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Post by Iain Dooley on Jul 31, 2016 1:14:01 GMT
LEGACY DISCUSSION PRESERVED FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSES FROM ORIGINAL AEP FORUM
The only thing that will remain constant throughout this process is the policy framework we have outlined as the party's core strategic vision -- these are and will remain forever immutable in any future constitution:
- We adhere to the tenets of Modern Monetary Theory to guide our macro economic policy
- The government should act as an ethical authority and not a moral authority
- We should be conducting our foreign policy primarily via the UN and honour obligations under UN treaties we are a signatory to
These 3 core principles will provide the basis against which all policy is discussed and developed.
We welcome your opinions in the meantime on specific tactics for organisational structure, specific ideas about how policy should be debated, voted on and adopted, specific tactics on choosing and electing office bearers etc. within the relevant boards/categories on this forum.
The main goal for formation of the National Executive and election of office bearers is to ensure that we maintain ethnic and gender diversity, and diversity of sexual orientation.
We want to avoid the pitfalls of "ethnic clustering" that can often befall ventures like these where Tim and I end up with a board full of white guys that talk and sound like us.
We also don't want this to be about "tokenism" where Tim and I elect the first non-white, non-male, non-heterosexual people we encounter into office bearing positions.
Both Tim and I need to find people who are genuinely aligned with our party's platform and have the relevant skills, experience, passion or interest in politics.
We expect this to take a while, not because there are a lack of qualified, passionate individuals who would align with our party's goal but because Tim and I are both white, straight men and the majority of people we know and interact with every day are white, straight men also.
Forming trusted relationships with people takes time.
We need to balance our genuine enthusiasm for getting the word out, starting to build some real policy positions, registering and building our member base, with the knowledge that if we rush things when establishing the organisational structures of the party we could end up failing before we ever really had the chance to begin.
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Post by timothymarkjones on Jul 31, 2016 2:44:35 GMT
Well spoken, as usual.
My experience forming another party proves Iain's thoughts to be right.
Iain & I are building trust with each other & we expect to be able to do that with others in the party.
We have a three-year plan & want a tight organisation with officers who can work in the best interests of all.
My ambitions aren't to be a politician. I am keen to achieve real change to our society & improve the outlook of Australians generally.
So speak to either of us privately if you have concerns or ideas but please allow for the fact that we lead busy lives. Particularly Iain.
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Post by Michael Sanderson on Jan 2, 2017 0:19:43 GMT
Iain Dooley and timothymarkjones I concur with your slow approach to establishing the protocols that will guide the party into the future. In saying that I notice the date on both these posts are 31/07/2016 and it would seem not much has happened. Party membership is a tad over 150, meaning at the current rate it will take another year to meet the 500 threshold.
I have just started working through the forum topics so please forgive me if the answers to these and other questions are somewhere I have yet to read.
What is the party’s strategy with regard to attracting new membership?
With regard to the AEP’s policy framework and core strategic vision, I find it odd that a party with its middle name “employment” does not contain that principle in its core strategic vision. I am aware that full employment is consistent with Modern Monetary Theory, but MMT is a hard sell, as it is not a concept that is obvious or accepted by mainstream thought. The concept of full employment is unambiguous and is able to be understood by everyone independent of education, knowledge, and life experience. It is publically non-partisan and socially acceptable across the board.
Why hide the party’s trump card or in other words, why not promote the party’s trump card?
On the face of it I have no issues with the framework and core strategic vision; although I need to understand Australia’s obligations under UN treaties we are a signatory to.
As an older, white, straight man I have no objection, in fact agree with the approach. I will have the time to be involved at a higher level, and believe I can bring a unique perspective and set of experiences to the discussion. My enrolment for membership with the AEP is being processed by the AEC. It is the first party I have been a member of, it is the first party I have found that represents my principles and vision.
I will now review the other threads on the forum and make a nuisance of myself there.
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Edwin
Junior Member
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Post by Edwin on Jan 2, 2017 2:59:17 GMT
Michael Sanderson, Would you be interested in a crowd funding election campaign? I have previously suggested this idea in the facebook group but I didn't get a lot of support for it. If 150 registered members all chipped in $10 each, it would result in $1,500 being pooled. What could be done with $1,500? AEP flyers with QR codes linked to the party's registration page?
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Post by Michael Sanderson on Jan 2, 2017 4:00:39 GMT
Edwin, I believe crowd funding is the only way to go. Accepting the bulk of funding from large donors can never be without strings. I would consider the crowd to extend to the general population rather than just membership.
