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b_auspolWAxit
https://www.waxit.org/
And we finally get to the party I’ve joked about the most since before their name change!
WAxit has a complicated history. It started as the Micro Business Party in 2016, which then changed name to the Small Business Party in 2018 and then on to WAxit in 2021. So you would be forgiven thinking that they are your classic mid right wing “Small Business Taxes are Too High!” party if not for that last name change.
Yes. Welcome to the isolationist/secessionist section of the ballot.
WAxit, as you can tell from their extremely derivative name, are tapping into the part of the WA population who have always looked askance at the other timezones in Australia and said “do we really need these people? We have all these rocks right here!” The past twelve months have been a carnival for these folk, as it’s reinforced for many of them that yes, they would be better off without those icky eastern state germs. We can keep most of them out with a hard border… maybe we can just make that permanent?
I have to quote to you directly from their “About” page: “For too long Western Australia has been the Cinderella State, taken advantage of by the three ugly sisters and the wicked stepmother of the eastern seaboard.”
Ahh yes. WA is Cinderella. Presumably Queensland, NSW and Victoria are the “three ugly sisters” and Canberra/Federal is the “wicked stepmother”. Tasmania, in this analogy, is probably Tiffany Trump (ie forgotten). SA and NT are to be eyed suspiciously.
I mean. You know you’re not playing with a party who are serious about contesting government when the first thing they tell you is how they’re like Cinderella. This is as believable as anyone who says “They didn’t believe Galileo either!!”
WAxit go on to make the usual litany of complaints about how the Federal government steals from poor WA for the eastern states’ benefit. The greatest hits are all here: they are taking our GST money! We are the bedrock of the economy because we are good at digging up minerals and selling them overseas! We have a lot of land area and not enough seats in parliament! (Because land doesn’t vote outside the Senate, geniuses) We’re losing ANOTHER seat in the redistribution! (That’s your clearly booming population, WA).
“Western Australia must leave the Federation, stand on its own feet as an independent state free from the shackles of the Federation. Western Australians need to become masters of their own destiny and set their own course to a better future.”
All very dramatic stuff. I keep picturing someone standing on a box in the corner of a park declaiming all of this.
Then we get a full history of federation. WA weren’t allowed to develop an iron ore industry to protect Newcastle and Whyalla! (?!) FIFO workers don’t benefit the state! (ok fair). Boom and Bust economy is bad (yes) forced on them by financiers on the eastern seaboard (uhhhh) and so they should expand the basis of the economy (sure!). The gas industry does nothing for the state, as it’s controlled by the Federal government as it’s offshore (ok, I’m guessing the argument here is that if WA secedes they get the sweet sweet gas profits).
Also WAxit are outraged that the eastern seaboard gets all the defence and military bases in case of invasion. Because we really need to worry about that. “Most of the defensive capability of Australia is still concentrated in [the Brisbane to Adelaide triangle], making us all safe from potential invasion by Kiwis and Antarctic Penguins.” I have a bone to pick with this, as Little Penguins are native to the country, and WA even have their own colony. Can’t be an invasion if they are indigenous, WAxit!
There is also a freaking hilarious set of maths over Federal provided policies that an independent WA would have to provide where they simply divide everything by 10. We can pay for our hospitals by assuming the cost is 10% of the federal one! Same for pensions! We can pay for our defence budget by assuming the cost is 10% of the federal one! This last is extra funny as WAxit have just spent all this time complaining the WA defence is underdone and want to extend their own border even more by needing to manage a land border with the rest of Australia as well as the sea borders as far as defense goes (though to be fair they have held all said borders closed for most of the last 10 months…). There is no discussion as to whether these costs actually scale with population: I find that premise more believable for pensions and health than for DEFENSE.
The things missing from their policies: well, pretty much everything. WAxit are a one issue party, even more than you’d expect for a party that started out calling itself a small business party. Their issue is “Let’s leave Australia! WA secession!”
There is no discussion of how, or the cost of doing this, or of plans for things like trade agreements or international recognition or import duties from the Evil East, or you know the issues we all get to hear about on a day to day basis coming out of Britain. There is no actual budgeting of what an independent WA could do that uses real numbers.
In fact, in ways that remind me very MUCH of Brexit, “we can keep our GST” is treated the same way as “We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead”: a random number, with no discussion of whether this money is realistically enough. It likely is possible but I don't see any real costings that aren't "divide by 10".
There is no discussion of what they plan to do about any other policy that comes before the WA parliament if they get a LC seat other than agitating for secession. I mean, I can guess they are probably all about Liberal-and-more-right policies, but they don’t give you any indication of how they plan to vote.
This is not the Scottish National Party, to be blunt. It’s not even Sinn Fein and their principled policy of not sitting. There is no indication they have any ideas about what to actually do other than be agitators for a lost cause.
I took to their social media in hoping to find some actual policies. Their twitter is not linked on their website, but I managed to turn it up. The facebook link on their website doesn’t work and I couldn’t spot another. That was… interesting.
WAxit want the WA election held by post only, in case Mark McGowan decides to lock down the state again. Now, personally, I think the need for a postal-only election for WESTERN AUSTRALIA is rather different to the reasonable concerns in the US last year. Also, McGowan is almost guaranteed to romp home after this election, so I really doubt the man is likely to lock down the state over election Saturday, even if there is a community case: I suspect we will see reliance on Test, Trace and Isolate with encouragements to vote early so lines are shorter.
