June 23, 2010
A new political party, People Power, was launched on Mother's Day at the Imperial Hotel in Melbourne. The style of electioneering planned will be unique in the world for a registered party as all campaigns will be web-based and we won't be restricted just to politics.
The party has been founded by President Stephen Mayne and National
Director Vern Hughes but will be run by a board of trustees including
the following members:
Peter Mair
Former Senior Manager, Reserve Bank of Australia
Former senior adviser, Australian Financial System Inquiry (Campbell
Committee)
Consumer representative for thoroughbred horse-racing in NSW
Policy interests: Consumer issues, banking and finance, competition
policy.
Jim Bristow
Melbourne business: Fleet Leasing Sales & Management
Former Managing Director, Manufacturing & Wholesaling Company
Policy interests: Business ethics and accountability.
James Hardy
National Manager, Special Projects, Top 50 Company
Policy interests: Consumer and shareholder issues that impact on the
broader community, ethical investment, the 'triple bottom line',
banking.
David Rutledge
Small business operator
Former beef farmer
Former Director, National Beef Improvement Association
Policy interests: Agriculture, citizen participation, education.
Mark Ward will be the first People Power backed candidate standing in
the upcoming Aston by-election. Mark is a quality manager for an IT
company and former small businessman who lives just outside the
electorate.
Technically Mark will stand as an independent as People Power has today
launched its membership drive to secure the necessary 500 signatures for
federal registration which will be submitted to the AEC within four
weeks.
Mark joined People Power to advance his commitment to accountability and
transparency in business and government. He is a former member of the
Australian Democrats, but believes it long ago abandoned the role of
"keeping the bastards honest" and has lost the confidence of small
business.
People Power also announced its ticket for the upcoming Melbourne City
Council elections. Party president Stephen Mayne will be standing for
Lord Mayor and national director Vern Hughes will run for deputy Lord
Mayor.
Architect Richard Brew will be running for council as will a well-known
identity in sporting and business circles who has asked that his name be
withheld for a few days.
The MCC platform will be strong on ethics and accountability for
councillors and restoring public trust in the discredited council which
has an annual budget of $180 million.
The most notable part of the platform will be a policy of reducing
annual rates by up to 20 per cent and thereby reducing the risk of more
council spending on wasteful investments such as the $500 million
Federation Square project.
As a resident and worker in the city for 10 years, Stephen Mayne is sick
of paying $3000 a year in rates for little return.
On the corporate front, People Power will be backing Sydney-based IT
executive Glen Smith for a spot on the Macquarie Bank board at the AGM
in July. Glen is already running for the Keycorp board later this month
and has an MBA and 16 years experience in IT.
Stephen Mayne was the first Australian to try and systematically break
into the closed shop that is the corporate directors club and People
Power is now looking for other quality candidates to back.
Other corporate campaigns to be run this year include:
Commonwealth Bank: Opposing cash for comment with Alan Jones and passive
funds management.
John Fairfax: Need to remove conflicted directors and boost industry
experience.
News Corporation: need to reduce management and Murdoch family
dominance.
NRMA: Opposing cash for comment with John Laws and passive funds
management.
PBL: Opposition to political donations and need for more directors
independent of the Packers.
Westfield Trust: Need to get a board independent of Westfield Holdings.
Vern Hughes said there was no time like the present to launch a
political party and our proposition is unique to Australia.
"There is a huge vacuum in Australian politics. The two majors are
running on empty and the minor parties are not credible alternatives.
People Power aims to fill this vacuum. It will be a broad-based,
socially progressive, economically literate party," said Vern Hughes,
community worker and co-founder of People Power.
"People Power aims to renew Australia's democracy, reverse the
stagnation in our institutions, and revive our public life. It is the
only political party in Australia that will participate in elections in
public companies, trade unions, sporting bodies, associations, and local
governments, as well as elections for state and federal parliaments. It
will keep politicians, business leaders, and community representatives
on their toes, and drive transparency, accountability and performance in
all our institutions."
Stephen Mayne told the 50 people at the launch that People Power should
be seen as a party keen to bring competition to elected positions across
the board and that we should be judged on the quality of the candidates
we can find to challenge poorly performing incumbents.
