Southern Cross Party Ltd

Chairman’s Address (Mick Pattel)

Mr Bob Katter, Ms Rosa Lee Long, Cate & Ivan Molloy & Distinguished Visitors

The ultimate purpose of the meeting today is to provide the Australian people and the youth of to-morrow with hope for the future, our mission is to win Government and put equity back into living.

There is a feeling of disillusionment with the conventional party system and mainstream Australians are looking for a different approach.

The choice of many people in this room and beyond is to start with a clean slate and build from here, the formation of the ‘Southern Cross Party’ will be the product of down to earth clear thinking Australians who’s only agenda will be to get it right and stop the rot

I and many others still support the party system, albeit a modified version, that will free up the elected member’s ability to be a true representative of the electorate on the floor of parliament.

Members will be independent and free of party constraints, and will vote on conscience or at the direction of the electorate at all times, and not be a puppet of the party or have to toe the party line, members can cross the floor without fear of retribution from the party, this structural change alone will be the cornerstone of our success.

We need to promote this point at every opportunity

Whilst the party is the administrative body, the elected member’s performance will reflect on the party’s ability to maintain credibility in the eyes of the Australian people, for that reason guidelines must be set to protect the integrity of the party.

Two separate codes of conduct for the elected members are needed to define their obligations to the party and to the electorate, and neither code must be in conflict with the other.

Core principles adopted by the last meeting will be binding on all members of the party; development of policy by the elected members must always reflect the intent of the core principles
Policy development must guarantee community input and equity for all stakeholders.

Cronyism is a fact of life in politics, and not to be tolerated, measures to ensure the transition of power is open and transparent and must be included in the party’s charter, power struggles for leadership are a distraction and do little for party unity,
We will promote limited terms for the leaders elected by their peers; this includes Prime Minister, State Premiers State and Branch Presidents (two terms will be the recommended period)

The selection of candidates will be high on the agenda in the new structure, as we strive to acquire quality and experience from all areas of business, industry and community, ministerial positions will reflect the expertise of the candidate.

The success of the party and the subsequent Government will hinge on the balance of business management and community interaction to gain workable outcomes for the Australian people, for business and for the environment.

The model is never complete and will need to be adjusted to reflect community requirements or expectations from time to time.

The people need to feel that the party belongs to them for that reason we will give all interested party’s the opportunity to be part of the formation and development of the structure, the election of the steering committee will get that process under way, we then need all interested bodies to nominate one or two representatives from their group to form the federal executive, from there we need to raise funding, build the branches and acquire members.

The road will be long and rough and we will be attacked from all sides, we saw it with One Nation and it will happen again, Southern Cross Party will be seen as a greater threat because of the support base and the calibre of people we will attract, we need to work together to succeed.

Mick Pattel