Integrity in politics – you’ve got to be joking!
It is easy be to be cynical, but without integrity and long term vision in politics we are only re-arranging deckchairs on the Titanic.
How is AIC different?
We do not pretend to have all the answers. We will network with those already making a difference on the ground. Solutions to national issues are already out there if we only looked. We also do not claim to be above the corrupting influence power brings. Our candidates will run only for one Senate term and work within a clear framework of accountability. We see the real power in politics is the power of one – ‘democracy starts with me’. The AIC encourages people to move beyond blame, to get involved, to make a difference where they are.
What is AIC's goal?
Our goal is to help generate a new political culture. The web opens up the possibility of more direct grassroots democracy in a way just not possible before.
In Parliament, our goal is for independents of integrity to be elected to the Upper House, the Senate, in the 2007 Federal elections. The Upper House is the house where legislation should be objectively reviewed. With block-voting, major party control of both houses cannot serve democracy well.
Who does AIC represent?
Ordinary people who feel us-and-them party politics with its focus on staying in power cannot meet the long term challenges facing Australia. People who are tired of being lied to, of not being told the whole truth. People who expect, when mistakes are made, for a coming clean instead of more justifying. People who want to make a more direct input. People who want to create hope for future generations.
How is AIC financed?
Out of our own pockets. We do not accept corporate donations. We rely primarily on the internet to spread our message, not advertising.
As Independents is AIC against the major parties?
No. But our 2 party system is open to abuse. Independents serve as a check. Both Liberal and Labor have founding visions focussing on benefitting the ordinary person. The Liberal Party has stood for encouraging individual responsibility and initiative. Labor has stood up for the vulnerable and disenfranchised. However in the pursuit of power and pushing a particular ideology, these founding visions have been compromised, even going against their own founding beliefs.
So .... is AIC on the right or left?
Neither. All legislation will be reviewed according to the core values of sustainability, fairness, does the process have integrity, have historical injustices been addressed, and does it build community. This transcends traditional political categories. Depending on the issue some may see it as right or left, but the underlying values remain the basis for making decisions, not left or right ideology.
A Coalition of Independents – how does that work?
Our candidates will vote on all issues according to their own informed conscience. They are not bound by party censure or expulsion, as in the major parties, to all vote the same. However all candidates need to justify their decision on the basis of the core values of the AIC. All issues have an ethical component. If legislation is unfair to some, not sustainable, if the process is corrupt, if historical injustices have been ignored, if community has been diminished – then to that degree the legislation is unethical.
The real value of a coalition is the framework of core values and accountability set out in the constitution, and the ability to pool resources and perspectives.
What are the specific policies of AIC?
Our focus as Upper House independents is process, not a pre-determined and pre-judged set of policies. The AIC recognizes on any issue as independents we may reach different positions. Good process however keeps the focus on finding workable solutions, even on areas of difference, not on personalities or scoring political points.
The AIC also believes watershed legislation is best resolved not by those elected on a wide ranging party platform, but by all Australians in a referendum, easily done at each election. Information is power. Our conviction is that given all the facts, the people as a whole make better decisions every time over some elite group.
What is AIC's relationship to Lower House Independents?
We stand on their shoulders. It is the record of integrity of lower house independents that has given independents such a good name. Having said that we have no direct links.
The Aboriginal symbol at the heart of Australia represents the centrality of Aboriginal people to the identity of Australia. The traditional symbol of people sitting around a fire is a symbol also for a new political culture, where instead of government versus the ‘opposition’, genuine debate can take place, listening to each other instead of tearing the other down. In so many ways the path to Australia’s future, represented by the arrow, passes through its past, reaching out to the Pacific, Asia, and to the world.
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