Sam Watson
Indigenous Peoples Party
The Australian Indigenous Peoples Party has now been officially registered as a political party by the Australian Electoral Office and party branches throughout the nation are now preparing for the upcoming federal election.
The registration has been welcomed by the acting national executive. President Ray Robinson stated that the AIPP can now offer Aboriginal and Islander voters an entire new platform of opportunity.
"For far too long the mainstream political parties have taken the black vote for granted", he said. "But now that we have our own party, both the ALP and the Tories are going to have to be very careful about how they respond to issues such as land rights."
The AIPP was formed in October as a direct response to the widespread disenchantment within the national black community, after many years of being ignored by the big party machines and only being consulted during election campaigns.
"In 1967 the Australian electorate gave black people the right to vote and the right to be recorded in the national census", Robinson said. "Twenty-five years later, we have taken the next step and are launching our own party so that black people can actually play a real and positive role in the political system.
"For far too long our people have been used as a convenient vehicle for sympathy votes; but now in 1993 we are going to be pushing the AIPP as a real and dynamic vehicle for black political expression and participation."
The response from within the Aboriginal and Islander community has surprised party officials, who had expected some resistance to an indigenous political party.
"Our people are generally a very conservative community", Robinson said. "They have suffered a great deal over the years, and many of the older people are exhausted by having to fight so hard for so long. But now the younger generation can step forward and carry on the battle. You just wait and see, the AIPP may well control the balance of votes in the Senate after the next election."
With early polls showing a certain polarisation of the broader electorate, minor parties may have a lean time, but
Robinson is still very confident. "People are becoming more and more cynical as this country slips further into recession", he said. "We must accept that the federal election is going to be a clear choice between Keating and Hewson's GST; but voters are still going to be looking for a party like the AIPP which can play a watchdog role in the upper house and temper the tone of the government with a bit of humanity."
Robinson also said that his party would work closely with the other minor parties to keep the real issues before the voters, as the Australian people needed responsible and accountable leadership.
[Sam Watson is a founding member of the AIPP.]