The Australian Sex Party will stand a candidate in this month’s Broadmeadows by-election.

Merinda Davis, 24, will stand for the pro-same-sex marriage party in the Labor stronghold.

Davis, who launched her campaign from an adult shop on Monday, is a receptionist at a law firm in Melbourne and studies politics and gender studies.

“Broadmeadows is a much more broadminded and culturally diverse electorate than government and media have given it credit for in the past,” she told the Star Observer.

“In an electorate that has one of the highest identifiable levels of religiosity in Victoria, these shops trade better here than in many other areas of the state.

“That’s why we adopted the slogan Broadmeadows – Broadminded.”

The Sex Party candidate will face Frank McGuire — brother of media personality Eddie McGuire — who is expected to stand for the seat after a controversial ascendancy to candidacy.

Local Labor members lost a Supreme Court challenge last week to be enable them to choose their own candidate in the seat vacated by former Premier John Brumby.

Davis said if elected she would push for a change to the school chaplaincy program and push for women’s rights issues.

“Our platform is that people in Broadmeadows should have freedom of and freedom from religion,” she said.

“We want to see the school chaplains program replaced with a non-denominational course in life skills.”

Davis will also take on the issue of transport in the area, criticising both sides of politics for ignoring train and bus access on weekends.

“People who travel into the city for a good night out on Fridays or Saturdays should be able to get home in the early hours of the morning and not be left stranded in the CBD,” she said.

“With unemployment over twice that of the national average in Broadmeadows and individual income only 60 percent of the national average, inadequate public transport is a form of discrimination.

“In 2011 it is extraordinary that the people of Broadmeadows are expected to pay $80 for a cab fare to get home safely after 2am on a weekend.”

It’s understood the Liberal Party will not contest the seat. The by-election will be held on February 19.

Source: Star Online

Thank you all for coming to our launch today for the Broadmeadows by-election. There are a few policies I would like to highlight which are relevant to this Broadmeadows campaign.

Freedom of and freedom from religion and keeping politics secular is a core Sex Party policy. With high religious diversity, this is centrally important for Broadmeadows. This includes concern for the chaplains in schools program as well as the influence of Christian parties and lobby groups on politicians.

Drug law reform is long overdue for Victoria. Drug use and addiction should be treated as a health issue, not a criminal one. It is time that we moved beyond the war on drugs rhetoric, to policy which addresses the causes of drug use.

The rapid expansion of police powers, such as stop and search without cause, and access to full transport use history via Myki without a warrant, are two alarming examples. The people of Broadmeadows, and Victoria generally, need their rights and freedoms to be protected by adequate checks and balances on police power.

Public transport is a fundamental public service which is badly in need of improvement, particularly in the Broadmeadows electorate. The Sex Party wants 24 hour public transport on weekends, an upgrade of signaling technology which is badly outdated, and the separation of V-Line and metropolitan train services. All of these things will drastically improve service quality and accessibility to Broadmeadows.

As the only (known) woman running in this by-election, I am proud to have fantastic women’s policies to advocate. These broadly include; sex and relationship education, support for victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, access to reproductive and sexual health services, GP education to ensure quality of service delivery, and support for women and people who work with women and families who are affected by female genital mutilation.

The Sex Party is the youngest political party in Victoria. We are a proud civil liberties party and advocate for a reduction of government intervention into people’s private lives. This aligns well with the young, diverse and vibrant population of Broadmeadows. Broadmeadows is broadminded, and the Sex Party is the broadminded choice in the coming by-election.