The Senate ballot paper for New South Wales this year has candidate groupings from A up to AR, and 4 ungrouped candidates, with 110 candidates in all. To give some guidance, I am giving a quick summary of the parties.
For more detail on the parties, visit belowtheline.org.au, which provides links to all of the party web sites, as well as to Wikipedia and individual candidate pages. It also has a drag-and-drop form for creating your own personal Senate how-to-vote card, if you want to vote below the line in the Senate.
Group A - Liberal Democrats
In true Australian tradition, this party has named itself after something it is not. It is a libertarian party, not a liberal democratic party. This means that they believe governments have no right to interfere with other people except to stop them hurting others who do not want to be hurt.
Libertarians generally support same sex marriage, voluntary euthanasia, free immigration, free trade, repealing laws against incest, repealing drug prohibition laws, repealing gun laws, minimal taxes and minimal government spending.
Libertatians also generally oppose any form of welfare payments, government ownership of any businesses, and foreign aid.
The Liberal Democratic Party has softened some of these positions, particularly on welfare, where they support a reduction of eligible categories, but not an elimination of welfare payments.
While the freedom of individual choice is paramount to libertarians, their policies would, as a side effect, result in the lower taxes than could happen under a group with any other political philosophy.
Group B - No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics
The climate sceptics claim that "all policy and legislation should emerge from a balanced and objective assessment of available information", but then demonstrate a complete failure to objectively assess scientific information.
While they claim to be a centrist party, their policies all stem out of their persistent denial that climate change is real.
Group C - Democratic Labour Party
A party with a strange mix of left wing, right wing, centre liberal and religion inspired policies, with a bit of junk science thrown in. Their best policies are mostly harmless. Their worst policies adopt the worst of various extreme policital views, including discredited protectionism, religious bigotry, direct interference in the internal affairs of other nations, opposition to multiculturalism, opposition to gay marriage, school vouchers.
Group D - Senator Online (Internet Voting Bills/Issues)
This party does not have any policies. They would vote the way people tell them to on the Internet. This is in the Senate, which is where the major parties try to put people with a special talent for reviewing the nuts and bolts of bills, and the procedure is set up to allow for careful analysis of them.
In practice, this proposal would give a great deal of power to people who have nothing better to do with their time than sit around pressing buttons on the online voting pages (or, it now seems, their smart phone).
Group E - Voluntary Euthanasia Party
Strangely for this country, this party is exactly what it says on the label - a single issue party which supports voluntary euthanasia. This makes it difficult to figure out what they would do on other issues.
Group F - (unnamed)
This group is actually set up to support its lead candidate, an independent named Andrew Whalan. He offers limited information on his policies (in the drop-down "Topical Database" link on his web site). The policies he does describe are generally left-liberal with a slight dash of libertarianism and law-and-order, so it seems he believes in personal freedoms. He supports the Labor version of the NBN, and more generally believes inn promoting the building of infrastructure, so may be worth a vote if you support that, but do not support Labor.
Group G - Help end Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party
This is another single issue party that is exactly what it says on the box. So we know they would try to repeal laws against Marijana, but we have no idea what else they would do.
Group H - Carers Alliance
This is a narrow issue party, that promotes the interest of carers. While they want faster implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, they also have policies directed at carers for children, the aged, and people with mental health issues, and those policies are predominantly about money. Outside that narrow focus, they are a bit of an unknown.
Group I - The Wikileaks Party
A party that wants all information ever produced to be published, even if that damages our national interests. It also seems to want to prevent its leader from facing justice. There do not seem to be any other policies.
They claim to want transparency, accountability and justice, and when they say "justice", they apparently mean they want to be able to run and hide from it.
Group J - Rise Up Australia Party
This party has an unusal mix of policies from across the political spectrum, making it difficult to classify. They are protectionist, with a hint of racism, but also have some liberal and libertarian policies and oppose religion-based policy but also oppose same sex marriage. Many of their policies appear to be motherhood statements.
Group K - Future Party
Unlike other minor parties, the Future Party has a wide range of very long policy statements. Unfortunately the policies are so padded with motherhood statements that it is difficult to find the actual policies in them. If you want to look in more detail, search within their policy pages for the string "policy:"
It appears that most of their policies are centred around the idea of promoting scientific and technological progress, and are very detailed in that area. They do cover other issues, including detailed plans for constitutional reform, support for gay marriage, support for the Labor version of the NBN, support for a carbon price, and support for higher immigration.
Their policies that are not simply promoting technological development are generally centre-left liberal.
Group L - Christian Democratic Party
Neither christian nor democratic, this party seeks to impose its religious rules by force on others who do not share their religion.
Group M - Labor
We know who they are and what they stand for - or do we?
Group N - Katter's Australian Party
Known informally as the Mad Katters, or Mad Katter's Tea Party, this party does not articulate its policies. Rather, it articulates its goals, which are generally motherhood statements, and simply says it will pursue policies to achieve those goals (or in some cases to pursue goals opposite to the ones it articulates). Katter historically has pursued protectionist policies with some selective socialism, despite apparently seeing himself as a conservative, however the candidates of this party are likely more varied than that, so this party is difficult to classify.
Group O - Australian Voice
A party that is a little bit to the right of the current Liberal Party, but not quite so far to the right as One Nation.
