People often ask me, why I support the Australian Sex Party. It’s a very reasonable question to ask, but one that is quite difficult to answer. Prior to joining the Sex Party I belonged to the ALP, I volunteered in an MPs office and handed out how to vote cards for them, in fact I think I still have my Kevin 07 t shirt somewhere. But my heart wasn’t really in it. My father is a former Labor MP, and let’s just say the things I saw as a child really have made me sceptical of politicians. He often told me that the main reason people get behind you in politics is so they can stab you in the back. And there are so many actions that the ALP made that I just didn’t agree with that I didn’t really want to support them that much anymore.

Then I found the Australian Sex Party. They didn’t have much publicity then and hadn’t run in an election, but I liked what they stood for, taking the personal views of the individual out of politics, providing reasoning behind laws as opposed to being morally opposed to them, and having faith in the individual to make up one’s own mind instead of having to tell them what to do.

But there is more to the Party than just the principles behind the policies, there is an ethos there as the way in which the Party is run. There is a lot of extravagancy with drinking, crazy gimmicks and slogans, the stalls at Sexpo and other places somewhat exotic to most political organisations, and of course the drinking which although already mentions deserves to be mentioned twice given the amount of it that goes on. Even though we do try to have fun, there is more behind it, and what the Party in essence is. We don’t discriminate. As strange as that sounds it’s not like we only select the crazy out there ideas, it’s just those are the ones that people notice. We don’t turn down a stall at the annual tractor exposition, it’s just that we accept the offer of a table at the Fitzroy Fetish expo. Most political parties would turn down an offer, or if someone asked if they could hand out fliers at a BDSM club would have it strongly suggested that perhaps marketing wasn’t their best strength and instead could support the party through a cash donation.

The biggest factor I believe in the strength and nature of the Party boils down to the amazing leadership of Fiona Patten, the President and public face of the Australian Sex Party. I must confess that I do love watching her interviewed, and she comes across very well on camera, but she really truly shines when you’re with her. The first pub crawl I went on with the ASP I hadn’t been too much before and only replied to an email, and so didn’t really know anyone. I’m going to make a bold move and come out as having suffered from depression at the time due to a number of factors, not the least of which being social isolation and lack of faith in my communication skills. But sitting down at that table with a few supporters and Fiona at Bimbos Deluxe really was something and I felt truly welcome. There was no judgment or elitism, everyone was warm and supportive. And Fiona was definitely something special. As the crawl went on and we met up with the rest of the group of Sex Party crawlers I still remember telling someone that I’ve never done a tequila shot and don’t even know how to do them, Fiona overheard this, grabbed me, ordered a round, then explained how they are done and without giving me a choice in the matter said there and then I was to do my first tequila shot (just want to point out at this stage that I had been drinking a fair bit that night so it wasn’t like she was forcing me to drink, just to try something new). That night was a great night that I have to say changed my confidence in myself. Everyone was talking about a whole range of issues, no subject was tabooed no opinion was just brushed off everything was talked about openly.

So many people think that politics is just about making laws, that its showing up in Parliament yelling at people across the floor, setting legislation and that’s it. But there is so much more to it than that. As a child I saw my father, as shadow attorney General become the first politicians ever to come out as suffering from bipolar mood disorder. Though he was in the Victorian state parliament, I still remember as a boy being with him on a holiday in Perth, and being stopped randomly in the street by this young man who was extremely excited to see dad. He explained that even though he lived in Perth seeing what my father did gave him the strength to tell people about having a mental illness and helped him to explain and fight the stigma. And this man was not an isolated incident, people not only were changing social views, and feeling less ashamed of such horrible personal struggles which are not their fault, but because of the coverage of an issue that the media would never talk about people were actually getting diagnosed with bipolar. The ALPs response however, was they wanted him to resign from cabinet and subsequentially from politics altogether.

People don’t understand how much politicians moves can make with the way they campaign and behave. A politician’s behaviour and values is and should be projected on their people, not through legislation but as a role model. As wacky as people say that the Australian Sex Party is, and as hard as it is to get taken seriously, at least we are being sincere in our message. We’ve gone from getting about 2% in an election, to recently in Queensland getting around 9% of the vote, so people are starting to see that we actually do believe in what we stand for and have some pretty good ideas under those brightly coloured yellow t-shirts. Not to mention that no matter what people think of our policies, at least our name has made them smile.

