Australian poll warns of plunging support for major partiesMike Head@MikeHeadWSWS5 October 2021The Murdoch media’s Australian ran a somewhat alarmed headline on Monday: “Newspoll: More voters turning towards the fringes.”The article reported that the newspaper’s latest Newspoll had found that the proportion of electors intending to vote for what it labelled “fringe parties” and independents had reached 13 percent—“its highest level in at least four years.”Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison [Source: Facebook/Scott Morrison]This result sheds further light on why the Liberal-National Coalition government and the Labor Party opposition jointly rushed through Australia’s parliament new electoral laws designed to de-register most parties not currently represented in parliament.These “non-parliamentary” parties, including the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), have been given only until December 2 to submit the details of 1,500 members—tripling the previous requirement—or be barred from having their party names alongside those of their candidates on ballot papers. That would prevent voters from knowing the political identities and programs of the candidates they are considering voting for.These laws, suddenly unveiled behind the backs of the population, accompanied by a virtual corporate media blackout, are a naked bid to stifle dissent and shore up the political establishment.Carefully orchestrated media opinion polls, with questions that only offer choices within the official political framework, provide only a distorted picture of the widespread discontent.
