FUSION: Science, Pirate, Secular, Climate Emergency, commonly known as Fusion Party Australia or Fusion, is a political party in Australia created by the merging of the Science Party,

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by political parties around the world. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively participation in government, reform of copyright and patent law, free sharin ...

, Secular Party, Vote Planet, and Climate Change Justice Party.

Formation

The party was formed in 2022 following the passing of the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Bill 2021 to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The effects of the legislation included increasing the minimum membership requirement for non-parliamentary parties from 500 to 1,500 unique members and new party naming rules, in order to " nsurethere exists a genuine base of community support for political parties and reduce the risk of voter confusion". Climate Emergency Action Alliance: Vote Planet remained registered for federal elections and undertook a name change to FUSION: Science, Pirate, Secular, Climate Emergency in March 2022. In the course of the amalgamation, the Science Party and Secular Party were deregistered in January 2022 by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). The Pirate Party was deregistered in April 2021. Fusion has a federated structure, with the merging former parties retaining a degree of autonomy as formal branches.

Ideology and policies

It describes itself as "A party determined to secure a safe climate and environment, a humanist society, and free culture, held together by science". The party supports the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

referring to its policy as

secular humanism Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality ...

. It supports removing religious prayers, rituals, and bias from government and public institutions and their documentation, and abolishing blasphemy laws. It supports a transparent government, such as disclosure of political donations above $1000, open access to advice behind policy decisions and removal of restrictions of speech on public servants. It also defines itself as

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measu ...

and wants to create an anti-corruption commission and implement protections for whistleblowers and activists. The party also wants to enshrine

network neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of c ...

and freedom of expression in law, supports freedom of speech, the creation of a constitutional bill of rights and removing bans on

voluntary euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia (VE) is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years. Some forms o ...

to decriminalise physician-assisted dying. Fusion supports lowering the voting age to 16-years-old, but retaining the current obligation age to vote at 18-years-old, as well as introducing electoral education into the high school curriculum. The party supports the legalisation of

cannabis in Australia Cannabis is a plant used in Australia for recreational, medicinal and industrial purposes. In 2019, 36% of Australians over the age of fourteen years had used cannabis in their lifetime and 11.6% had used cannabis in the last 12 months. Aust ...

, with similar laws and regulations to how alcohol is controlled in the country. It also supports animal welfare in terms of aspects such as incentivising meat alternatives, and alternative protein sources, such as lab grown meat. It also supports ending feed lots and factory farming, ending live export of animals for food, and establishing an Independent Office of Animal Welfare. The party has stated its support for "the reintroduction of stronger media ownership laws that cap ownership share by any one corporation". The party also supports a

universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...

(UBI) in the form of a direct payment of $500 per week or equivalent tax credit to every Australian citizen aged over 18-years-old. In terms of

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

, Fusion advocates for "responsible

global citizenship Global citizenship is the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives ...

", which involves supporting human rights worldwide, providing aid to other countries and helping asylum seekers.

Member parties

Electoral results

The Fusion Party fielded Senate candidates in the 2022 federal election in every mainland state, polling a national total of 51,676 votes (0.34%). The party also ran candidates in nine lower-house seats, with their best lower-house result being 2.16% of primary votes in the

Division of Dobell The Division of Dobell is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. Dobell is a NSW Central Coast electorate with large populations of both retirees and young families fleeing Sydney's expensive real estate. The elector ...

.Dobell, NSW
''2022 Tally Room'', Australian Electoral Commission.

References

External links