Source: Rabelais

Being involved in the “sex scene” in Australia is an interesting thing. I am really lucky that, as a sex writer, I get to cross almost all the different sides and “scenes”. (And the nympho in me loves it too) From sex workers to BDSM professionals, to swingers and tantra. I get to research and involve myself, get to know the people and the practices and broaden my own sexual knowledge along the way.

We are also very lucky here in Australia, to have many events that celebrate these particular aspects. There is Kink Fest and the Fetish Expo, Sexpo, various sexuality workshops and forums are held regularly and, no matter what you're into, you can usually find something to satisfy your knowledge or desires.

But, up until now, there has always been a bit of a separation between all the different sides, a sort of “us and them” attitude.

Sure, Sexpo is a national convention of sex but, to be honest and blunt, many people find it rather tacky. Personally I love it. I love the endless rows of vibrators, corsets and wank stain towels. I like the shows and the porn stars and the demonstrations... But a lot of people are turned off by the vulgarity of it. The almost neon flashing of “SEX, PORN, SMUT!” and that's fine. Everyone is different.

The one thing Sexpo doesn't really provide is that “space to share ideas”. Yes there are talks and demonstrations and bucket loads of pamphlets with info on them, but it can seem a little rushed and a little “surface”, especially to people who have no knowledge of a particular practice and want to learn as much as they can.

This is where Sex Camp 2012 comes in. It is a unique event that has been put together by pretty much one person. A dynamic and perpetually energetic and positive young woman named Vanessa Florence. Being personally involved in many of the more spiritual sides of sexuality including tantra and the interesting world of open relationships and non monogamy, Vanessa felt there was a gap in the “sex event” calendar for a melding of practises and a meeting of like-minded people. She wanted to bring together all aspects of the sex community to teach and learn from each other and to discuss ideas and thoughts in a safe, open environment.

In just a few short months from the conception of her idea people from all walks of the sexual path have come on board to be a part of this fantastically broad event.

There will be presenters and workshops on everything from a male ejaculation control, to learning about aphrodisiacs, to spanking and breath play. There will be talks on the swinger scene and how to create a relationship space that allows you to explore the lifestyle of non monogamy, and there will be talks and workshops of masturbation and self love.

Some workshops are women only and some men only and then others are mixed. It really is an amazingly diverse range of people, topics, practices and mind sets.

If any of this interests you and you're curious to learn more and perhaps attend this unique event, go and have a look at the website www.sexcamp.com.au and explore the many different things that will be on offer over the weekend.

It is an “away” event, held in a beautiful area of Yarra Junction (about an hours drive from Melbourne), but everything; food, accommodation, all the workshops, films and access to professionals are included in the price.

This really is a time and an event that all of the players in the varied and diverse world of sex can come together and share, learn and grow. I wholeheartedly recommend you go along and see for yourself how much more there is out there in the world of polyamory, spiritual sex, kink and BDSM, masturbation and sex work. Your erotic and sexy side will thank you, for many years to come.

It's been very exciting to start promoting the party from the positon of candidate. Many of my friends and family who weren't aware of my involvement with the party now know a bit more about our policies and why I personally find them important.

I first became involved with ASP in 2008 when I was workning as a model and videographer for Abby Winters. I struggled with some peoples negative judgements about this industry and directly felt the discrimination and prejudice our country has towards the adult industry.

I found this workplace to be one of the most supportive and professionally run companies i have worked for. I have joked with my brother that he is more exploited on a daily basis by his IT employer through unpaid overtime and poor working conditions whereas I had never done any work I wasnt paid for or forced into the corner of having to agree to do extra work or risk losing my job.