" We can't be pigeon-holed as left or right wing because it really is a
mix of philosophy. We will be the only party to oppose rural
pork-barrelling and vote-buying. We will support increased immigration,
and oppose corporate cartels in banking, telecommunications, and the
media. We will expand consumer and shareholder rights. We will confront
gambling interests head on. We will put the spotlight on corporate
moguls and their relationships with lame regulators and tame
governments. We will be for an Australian republic."
In the coming federal election, People Power will contest the sixth
Senate position in each state and present itself as the only
economically literate alternative to the major parties.
The People Power prospectus is available at www.peoplepower.org.au
Contact: Vern Hughes: 0425 722 890: vern@sub.net.au
Stephen Mayne: smayne@crikey.com.au
ends
Now, here is some material discussing how Crikey will be affected by the
launch of People Power.
Firstly, if you want to check out the People Power site, read the
prospectus or get a membership form, just click here.
A number of people have and will continue to discourage Stephen Mayne's
involvement in such a venture, especially after carrying on like a pork
job for being denied access as a journalist to a John Brumby press
conference on business tax reform.
The simple answer to this is that ever since www.jeffed.com was launched
in September 1999, I have been combining journalism with activism.
I tried to stand against Jeff Kennett in the general election in
September 1999 and then did stand in the by-election for his old seat of
Burwood in December 1999 after the Kennett government was defeated.
We then backed independent Bill Hill in the Benalla by-election and I've
subsequently run for the boards of AMP, Axa, ASX, Commonwealth Bank,
David Jones, National Australia Bank, NRMA, WA News, Westfield Holdings
and Woolworths. We also backed Denise Brailey in her campaign against
Dodgy Doug Shave for the WA seat of Alfred Cove.
You can't compare People Power with any other political party because
someone like Pauline Hanson has never been a journalist. I won't stop
writing stories and passing commentary for our readers and subscribers.
Things will change if I actually get elected into a full time position
somewhere but until that time my full time position will be as the
publisher of www.crikey.com.au which will continue to combine journalism
and activism.
And whilst People Power will be a registered political party, the
platform is planned to be far broader than just politics. We take the
view that Australia suffers from the lack of competition for elected
positions right across the spectrum. In its simplest terms we are going
to be a vehicle to encourage good people to put their hands up and have a
go. Once elected, they will be free to do what they want and act
individually, we will simply support them in trying to get elected in
the place of someone less deserving.
Journalists will no doubt throw conflict of interest claims and the
replies will remain that our model of reporting is called "immersion
journalism" where you sometimes become part of the story. This has been
going on for 18 months with immersion journalism as a shareholder
activist so nothing much will change with the launch of People Power.
Still, it might end up being a trigger for a debate on journalistic
ethics and conflicts which we are more than ready for.
Quadrant editor Paddy McGuiness is a former Labor staffer and current
councillor in Balmain. And this email just came in from Perth about two
Channel Seven journalists who have been elected onto local councils.
Seven's journalists cum councillors out West
"Stephen, Reece Whitby is a reporter who was senior producer (he went
back on the road after being looked over for the news director's job).
He is a councillor in Cottesloe.
Paul Kadak is now a producer, was a reporter for both seven and nine. he
is a councillor at Joondalup and even gives out business cards from
there with his photo on!
Both say they avoid conflict in their jobs by avoiding any stories that
relate to their councils.
I wouldn't be surprised if both of them had political aspirations higher
than local govt.
anon"
Journalists who have worked for politicians
There are a number of working journalists out there who have sold out at
some point in their careers and actually taken the taxpayer's shilling
to become a spin doctor or advisor to politicians from major political
parties.
Quite rightly, no-one denies them their right to return to our great
profession after they have helped run campaigns and distribute spin for
big political machines.
Many of them will have at times sent off job applications to work for
the various politicians but continued working as journalists whilst this
was in train. The same applies to all People Power candidates,
including Stephen Mayne.
Running for an elected position is essentially a job application with a
lot of different employers. But until you've actually been elected into a
new job, you continue with your old job.
Anyway, enough of this defensive "they do it too stuff", this is the
list of journalists who have worked for politicians. Please send in any
corrections or additions.
