‘Lock-out’ electoral reforms proposed by the Prime Minister today will likely see the Senate reduced to four parties for the next 100 years.
“It’s hard to see any new minor party getting into the Senate again under these new changes - unless they are 'Palmer-like' and backed by big business”, said Sex Party Leader Fiona Patten. “We are witnessing the end of small parties in Australia and the irony of it all is that two small parties – the Greens and Nick Xenophon – are the real enablers of this situation”.
The Sex Party’s Senate Candidate in Victoria, Dr Meredith Doig, added that "With a Liberal Party that's no longer liberal, a Labor Party that's shown itself incapable of reform, and the Greens an ideologues' haven, where can people go if the reform is passed? This is a sad day for democracy."
As George Pell unravels in front of the Royal Commission in Rome, it’s worth noting that the Eros Association was the first organisation in Australia to publish an official document indicting the church for its child sex abuse and the Australian Sex Party the first political party in Australia to call for a Royal Commission into child sex abuse.
Sex Party Founder Robbie Swan said in a televised interview with Cardinal Pell:
"It's time to take the gloves off and get serious with these people, and so they've asked me -- the sex industry -- Eros members have asked me to prepare a booklet now, based on the fact that the church has no moral authority anymore because of the huge numbers of children that they've sexually abused.
The Eros booklet contained the names and circumstances of around 200 priests charged and convicted of sex offences.
In response to Robbie, Cardinal Pell said:
"Those crimes have been committed -- we reject them. We have processes in place to deal with any more accusations that are founded on evidence. We'll face up to that."