After running a great company and employing numerous women the director of Gmedia was charged with a range of things, such as producing obcene material and selling x rated movies. I wondered if I would be charged for performing in such scenes if he could be charged for filming them. I offered to give him a character reference and stand up in court to defend our right to produce this content. This didn't eventuate. This company now operates in Holland and a generation of women who could have benefited from the sex positive experiences of AW will instead be waiting tables or relying on pitifal student benefits. This outrages me and I do not want to see censorship in this country increase.

So to start the campaign I ran in the Moonee Valley Fun Run on Saturday. It was pretty miserable weather but I flew the flag with the yellow tshirt and Chris Johnson was at the finish line with another Sex Party member Michelle Flynn with a Sex party sign. We filmed quite a lot of stuff of me for a youtube video to introduce me as the Niddrie candidate and it will be edited and up in about a week.

On Sunday we were up early and out picking up rubbish for the Clean Up Australia Day event. We picked a busy shopping strip and spent a couple of hours there.

It was great to have a second purpose to loitering in the streets and many locals thanked us or made fun of us for looking for winning TAB tickets. We didn't find any. I think it is a great event for the Sex Party to be involved in, especially for ingratiating ourselves in that particular community's eyes.
One thing I think we could do to improve the effectiveness of things like the Fun Run appearance and the Clean Up is to focus on the people we meet. We need to be actively networking, and moving around in small groups helps with the support you need to do this as it is quite confronting. To simply run or clean misses the point.

At the Fun Run it was the first time I had worn the Yellow Shirt outside of Pride March or Midsumma for quite some time. I got some disapproving looks and felt slightly less confident to approach people randomly after that. I guess it is a pretty conservative area and usually I have been at events where we are preaching to the converted. It definately indicates how uneasy some of the public are with the word 'sex' being associated with politics. I don't think they were offended by the rude bright yellow of my shirt anyway....

I think the more we can promote ourselves at events outside of the LGBT communities and get more into the 'mainstream' family conservative community events the more we will broaden our appeal. This is challenging and confronting at times as you do get some criticism. But I will be conquoring this fear as I approach all of the local small businessses in Niddrie to introduce myself and the party.

Any help is welcome!

Warm regards,
Amy Myers
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When I was in high school there was this trend going around that made everyone think they wanted to be American gang members. You know, the baggy saggy jeans, bomber jackets, hats on backwards and attitudes like they'd spent all their lives in the Ghetto, not growing up in suburban Canberra with parents in the public service and footy practice on Saturdays.

It used to amuse me somewhat. Not only because they all looked like poor-man's versions of Vanilla Ice, but because none of them had the slightest clue of what it would really be like if our school was full of American style street gangs.

The scuffles between the two local high schools would have consisted of knives and guns rather than a couple of awkward punches and some “Yo Mamma” type insults, and people could have actually been seriously injured or killed. Cool right! Yeah, I don't think so.

The other trend (and I thank NWA and Public Enemy for this one) was the whole Fuck the Police attitude.

“Fuckin' cops!” “Pigs!” “Scum!” could often be heard from the “cool kids” as they sat in their $300 Reeboks at the mall waiting for mum to come and pick them up in the family Volvo, and again I was amused.

But amused was only part of it, I also felt a lot of frustration. Sure, I knew if you were a gang member or minority in America the police could be scary people. I mean, back then the Rodney King trial and the LA riots were on TV every night so police corruption and brutality was at the fore in everyone's mind, but that was America. A very different country and culture. The laws are different. The attitudes are different. Here in Australia, sure there's some corruption and yes, there are some cops that are less than desirable figures (hey, we've all seen the Underbelly ads, we know it's not perfect) but, for the most part, Aussie cops do a bloody good job.

They serve and protect us and they try and keep us safe. I have always found them polite and friendly when I've spoken to them (Yes, even that time when I was 14 and got busted shoplifting) and I have seen them have immeasurable patience when it comes to some people.

If I have ever needed them they have been prompt and professional and I've found they're always willing to give help and information on everything from legal camping spots in unfamiliar towns to advice on some of articles I write.

