Opinion: Voters be warned – names of political parties can be deceiving

PUT “sex’’ in front of “party’’ and you have to concede more traditional prefixes such as Labor and Liberal can suddenly appear to lack imaginative appeal. But, as we see with the Pirate Party, names can be deceiving.

PUT “sex’’ in front of “party’’ and you have to concede more traditional prefixes such as Labor and Liberal can suddenly appear to lack imaginative appeal.

The Family First Party wholesomely suggests jumping castles and face painting, the Help End Marijuana Prohibition Party hints intoxicants could potentially be available to revellers while John Madigan’s Manufacturing and Farming Party provides fair warning that, while the gathering may represent a worthy cause, it could also contain an element of tedium.

Only the Australian Sex Party, which launched its 2016 campaign in Melbourne bar Naked For Satan, gives us unequivocal assurances that erotic possibilities await those willing to support a party determined to give every Australian the legislative right to stroll along the beach in the nuddy.

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“Our party offers the Australian public a real alternative to the bitter, adversarial and divisive politics practised by the three major parties,” says Sex Party Federal Leader Fiona Patten who has secured an electoral beach head in Victoria’s upper house.

Patten is not the only political fringe dweller to come in from the cold in recent years.

The system which paved the way for the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party to enter the Senate in the form of Ricky Muir has been tinkered with to make it more difficult to win representation with a tiny portion of the vote.

But in the weeks ahead we will still find a range of intriguing possibilities to ponder as we decide which “party” we would like to attend, though voters should be warned – names can be deceiving.

The Pirate Party Australia, by way of example, appears to offer the allure of a fancy dress theme but don’t rush out for your parrot and eye patch.

The Pirate Party is, in fact, part of a “global movement against draconian copyright and patent laws”.

Originally published as Opinion: Voters be warned – names of political parties can be deceiving