Group P - Sex Party
A moderate centre liberal party with a very slight left lean. Most people will find few of their policies objectionable, despite the poor branding choice.
Group Q - Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party
Although this party has a list of broader policies, outside of the core fishing area their policies are motherhood statements lacking in substance. The party is a single issue party looking after the interests of commercial and recreational fishers.
Group R - The Greens
A well known party that is generally left liberal or soft socialist.
Group S - Palmer United Party
The Palmer United Party is running a slogan-based campaign of policies that are crafted to be superficially attractive, but do not withstand close scrutiny. The policies are centred around large tax cuts and increases in spending, with the policies that have been announced having a cost of between $100billion and $180billian. Whether their spending amounts to $100billion or $180billion, their policies are financially reckless. They could not be achieved without serious defecits, serious undisclosed cuts to services, or tax increases - they would have to attack the rest of the budget with napalm to achieve what they promise.
Group T - Building Australia Party
A special interests party for the building industry, without any substantial policies.
Group U - Uniting Australia Party
A party with a 10 broad policies assembled from the left and the right of the political spectrum, but mostly from the right. Generally protectionist and populist.
Group V - Stop the Greens
A moderate libertarian party, with a special focus on supporting outdoor recreation groups.
Group W - Smokers Rights
A single issue party with an offensive odour.
Group X - Bullet Train for Australia
A single issue party promoting development of high speed rail, initially from Newcastle to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra.
Group Y - Liberals and Nationals
We know what they stand for - getting elected at all costs. And they are not afraid to pander to fear, bigotry and xenophobia to do it.
Group Z - Australian Protectionist Party
A right wing nationalist and protectionist party.
Group AA - Animal Justice Party
A party of vegans who are more concerned with the rights of animals than the rights of people. They have no policies at all directed at nation building or people.
Group AB - Australia First Party
A nationalist socialist party. You may be more familiar with this kind of party by its contracted name, "nazi". Before writing that I was concerned I might be breaching Godwin's law, but I checked, and it is not a violation of Godwin's law if that term is used as an accurate description.
The party's current leader was actually previously the leader of a party called the National Socialist Party, but even though the Australia First Party does not bear the "National Socialist" name, it certainly bears the policies of the national socialist movement.
The party is openly racist, openly nationalist, and openly socialist.
Group AC - Australian Independents
A leftist party whose policies are directed almost entirely to social welfare issues.
Group AD - Drug Law Reform
A single issue party directed at decriminalising drug use, and treating drug use as a health issue. It is not quite clear from their policy statement, but they may believe in decriminalising and regulating drug supply.
Group AE - Socialist Equality Party
A true socialist party in the tradition of Marx, Engels and Trotsky.
Group AF - Australian Democrats
A centre liberal party. The party appears to have had considerable difficulty attracting good candidates for this election.
Group AG - (unnamed)
A group focused predominantly on external affairs issues, promoting free trade (especially with Asia), skilled migration, and tax concessions for multi-generational households.
Group AH - Family First Party
A party that seeks to impose its religious rules on others who do not share their religion.
Group AI - Stable Population Party
A party promoting zero population growth. They insist that increasing population is the cause of all of the nation's problems.
Group AJ - Shooters and Fishers
A far right party whose policies include denying global warming.
Group AK - Stop CSG
A single issue party dedicated to stopping coal seam gas mining.
Group AL - The Australian Republicans
While this party describes itself as libertarian, it has few stated policies, most of the policies are directed at consitutional change, and of the policies they do state, one is definitely not libertarian, and only one definitely is libertarian. They might be more liberal than libertarian, but it is hard to tell because of the short policy descriptions.
Group AM - Socialist Alliance
A socialist party. Perhaps not quite Marx and Engels socialist, but close.
Group AN - Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting)
A mostly single issue party seeking to promote equal time shared parenting, that has also adopted policies on other issues that are a mix of left and right policies, many of which are influenced by the party's core issue.
Group AO - Pirate Party
A party seeking to limit copyright and patent laws. It also has a broader platform promoting the free flow of information and ideas, and otherwise promoting centre-liberal to left-liberal policies.
Group AP - Secular Party of Australia
This Party's foundational principal is that religion has no place in politics or policy. Their other policies derive from that, so that their policies promote individual freedom and oppose government interference in private affairs. This means the policies are almost all by-the-book centre-liberal policies, and I think most people will find almost all of their policies very sensible.
The policy of promoting individual freedom is reflected in policies in favour of gay marriage and legalising voluntary euthanasia.
Some of their policies do go far enough that they risk offending adherents to religions, and the "Secular Party" branding does not help with that. One policy some might have difficulty accepting is a ban on religious education in school (private schools would be allowed to foster religion provided it is out of hours and voluntary).
Their opposition to religion in politics is so strong that their how-to-votes put the parties with religious elements in their policies (including the Democratic Labor Party) even further down on the list than the nazi parties.
Group AQ - Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party
A narrow issue party promoting its view of morotists' interests.
Group AR - One Nation
A right wing party of racists.
Ungrouped
These candidates are:
- Ron Poulson - a communist
- David Ash - claims to be a centre liberal
- Sam Nathan - position unknown
- John La Mela - position unknown