They see people on some of the worst days of their lives. They attend accidents and emergencies. They see dead people, broken people, abused people, frightened people. They have to break the news of loved ones' deaths to family members. They get spat on, punched, kicked and abused by idiots, and a lot of them do all of this on around the same as a teacher or nurse's salary. It really does show that, like teachers and nurses, police officers do it for a love of the job and a sense of duty, rather than some cruisy, pocket-lining scheme. Police officers really are an integral part of our community and I always love it when I get to see them being a part of it like, for example, the groups who march in the various Pride Marches around Australia.

For as long as I can remember them being around I've been a big fan of Pride marches. I always try to get there and cheer everyone along, but this year's Melbourne march is the first one I've ever had the honour of actually participating in. What an atmosphere! Everyone was pumped and excited and friendly and, despite the strong winds and threat of rain, really keen to get the march started.

Because the Victorian Police group was one of the first to march out of the park, they had the opportunity to walk past nearly all of the other groups waiting on their turn and, while I am used to the spectators being loud and receptive, I was really heartened by the loud cheers and claps the cops got from all the other groups as they passed.

One of the girls in the Sex Workers and Friends group called out “Thank you for protecting us” which was met by a cheer from the rest. “Yay, coppers, we love you!” was heard from another bunch and everyone clapped and whooped. Like all of the Midsummer Carnival it had a great feeling of solidarity and understanding, of accepting differences and creating togetherness.

Yes, when it comes to my warm fuzzy feelings about cops, a day like Pride shows me why I respect them so much, and also that I am not the only one who feels the same way.

But, in saying all that, I should probably admit, when it came to the boys and girls in blue at this year's Pride, the highlight of my day was the very lovely female police officer agreeing to be my first kiss in the Sex Party's kissing booth. Yes, I am easily pleased, but as well as that it just confirmed all my thoughts about police officers and how, beyond the helping others and the tragedy they see and the work they do for the community, they're just people too, and everyone deserves a good kiss!

Morals campaigner and Christian (wouldn’t dare call her a Baptist) cum feminist, Melinda Tankard Reist (‘The Tankard’) has threatened to sue the uber blogger, Jennifer Wilson, writing on her No Place for Sheep site. In her years as advisor and researcher to the wiley old fox and personal mentor, Senator Brian Harradine, you would have thought that The Tankard would have learnt a thing or two about political strategy. Clearly not.

In the recent past, she has slagged off others far more than she was slagged by Ms Wilson. In fact, the Sex Party and the Eros Association have often thought of suing her for defamation for the most unbelievable allegations she has levelled at us in the past. In 2009 and 2010 she alleged in a blog on her website that the Australian Sex Party had links to ‘pseudo child pornography’. Amongst other things she alleged that a former Eros Committee member was importing adult sex magazines that glorify sex with young girls, rape and incest – all because the models had pigtails. She had absolutely no evidence that the company had imported these particular publications. She later went on to attest that these magazines were ‘ essentially child porn”. Later on still, she alleged that, “pseudo child pornography eroticizes incest, rape and sexual assault”. Of course none of this was true and there was not a shred of evidence anywhere that implicated these tawdry, trailer-park, blue-collar magazines to the Eros member and certainly no evidence that they led to anything except masturbation.

In the comments section of her blog, the writer of the first comment stated that the Sex Party is “a party that puts children in danger.” The second comment said, “They (The Sex Party) really need to be held accountable for distributing child pornography”. The third said, “Thank you, Melinda Tankard Reist, for exposing the hypocrisy of the Australian Sex Party”. The fourth said, “Fiona Patten, Eros and their Sex Party have this crazy idea that they have the monopoly on sex. You could say they do, if you mean that sex is about the invitation to get off to sex with pretend children and teenagers, sex without emotional connection or commitment, sex with symbolized gestures of violence and coercion.” The fifth alleged that the Sex Party had links to child porn and that, “Surely they (the Sex Party) are violating some rite for the protection of our children from sexual predators”.

Defamation actions largely rise or fall on the ‘imputations’ of what is being said rather than what is actually said. Blogs that host comments underneath them are a fabulous and simple way for lawyers to show how an imputation can arise from something someone has said. In this case, the undeniable imputations that arise from The Tankard’s statements are there for all to see. People of differing backgrounds, ethnicity and religions have written them but all come to the same two or three conclusions (imputations) after having read The Tankard’s blog. Of course nothing could be further from the truth and the idea of defending such unintelligent and hysterical pronouncements is vaguely akin to defending the theory of evolution against Creation Theory or the science of cell division against the Virgin Birth. You just think…”Nah….why would I even bother”?

