One of the most interesting democratic movements of recent years has been Australia’s Community Independents Project. The movement is a grassroots initiative, built on an intimate understanding of local concerns, and sharing political organizing tactics. Although its origins were in a rural electorate, the movement has had its most success in the country’s wealthiest, well-educated seats, where suspicion of the Liberal Party in its formerly safest seats has grown.
Yet the movement now finds itself at a crossroads about how to proceed, with several independents elected via the model contemplating forming a political party. Were they to do so, it would present the next stage in the fracturing of Australian politics. It also may prove an enormous risk to what has made the movement appealing in the first place.
The impetus for the discussion on forming a new party has come from Australia’s new campaign finance laws. These laws introduce caps on donations and campaign spending, alongside stricter disclosure rules. To compensate for lost private revenue, established parties would receive tens of millions of dollars more in public funding. While the laws were ostensibly designed to reduce the influence of big money in politics, they also serve to significantly raise the bar for new political entrants, creating considerable advantages for incumbents.