Barak Obama and Burnie Sanders raised huge amounts of funds this way, but only did so because they were effectively selling something voters thought was worth paying for. At this stage of the AEP’s evolution very few are aware of its existence and it does not have sufficient members to even register.
Now I will do some shooting from the hip:
The idea of a flyer with linked QR codes is a good one. The flyer is conventional old school and the QR code enables that are tech savvy (as you Cleary are) to access online information quickly and easily. The initial thing that must happen is the design and content of a flyer, which I believe is urgent. It would have to be in my opinion aimed at increasing membership. A PDF version could be made available online so that individuals could print out and distribute.
The AEP has one distinct advantage over all other parties in that its core bank of voters, the unemployed at some time during a calendar year visit their local Centrelink office. It would be an ideal place to distribute flyers. Most will have to wait for their appointments and they would have the flyer to read while they wait. Get the message right and you have a voter and a potential member. Centrelink is also ground central for pensions and Medicare, further increasing potential effectiveness.
With one dedicated person per office with a ream of paper and a good colour printer you could cover the country for peanuts.
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Edwin
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Edwin on Jan 2, 2017 4:57:50 GMT
Michael SandersonThe problem is that the general population aren't aware of the AEP as evidence of the number of people who have registered with the party and the number of people who participate in the facebook group. Crowdfunding from the membership will allow the AEP to get the message out. People are reluctant to give money to a political group they have never heard of and are less inclined to give money to a party who states that federal taxes do not provide the federal government with revenue. It's the equivalent of saying the moon is made out of blue cheese, people won't accept it. Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders had a branded platform in which to launch their campaigns from. They used the democrats brand recognition to get media coverage, I think the strategy to emulate is that of Jill Stein. A candidate that no one had heard of until Bernie Sanders dropped out and supported Hillary Clinton from a party no one knew about. Jill Stein raised $3.5 million www.opensecrets.org/pres16/candidate?id=N00033776 which is a significant amount for a candidate who received zero mainstream media coverage. Iain doesn't share my 2019 or bust view but hopefully over the next two years the AEP can win at least one House of Representatives seat. However, during previous conversations with Iain he is focusing on running for the senate instead. We don't even have popular independent Australian YouTube media channels to get the message out, there are plenty of American YouTube channels which both Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein used to gain support. The idea behind the flyer with a QR code is to save costs. Rather than hire laptops to enable people to register with the party, since most people have smart phones it would be cheaper to handout flyers and if people wanted to hand out flyers to get more people registered then I am sure a PDF version could be made available. That is a good idea.
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Post by Michael Sanderson on Jan 4, 2017 23:42:53 GMT
Edwin, I get the impression that the AEP is languishing and have failed to get traction. I say this because of the very few that comment both here and on Facebook. Those who do make comment come with some fairly entrenched ideas (I include myself) that need to be worked through. It would also seem many commenters have faded away and no longer participate.
I understand Iain’s reluctance to move forward to quickly and his desire to have a party whose membership is diverse and inclusive. His focus on the senate is justified because of its semi proportional voting system. It would be easier to get the numbers required over a state rather than an electorate. In saying that your 2019 or bust approach in my opinion is the approach the party needs to take. If it’s possible to win one seat in the house of reps, it’s possible to win more than one. If the AEP was able to win the trust and support of the unemployed I believe that the party would have good prospects in high unemployment electorates.
If the AEP could convince pensioners that support for the AEP would advantage them, numbers would receive a further boost. If mainstream voters perceive that the AEP would eliminate unemployment and in the process stimulate private enterprise, services, and infrastructure in their towns and cities the voter base would receive another boost.
All this will require a coordinated and organised roll out. To achieve this membership must get to the 500 so the party can register, a constitution and executive must be established.
I personally need to familiarise myself with the current players and the level of evolution the party has reached.
Some form of membership drive needs to be undertaken as a matter of urgency.