What also makes it difficult for the Sex Party and the Eros Association now is that The Tankard has even stolen our defamation lawyer! Yes folks…that’s right we hired her current lawyer, Ric Lucas, in a defamation action against the Canberra Times for calling Canberra X rated video traders filthy pornographers. We settled out of court over a fine Italian pasta and a couple of bottles of Frascati and both of us got what we wanted. Lucas managed to get Judge John Gallop in the Supreme Court to agree to three of the six imputations that had arisen from the paper’s article on the porn industry. This quietly rocked the papers editors. Lucas is a defo lawyer who knows his stuff, so The Tankard should feel rightly pleased about her little coup here. But we still reserve the right to approach Lucas to represent us again against The Tankard although there may be just a slight conflict of interest – ours!

Defamation actions are funny things. They can go badly wrong for litigants who are wanting revenge or who are too thin-skinned for their own liking. My belief is that The Tankard is of the latter persuasion. She can dish it out better than most but when it comes to copping it, she’s got a glass jaw. She’s in the business of politics as much as any politician, she has got to expect a little rough and tumble. I find it extraordinary that she is ducking and weaving over her religious affiliations. If there’s any hint of this in the imputations that Lucas says can be inferred from the No Place for Sheep blog, she needs to revisit every Sunday school picnic and every evangelical rally she’s ever addressed or attended because her religion, like sexuality, is not something easily erased.

And why would she want to do that anyway? Surely if her religion and her religious beliefs are important to her political work – get ‘em out there honey! People aren’t scared of religion anymore. They’re just scared when it dominates political thinking.

In a previous life, the Sex Party’s public officer, Robbie Swan, was the editor of the ‘80s political humour and satire magazine, Matilda. It was broadly based on the British magazine Private Eye. Matilda defended nearly 15 defamation writs in its short lifetime. These came from such luminaries as the Prime Minister, The Queensland Premier, the Queensland Governor, a Supreme Court judge, a doctor and many more. In every case Matilda published the pompous letters that defo lawyers had sent them together with a critique of how they should run their case and any supporting evidence they had to help. Only two cases ended up going to court and both litigants wished they’d never started it. The judge ended up being the first Supreme Court judge to be sacked by the Qld parliament for perjuring himself in the trial and the doctor who sued ended up going to jail and not getting a cent for his efforts.

In the UK, Private Eye magazine called this curious syndrome ‘The Curse of the Gnome’ and indeed many litigants in that country suffered the same fate as the Matilda sue-ers (no pun intended!). No Place for Sheep may not be Matilda or Private Eye but I reckon the principle still stands and The Tankard can expect no relief when the defense lawyers expose her religious beliefs to the blowtorch of modern political life.

Inspiration. It's a wonderful thing. It can come from anywhere and anyone and when it hits, you can become a machine. Many things inspire me. Many people too. Even certain smells can inspire me! For example, if I'm outside on a warm Spring day and I smell cut grass, for the next few hours I'm on my knees in the dirt pretending my black thumb has turned green, pulling out weeds (at least I think that was a weed?) and making promises to myself about watering and planting and mulching that I know I won't keep.

In my former life, the one where I was a child care worker and didn't spend my days surrounded by sex, I used to get a lot of inspiration from the kids I looked after. Their way of seeing the world was so fresh and innocent and would constantly surprise and enlighten me and, in the last few weeks, it's begun to happen again. Children from around the world are inspiring me. Showing up the adults that stick them in the “you're just a child” basket and giving insight into not only how they see the world, but also how we as adults can get it horribly and sometimes tragically wrong.

