Defend democracy and the right to protest

Victoria’s democratic system is broken. Rules that govern voting, party registration, political donations and transparency are geared to ensure the domination of the two major parties. The Victorian Labor government has also cracked down on the right to protest by strengthening police powers and applying criminal penalties to protest action. Victorian Socialists want to defend civil liberties and political rights – and we want to empower people to democratically control every part of social life.

What we think

1. Socialists defend democracy and want to extend it to every part of social life.
2. Capitalism is incompatible with genuine democracy because it establishes private, dictatorial control over the economy. This also means that capitalism constantly threatens limited, parliamentary democracy.
3. Socialists defend political rights, including freedom of opinion, freedom of speech and freedom of organisation. 
4. Social rights – including the rights to food, housing, healthcare, education and so on – must be instituted to maximise democratic participation and to create a more just, free and equal society.
5. Australia’s constitution, government, legal system and state institutions originated in British settler-colonialism, were built on the dispossession and genocide of Aboriginal people and are geared to serve the interests of capitalism. Consequently, they must be replaced.

What we'll fight for

1. Replace group ticket voting for the Victorian Legislative Assembly and give voters full control over their preferences.
2. Introduce professional restrictions applying to former members of parliament banning them from working as lobbyists or joining corporate boards for 10 years after leaving parliament.
3. Introduce recall provisions:
   1. A recall election may be triggered when 50 percent of voters in an electorate sign a petition demanding it.
   2. A general recall election may be triggered when 50 percent of voters in the state sign a petition demanding it. 
4. Introduce laws protecting whistle-blowers and prohibit contracts and laws that prevent the disclosure of criminal or corrupt behaviour.
5. Remove all legal restrictions on the right to protest and introduce greater protections for the right to protest.
6. Initiate a review of Victorian democratic institutions, with a view to considering alternative modes of election (for example, Mixed Member Proportional) and other reforms to ensure that government better represents the views of voters.