Working Journalists Who Have Worked For Politicians
| Peter Alford | West Australian, Herald Sun, Jeff Kennett, Australian |
| Dennis Atkins | Wayne Goss, Courier Mail, Sydney Morning Herald, NSW Labor Education minister Rod Cavalier |
| Paul Bailey | Cavalier, Sydney Morning Herald, Bulletin editor |
| Mark Bannerman | Ten, John Button, ABC. |
| David Barnett | Australian, Fraser, Bulletin, AFR, freelance. |
| Andrew Bolt | Melbourne Herald, Bob Collins, Herald Sun. |
| Tom Burton | SMH, Michael Duffy, Department of Communications, SMH, AFR, SMH Online. |
| Barrie Cassidy | ABC, Bob Hawke, Ten, ABC Television. |
| Gabriell Chan | Australian, Peter Collins, freelance. |
| Peter Coster | Melbourne Herald, Peacock, Herald Sun. |
| Julianne Davies | John Cain, Age. |
| Joel Deane | Melbourne Sun, Vic Health, EPA, John Brumby, various San Fran TV/web outlets. |
| Michael Doyle | The Age, Melbourne Herald, John Cain, ABC Television. |
| Michael Duffy | Independent Monthly, Carr, Telegraph columnist. |
| Michael Dwyer | Tom Uren, Financial Review. |
| Bernie Freedman | Federal Immigration department, Jewish News. |
| Darren Goodsir | Bob Gibbs (Qld Labor), Sun Herald. |
| Kate Hannon | Laurie Brereton, News Ltd. |
| Michael Harvey | Melbourne Herald, David White (Vic ALP), Herald Sun. |
| Paul Heinrichs | Cain, Age. |
| Nick Hordern | AFR, Reith, AFR. |
| Hugo Kelly | Age, Brian Howe, Richard Ellis, freelance |
| Michael Magazanik | Age, Duncan Kerr (Fed ALP), Australian, ABC Television. |
| Terry Maher | AFR, Bulletin, Alan Stockdale (Vic Lib Opposition), Melbourne Times, freelance |
| Stephen Mayne | Herald Sun, Age, Kennett, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, AFR, The Eye, Crikey. |
| John McCarthy | Greiner, Courier Mail. |
| Paddy McGuinness | economist, Bill Hayden, Australian Financial Review, Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Quadrant |
| Frank McGuire | Melbourne Herald, John Cain, Ten, ABC, McGuire Media. |
| Glen Mitchell | Australian, Phil Gude (Vic Liberal), International Public Relations, Herald Sun. |
| Ian Munro | Melbourne Sun, Joan Kirner, Sunday Age, Age. |
| Kevin Norbury | Hamer, Age. |
| Kerry O'Brien | Gough Whitlam/Lionel Bowen, ABC TV, Ten, ABC TV |
| Morgan Ogg | Ted Pickering (NSW Lib), Telegraph, Seven. |
| Jim O'Rourke | Telegraph, Jocelyn Newman, Sun Herald. |
| Nick Papps | Adelaide Advertiser, John Olsen (SA Premier), Herald Sun. |
| Christopher Pearson | Adelaide Review, John Howard, Australian Financial Review. |
| Alan Ramsey | SMH, Bill Hayden, SMH. |
| Stephen Romei | Daily Telegraph, two NSW Liberal Ministers, The Australian. |
| Tim Rumble | Kerry Chikarovski, Sun Herald. |
| Mark Scott | Terry Metherell (NSW Lib), Deputy Editor Sydney Morning Herald. |
| Dennis Shanahan | NSW Liberal, Australian. |
| Paul Syvret | Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, David Hamill (Qld Labor), Bulletin. |
| Gary Tippett | Melbourne Sun, John Cain, Joan Kirner, Sunday Age, Age. |
| Paola Totaro | Sydney Morning Herald, Bob Carr, Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald. |
| David Turnbull | Channel 10, John Hewson, Nine. |
| Andrew West | Jeanette McHugh (Fed ALP), Sun Herald. |
| David Wilson | Australian, Jeff Kennett, Sunday Herald Sun. |
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