By Shane Bentley
SYDNEY — With disillusionment with Liberal and Labor increasing, more and more people are planning to cast their federal election vote for alternative political parties and independents.
In addition to the better known alternatives — the Greens and the Democratic Socialists (see advertisement on this page) — there will be a host of other "alternative" candidates standing in NSW on October 3.
The recently formed Unity — Say No to Hanson group is relying on its multicultural credentials to win a hearing. Unity's leading NSW Senate candidate, Jason Yat-Sen Li, is a lawyer who spoke on multiculturalism at the Constitutional Convention. Party president Dr Peter Wong is a former secretary of the Chinatown branch of the Liberal Party.
There are indications that Unity is in large part an attempt to re-direct voters disillusioned with the major parties back to the ALP. The Unity and Labor parties have agreed on a direct exchange of preferences.
The Common Cause/No Aircraft Noise Party is running in a number of Sydney seats and in the NSW Senate. The party was founded as No Aircraft Noise in 1994 after the commissioning of the third runway at Mascot airport. It presently holds local council positions.
While CC/NANP still focuses on the airport issue, it says it is also offering an alternative which is anti-racist and anti-economic rationalism.
Denis Doherty is standing for the Communist Party in the seat of Sydney. Other progressive candidates in the NSW Senate include the Nuclear Disarmament Party and Ron Poulsen for the Communist League, who will appear in the ungrouped part of the ballot paper.
Pauline Pantsdown, best known for the songs "I'm a Backdoor Man" and "I Don't Like It", is running as an independent in the NSW Senate.
Next to One Nation's David Oldfield on the Senate ballot paper is the David Mouldfield and Paul-Ian Handsome Handpuppet ticket. Mouldfield and Handsome Handpuppet are comedians who are using their campaign to "point out the ludicrous, dangerous and downright corrupt foibles of the Visigoths and Vandals assembling".