Community Preselections

Over the next year, we will conduct Community Preselections ahead of state elections in New South Wales and Victoria.

This is a big step in Australian democracy. But it is not new. It is a return to our roots. The painting below shows a community preselection meeting in Bendigo, Victoria, in 1854. [Anon. Bendigo Regional Gallery]

We have to return to our roots because Australian democracy is broken.

Our parliaments and governments are now made up of the wrong sort of people. Instead of people with track records as problem solvers, innovators, community builders, entrepreneurs, thinkers and system designers, we have people who have mostly only ever done one thing – play politics. So long as this continues, we have no hope of meeting the many challenges facing the country.

We need a once-in-a-generation replacement of the current crop of politicians with a new batch of representatives who have proven track records in bringing people together, solving problems, and leading.

To enable this change, we will conduct Community Preselections to allow community members to select a community leader to represent them in parliament.

This process allows the community to bypass the party preselection processes of Liberal, National, Labor and Green parties which function as gatekeepers and protectors of our broken political system.

The Mechanism

The Community Preselection process in each electorate will culminate in a Town Hall meeting with pitches from contending candidates, questions from community preselectors, and an in-person vote (with no online or proxy voting).

It will follow a public process of calling for nominations for community representatives (candidates), and an invitation for community members to register as Community Preselectors.

Timeline

Town Hall meetings and community ballots will take place as follows:

August 2022 – Legislative Assembly (Victoria)

October 2022 – Legislative Assembly (NSW)

Nominations as Community Representatives (Candidates) and Registrations as Community Preselectors close on the last day of the month preceding the scheduled Town Hall meeting.

Further details on the Victorian Election are available here.

Further details on the NSW Election are available here.

The Community Preselection will be conducted by The Sensible Centre.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate and vote in the Community Preselection, community members must either:

a. register as a Community Preselector with a $10 registration payment (to cover administrative costs) and declare that they a not a current or recent member of Liberal, National, Labor or Green parties; or

b. be a Full Member of The Sensible Centre (membership is open to members and non-members of political parties with full voting rights on payment of a $25 membership fee); or

c. be a member of a Participating Political Party (a participating political party is a registered federal or state party that participates in the Community Preselection process, and agrees to support the preselected candidates in the following elections).

The Criteria for Community Representatives (Candidates)

Community members may nominate as a Community Representative who:

a. have a history of bringing people together for the common good and a history of voluntary contribution in their electorate;
b. have a track record as a problem solver, innovator, community builder, entrepreneur, thinker or system designer;
c. are capable of representing the issues and challenges facing their electorate;
d. are capable of building trust and confidence in local democracy;
e. are able to mobilise community members in winning a seat in parliament, and
f. are not current or recent members of Liberal, National, Labor or Green parties.

Register your Interest

Our goal is to have as many community members as possible participate in the preselection ballot in each electorate.

To participate and vote as a Community Preselector, register using this form.

To nominate as a Community Representative (Candidate) , register using this form.

Oversight

The Community Preselections process is hosted and supervised by the Steering Committee of The Sensible Centre.