I know that About Seniors runs a non-political Newsletter, and that's probably a safe thing to do, but I wondered if there was enough interest in your readers to think seriously about the need for a Seniors Party for the Upper House in each State? [Yes I know about Queensland.]

We get glib answers from our elected representatives in NSW, but not much effective action. However, one very small party - The Shooters Party of NSW - gets listened to because of its power in the Upper House.

Ken Innes writes about the work needed to form a Seniors Party ; "It is relatively easy, but extremely time consuming. If you read the history of the Shooters Party of NSW, you will see how few people are actually needed to get a member elected as an MLC. What is required is a deep understanding of the preferential voting system & a good negotiator to do deals for the lost votes of other Parties. Basically, the Upper House of NSW has 42 members, of which 1/2 are elected every 4 years. Currently we have 19 Labor, 15 Lib/Nat. & 8 cross benchers. An elected member requires approx., 4.5% of the total first preferences, (a quota) to get in. The trick is to either do deals to get the 2nd preference of as many of the failures as possible & succeed by getting under the radar, or by doing a deal with a major Party to get their effective preferences, from the lost votes, over & above what is required for a Quota. The Shooters Party actually got John Tingle elected with a little over 4,000 primary votes.

The preferential voting system was brought in by the major Parties to make sure that no third Party can ever get elected. BUT, the system opens the door for groups, like the Seniors to get an effective balance of power, thereby making sure that whoever is in power, they have to look after the Party with the balance of Power in the Upper House. The system stinks to the high heavens, but, it is just a reminder, “if you want to play football, study the rules, before you don the boots”.

We only need around 2,000 to 2,500 registered members to get it rolling. BUT, that will take a lot of work from a few dedicated supporters."

There are quite a few "Catch 22" provisions in the NSW State laws - for example you can't have a Seniors Party website, as you are not allowed, by law, to open one until you are a registered Political Party, which you cannot form until you get the required amount of interest by - for example - having a webpage!

Is there anyone out there who has the time and ability to form a Seniors Party of NSW? We certainly need you!

Evan Holt
Batemans Bay