Australian Sex Party Gets Registered in Victoria

Party President Fiona Patten said that the party would now field candidates for both upper and lower house seats in the Victorian state election on Nov. 27.

“We are one of only 11 parties registered at state level, and by far the newest," she said. “The registration process is rigorous and demanding, and our registration was only achieved through the committed efforts and generous support of our volunteers and supporters. This achievement by a party of our relative youth and size should send a clear message to the major parties that we are capable of making a serious mark on the Victorian political landscape."

The VEC received one objection to the party’s registration on the grounds that the name was obscene. This was dismissed and was only the second objection to the registration of a party that had ever been received. Patten said that the party’s name continued to obsess many people who equated "sex" with a particular "act."

“Sex means many things in a modern western democracy like Australia," she said. “It encompasses and depicts many aspects of our everyday lives including pleasure, gender, culture, finance, environment and law. The Liberal Party is not liberal anymore, the Labor party does not solely represent ‘labor.' Family First does not represent all families and the Greens are morphing into shades of pink and purple, so why would anyone think that the Sex Party simply stood for more sex?”

She said that the state election offered Victorian voters some stark contrasts in policy on personal freedoms. “If the DLP gains balance of power in the Upper House, the current abortion laws would come under direct and strong attack," she said. “The unconscionable abortion trial in Cairns gives us a horrifying glimpse into the future of Victoria, as imagined by the DLP. Depending on the outcome of the upcoming State election, Victoria could be sending women to jail for exercising their reproductive rights as early as next year.”

She said that the Sex Party was the radical choice for a sensible Victoria and would present a policy suite unlike anything seen before at a state election.