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Post by Iain Dooley on Jan 5, 2017 11:50:35 GMT
Michael Sanderson flyers at Centrelink is a good idea. Edwin I think that crowd funding is also a good idea. However I think it would be better done through something like patreon allowing regular contributions. However in order to allow me to free up time from my business the contributions would need to be rather larger than I think the current membership would sustain so I had thought it would be a good idea to find a publicity person who wanted to work part time and give them the funding. That way they could get us in the paper regularly and that kind of thing. This topic here on promotion and registration has all my thoughts on how to get the word out: aep.freeforums.net/board/15/promotion-publicity-representationI've had some interest from another member recently on stepping up his involvement and I have set up a Trello project board to replace the "action required" labels that I previously used in the forum that didn't really work. Anyone interested in helping with that let me know just email me and I'll add you to the board. I also made a flyer and emailed it out to everyone on the mailing list. I put some up near where I live. Here is a PDF of it: drive.google.com/open?id=0B0qTBI--vTSXS0VCQ0xLWW0wdjgIf you look at the pinned post in the Facebook group I have listed some ways that people can get involved. One of the primary activities being undertaken now is to put together a conference. Michael Sanderson if you're interested in helping with that I can add you to the project board. I just don't have any time or money really so what I do is just have my list of things to do and can generally put in a few hours a week to chip away and take some action. I've found the most worthwhile activity I can undertake is writing articles. Note also that the issue of forming the national executive is separate from that of promoting the party and getting to registration. We have an interim steering committee which is timothymarkjones and myself and an interim constitution so we could register without having all the various office bearers in place. So by all means all help is welcome! I go through periods of more intense activity but generally between the business and the family I'm pretty short on time and money. Thanks for getting involved Michael Sanderson it's great to see your enthusiasm.
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Edwin
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Edwin on Jan 5, 2017 12:55:01 GMT
Iain Dooley the flyer needs a qr code  www.qr-code-generator.com/phpqrcode/getCode.php?cht=qr&chl=https%3A%2F%2Fworkingsoftware.wufoo.com%2Fforms%2Fz1o69jx4148rdfm%2F&chs=180x180&choe=UTF-8&chld=L|0I think a patreon campaign is a good idea, it will set milestones to be achieved. The question is, determining how low a contribution can be for a milestone to be reached? Maybe for $10, post comments on five public facebook pages? just to show people that the campaign is active and that someone associated with the party is doing something in return for the donations. Hopefully if these milestones are achieved quickly it will encourage more people to donate, I assume the core target for this campaign would be the unemployed. Who have hardly enough money to live on but what could be done if they chipped in? Obviously tv and banner ads will be further down the milestone list but I am sure other less costly milestones could be achieved.
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Post by Michael Sanderson on Jan 6, 2017 1:09:31 GMT
Iain Dooley please add me to the project board, I would like to engage with others to advance things. I must commend you on what you and Tim have achieved to date but as you obviously realise there is a limit to your and for that matter, anyone’s capability.
At the risk of repeating myself, the AEP is in a unique position where they have a potential resource of 1.4 million unemployed individuals with free time, many who would not only vote but also assist. Many of these individuals are highly skilled, passionate, are really pissed off, and have lots of time. The AEP to be successful needs to tap into this free and diverse resource.
I think Edwin’s proposal of a QR code on a flyer is an excellent idea. Perhaps multiple QR’s that directly address multiple functions (i.e. membership, how to get involved, donations). I really believe a targeted, well researched, and tested flyer is a priority.
I believe short video’s that explain in a clear and precise way the different policies of the AEP would be a better way to utilise a YouTube channel. Positive Money UK has some very good examples of what I mean.
Before the AEP can ask people for money there needs to be a robust set of protocols put in place that ensures accountability and that whoever donates has the confidence that the AEP will spend that money appropriately. One financial scandal has the potential of destroying a party. Again some good ideas but I think the cart is being put before the horse.
If the AEP does things right there will be no requirement to approach the media, the media will seek out the AEP. The party has a captive audience, the unemployed who are herded by the system. Thanks to the current system, we know where they go and what they are required do.
If the AEP try to do things mainstream, it will be constrained and be seen to be no different to the rest in the flock. I believe the party needs to hunt the flock as a coordinated pack with a single objective, and that objective can only be full employment. It is the Trojan horse that will contain all other initiatives. It would be best that the hunt is prepared as covertly as possible to perfect the strategy and maintain the element of surprise.
I hope this all make sense?
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Post by Iain Dooley on Jan 9, 2017 11:55:24 GMT
Edwin I actually did a poster with a QR code and put it up locally for an event on Facebook. They are pretty easy to make. The patreon campaign goals thing is a good idea but as Michael Sanderson has said raising money probably needs bit more structure first. timothymarkjones and I have been somewhat hesitant about the money thing ... Michael Sanderson the unemployed and underemployed are indeed a great potential source of support and many of the existing members are currently or have been in "the system". I have been talking with the AUWU and Owen is involved in organising the conference and the Right2work coalition which will be a tangent to it. I'll add you to the project boards.
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Post by Iain Dooley on Jan 9, 2017 11:57:24 GMT
Edwin oh right you put the QR code there well if you want you could stick it on there and put some up and let me know and I'll tell you if we get some sign ups from that area as an experiment!
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