard Pascoe, has quit after only three weeks in the job. He was reportedly frustrated by lack of disciplinary action against South Australian MP Sandra Kanck who recently told Parliament that a rave party is a safer environment than a bar and the drug ecstasy is not dangerous. The Democrats members, especially those such as Mr Pascoe who take on national positions, do need to be more stable in the interests of party stability, even amidst an often volatile political environment. This is not to igmnore the fact that Ms Kanck's comments were ill advised and that Senator Allison probably should have shown greater leadership in distancing the party from them.

Technorati Tags: Australian politics, Australian Democrats

Andrew Murray will not stand for preselection

Senator Andrew Murray, Australian Democrat senator for Western Australia, has announced that the will not be running at the next federal election expected some time early in 2007. Senator Murray has served two terms as Senator for Western Australia. This announcement has both positive and negative aspects for the Australian Democrats. It the Western Australian Democrats will have to campaign hard to get a new candidate known to the electorate, but it will also remove from the political spectrum a Senator somewhat tainted by scandals over leadership and intra-party wrangling in years past. Senator Murray spoke positively about the future of the democrats at the time his announcement, commenting that he felt sure Australians would realise how much they needed the Democrats in the Senate as a voice for fairness after witnessing the recent abuses of parliamentary power by the Howard government who currently control both houses.

Technorati Tags: australian politics, Australian Democrats, australian senate