The first of these children was an twelve year old girl called Adora Svitak (she's fourteen now), a child prodigy from America who is already a published author and internationally renowned speaker. The piece I'm talking about is a video of her speaking at a TED conference. TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design and is an amazing forum where big thinkers and world changers can come together and express ideas and concepts on how to make the world a better place. It's truly awesome and if you haven't checked it out I suggest you do. The speech I am talking about is wonderful. Adora talks about the idea of “childish thinking” and how really, considering how open-minded and imaginative children are, that's not such a bad thing when it comes to changing the world. Of course, she says it way better than I so check out her fantastic talk here: http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak.html .

The next one is another young girl. Way younger than Adora is and who has become an inspiration to many without even trying. She isn't a child prodigy or anything like that. She's just a little girl with a strong opinion. Her name is Riley, she is three years old and, in a world where gender specific toys are unfortunately the norm, she has something to say about it. For example, when Lego recently announced they were bringing out a “girls” range of blocks I couldn't believe it. Since I was a child I've played with the “girls range” of Lego, and my daughter does now too. Funnily enough, though, it's just called “Lego” and we've done pretty well so far without pink bricks. No-one has put this frustration into words better than Riley does. Sure, it's not actually about Lego, but it was posted on YouTube in perfect timing with the toy company's announcement and says everything that needs to be said about marketing towards gender. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viQph2vuHgs

The third child who has inspired me is a thirteen year old girl (who I only know by her YouTube name, Astrorice) who speaks about something very close to my heart. Slut shaming. She makes a point under her video about her realising it's odd that a thirteen year old virgin has such an opinion, but to be honest I don't think her age or her sexual activity matters one bit. She expresses herself so articulately and so well that, despite the braces and “like whatever” nuances, she speaks more maturely than most grown-ups on the subject. Have a look at what she has to say here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXH2K7OC37s&feature=related and then post it and send it to as many people as you can. It's a message we all need to hear and a lesson so many people need to learn.

The thing about us adults is we're so caught up in being adults we seem to forget we're not the only ones on the planet. We forget that we were once children and teenagers with radical ideas, open minds and imaginations. We seem forget those times we were so frustrated because the grown-ups wouldn't listen to us, and we forget that these children, the ones we push aside because they couldn't possibly be as smart or as experienced and knowledgeable as us, not only have a unique and interesting way of looking at the world and solving problems, but are are also going to be the ones making the laws and decisions about us when we get older.

So the next time you have a big choice to make, or there's a topic you want some insight on, ask a child what they think and what they would do. And then listen. I mean really listen. You never know, you might end up learning something!

A few days ago we had our Sex Party staff Christmas party in the Canberra office. It was wonderful to be able to have the team around the table.

We each took turns to say how we felt about the work we had done this year. It's funny that while there were less events on our calendar this year (only one state election, a by-election, three Sexpos, fetish expo, midsumma, mardi gras fair day, pride marches, slutwalks, conSensual and numerous Sex Party meetings) it really does feel like 2011 was our busiest year yet. I think that is because we we have been busy developing the Party which is very exciting. I believe as a Party we have shifted our position from "Wow, I can't believe we are actually doing this" to "Right, How do we improve and make this Party even better". Now the hard work really begins.

And on that note, I would like to send a huge thank you to every member, supporter and wonderful volunteer who has donated their time and energy to the Sex Party this year. Without your contributions the Sex Party simply would not exist.

As a team we also had a chat about what 2012 held in store for us - elections, registrations, a website upgrade, more Sexpos.....! It's going to be an amazing year for the Sex Party, and I am really excited to be sharing it with all of you.

Finally, we stopped talking about work (well, for a couple of minutes at least) and turned our attentions to the sparkling wine, prawns and salad - What better way to celebrate the year. Here's wishing you all a happy and safe holiday season.

Cheers,

Fiona Patten and the Sex Party Team.

P.S. Psst - want to know what really goes on at a Sex Party Christmas party? We all wore paper hats and told the corny jokes from our crackers. After a bit more wine and amidst many giggles we all attempted to download 'blendr' onto our phones and see if we could locate each other (I don't exactly remember why). Eventually the afternoon digressed into a shameless paper airplane throwing competition, which was won by our youngest guest. Yep, we're hard core! :-)

We started off quite businesslike, without a drink in sight.

Later in the afternoon it was all giggles and Blendr.