Drug Law Reform Australia has officially deregistered with the Australian Electoral Commission.
According to party founder Greg Chipp, the single-issue party was finding it too difficult to continue with recent changes to Senate voting laws.
“Single-issue parties like Drug Law Reform must now look to pursuing their goals outside of the electoral process, where a number of “political” causes like the conservation movement have achieved much in the past,” said Chipp in a release.
Read the full release from today below.
—
On the 9th July the AGM of Drug Law Reform Australia voted to deregister the party with the Australian Electoral Commission.
I’d like to thank all members and supporters for their enthusiasm and hard work over the last 5 years.
At the last Senate election we came 14th out of 39 minor parties, beating many well-established groups like Marriage Equality and the Euthanasia party. Over a million voters put Drug Law Reform in their top 6 preferences.
But more important than the number of votes we received is that the party empowered ordinary Australians to stand up and speak out against the war on drugs.
However, due to the changes to Senate voting laws it is now practically impossible for a minor party to be elected or to be relevant in the electoral process.
Single-issue parties like Drug Law Reform must now look to pursuing their goals outside of the electoral process, where a number of “political” causes like the conservation movement have achieved much in the past.
To this end, the Drug Law Reform Australia Party has been voluntarily deregistered with the AEC and the incorporated association wound up, with the remaining assets transferred to Drug Policy Australia, a like-minded non-profit organisation.
Drug Policy Australia’s mission is to campaign for drug use to be treated as a health, not a criminal issue. The significant difference with the party is that Drug Policy Australia is an independent NGO and a registered Health Promotion Charity.
As directors of Drug Policy Australia, Dr John Sherman and I ask you to support Drug Policy Australia which as an NGO is in a better position to pursue the fight for drug law reform and human rights.
Finally let me thank everyone for your support and enthusiasm, particularly our valiant candidates.
If you have any questions regarding the above or ideas for drug law reform please email or call me anytime.
