Members
It is proposed that the Australian Independents Movement (AIM) be an incorporated association that is created as an umbrella/coordinating body for any existing or newly-formed community groups dedicated to a vision of doing democracy differently, but acting in accordance with a set of mutually-agreed principles/values, sharing resources and committed to appropriate standards of honesty, transparency and integrity.
Purpose
To provide a viable alternative for voters who are dissatisfied with existing political parties.
To effectively oppose the forces that have created the current imbalance of power and influence (the ‘opponents‘ of AIM) including:
- Billionaire oligarchs who are engaged in state-capture through money and influence
- Rapacious multinational companies involved in tax evasion, labour exploitation and resource extraction to the detriment of social and environmental interests and sustainability
- Authoritarian populists who are motivated by personal power and/or wealth accumulation
- Enablers of the above (ATLAS Think-tank network, PR firms, commercial and industry-embedded lobbyists, lawyers and taxation ‘planning’ consultants and mainstream media outlets controlled by or serving the above interests)
What makes it a movement?
Attributes/DNA of the movement include:
- The goal is for the whole of Australia to be eventually covered by a ‘mosaic’ of incorporated community ‘voices’ associations that sign up as members of AIM
- Some may be focussed on a single electorate at one level of government (e.g. one federal division, one state electorate or one local government council) but others may be based on a geographical area containing multiple seats at all three levels of government
- The common element is that all AIM members commit to operating in accordance with a defined top-level set of intrinsic values -the “Must Haves“
- Independent candidates or political representatives endorsed by AIM members must agree to act and make decisions in the best interest of their constituency, identifying and naming the AIM opponents and their activities and developing or supporting and advocating for appropriate alternative actions and policies
- AIM members are encouraged to customise their AIM-supplied templates (including Constitution, Business Plan, Code of Conduct, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Candidate Endorsement Agreement etc.) according to their unique local circumstances, preferences, cultures, branding and priorities. AIM members are also encouraged to use the software developed by CORE Australia as a low cost online platform backed by a powerful CRM (customer relations database) designed for Australian campaigning organisations, such as Voices groups
- All AIM members are encouraged to maintain high standards of governance, including
- evidence-based decision making
- long-term/strategic thinking and planning
- identifying and declaring anything that is or can be perceived be a conflict of interest
- prudent risk management
- appropriate processes for complaint reporting and conflict resolution
- commitment to documenting a representative account of the priorities and desired outcomes of the community using traditiuonal engagement processes (surveys, kitchen table conversations, meetings etc.) and direct data capture through webpage forms
- consistency with notions of national interest/sovereignty, Indigenous rights, sustainability and equality/human rights
Between elections - Communication Mode
Although it is difficult to maintain the interest and participation of volunteers between elections (everybody has busy lives and family commitments) AIM member groups are encouraged to maintain operations in ‘Communication Mode’. This involves:
- ongoing community engagement – listening to their concerns and aspirations while promoting opportunities to foster informed debate and development of leadership skills among interested volunteers and potential candidates; and
- two-way communication with elected representatives and government and business decision-makers.
Approaching elections - Accountability Mode
Activities in this period will vary greatly between AIM member groups according to their circumstances. Groups with a single electorate focus may already have an endorsed/supported candidate. Groups with multiple electorates may or may not have the need, resources or pre-identified candidates to run multiple campaigns. Whatever the details, the following general approach may serve as a guideline for activities in this period.
The group needs to put together a team to describe and evaluate the performance of the ‘ruling party/government’ invoved in the election (local, state or federal) and the incumbent representative in the electorate/s being contested. That assessment needs to be as objective as possible and take into consideration all the nuances (what was promised, what was delivered, were there mitigating circumstances, was the incumbent a Minister/leader, back-bencher or in opposition etc.). Following that, the group can evaluate the attributes and policies of candidates and produce a list of candidates in descending order of perceived alignment with the group’s values and the community needs and priorities.
It is then up to the group to decide whether or not to identify and encourage somebody from the electorate/s involved in the upcoming election to stand as an independent candidate. If one or more appropriately vetted independent candidates are in the group’s electorate/s, an agreement should be concluded with each candidate covering all campaign arrangements. If the candidate/s are using CORE Australia software, the agreement should cover what data the group agrees to supply to the candidate’s campaign entity and how a copy of the database is to be returned to the group after the election.
During the election - Campaign Mode
To maintain their non-partisan credibility, each AIM member group should undertake campaigning only in support of a community independent candidate that has completed a Candidate Endorsement Agreement. In the absence of any such candidates, members and friends of the group should be free to support any candidate of their choice, providing they do not wear badges, branded clothing or distribute literature using their group’s logos or branding, or make claims on behalf of the group other tan referencing the ranked list of perceived candidate alignment with the group’s values..