They don’t like either Labor or Liberal policies, shockingly enough. WAxit are also offended at the characterisation as a one issue party: “Unlike the single-issue parties, the WAxit Party's policy is to broaden the economic basis of the State, which is currently too dependent on mining and agriculture.” I’m excited! That’s an ACTUAL POLICY (ish). Could you not give me a bit more on that other than “we need to broaden”, because that is ALL I got from your website.
They also are offended by water running out to sea and being “wasted” and want to dam and divert it all for use (ahhh, farmers. Running rivers are not wasting water, folks).
Any Predictions?
Okay, this is one of André’s:
Cannot wait for the WA separation movement to revive on the grounds that it is the only way to protect the western third of the continent from COVID-19.
Well, McGowan got there first, but we do have the glorious return of the WA secession movement. Solid effort André at predicting the absolutely predictable.
Is this party trying to kill me?
No.
Is this party trying to harm me?
No. That would require having policies. Though I think they wouldn’t mind going to war against an Eastern Stater like me.
Conclusion
WAxit are right here with broad suite of policies including: independence for WA, broaden the WA economic base, independence for WA, water is for farmers not rivers, independence for WA, hold a postal-only election, and independence for WA.
If you too wish to indulge in the secret tendencies underlying every person from WA to have a grizzle about those damn eastern states who steal the GST money and secretly dream of WA independence… vote for Labor. They actually have a set of policies for what to do while McGowan quietly continues to possibly secede from Canberra. Don’t vote for these yahoos.
I’d probably put them ahead of the far right parties who have guns, but no higher on the ballot than that.
https://www.waxit.org/
And we finally get to the party I’ve joked about the most since before their name change!
WAxit has a complicated history. It started as the Micro Business Party in 2016, which then changed name to the Small Business Party in 2018 and then on to WAxit in 2021. So you would be forgiven thinking that they are your classic mid right wing “Small Business Taxes are Too High!” party if not for that last name change.
Yes. Welcome to the isolationist/secessionist section of the ballot.
WAxit, as you can tell from their extremely derivative name, are tapping into the part of the WA population who have always looked askance at the other timezones in Australia and said “do we really need these people? We have all these rocks right here!” The past twelve months have been a carnival for these folk, as it’s reinforced for many of them that yes, they would be better off without those icky eastern state germs. We can keep most of them out with a hard border… maybe we can just make that permanent?
I have to quote to you directly from their “About” page: “For too long Western Australia has been the Cinderella State, taken advantage of by the three ugly sisters and the wicked stepmother of the eastern seaboard.”
Ahh yes. WA is Cinderella. Presumably Queensland, NSW and Victoria are the “three ugly sisters” and Canberra/Federal is the “wicked stepmother”. Tasmania, in this analogy, is probably Tiffany Trump (ie forgotten). SA and NT are to be eyed suspiciously.
I mean. You know you’re not playing with a party who are serious about contesting government when the first thing they tell you is how they’re like Cinderella. This is as believable as anyone who says “They didn’t believe Galileo either!!”
WAxit go on to make the usual litany of complaints about how the Federal government steals from poor WA for the eastern states’ benefit. The greatest hits are all here: they are taking our GST money! We are the bedrock of the economy because we are good at digging up minerals and selling them overseas! We have a lot of land area and not enough seats in parliament! (Because land doesn’t vote outside the Senate, geniuses) We’re losing ANOTHER seat in the redistribution! (That’s your clearly booming population, WA).
“Western Australia must leave the Federation, stand on its own feet as an independent state free from the shackles of the Federation. Western Australians need to become masters of their own destiny and set their own course to a better future.”
All very dramatic stuff. I keep picturing someone standing on a box in the corner of a park declaiming all of this.
Then we get a full history of federation. WA weren’t allowed to develop an iron ore industry to protect Newcastle and Whyalla! (?!) FIFO workers don’t benefit the state! (ok fair). Boom and Bust economy is bad (yes) forced on them by financiers on the eastern seaboard (uhhhh) and so they should expand the basis of the economy (sure!). The gas industry does nothing for the state, as it’s controlled by the Federal government as it’s offshore (ok, I’m guessing the argument here is that if WA secedes they get the sweet sweet gas profits).
Also WAxit are outraged that the eastern seaboard gets all the defence and military bases in case of invasion. Because we really need to worry about that. “Most of the defensive capability of Australia is still concentrated in [the Brisbane to Adelaide triangle], making us all safe from potential invasion by Kiwis and Antarctic Penguins.” I have a bone to pick with this, as Little Penguins are native to the country, and WA even have their own colony. Can’t be an invasion if they are indigenous, WAxit!
There is also a freaking hilarious set of maths over Federal provided policies that an independent WA would have to provide where they simply divide everything by 10. We can pay for our hospitals by assuming the cost is 10% of the federal one! Same for pensions! We can pay for our defence budget by assuming the cost is 10% of the federal one! This last is extra funny as WAxit have just spent all this time complaining the WA defence is underdone and want to extend their own border even more by needing to manage a land border with the rest of Australia as well as the sea borders as far as defense goes (though to be fair they have held all said borders closed for most of the last 10 months…). There is no discussion as to whether these costs actually scale with population: I find that premise more believable for pensions and health than for DEFENSE.
The things missing from their policies: well, pretty much everything. WAxit are a one issue party, even more than you’d expect for a party that started out calling itself a small business party. Their issue is “Let’s leave Australia! WA secession!”
There is no discussion of how, or the cost of doing this, or of plans for things like trade agreements or international recognition or import duties from the Evil East, or you know the issues we all get to hear about on a day to day basis coming out of Britain. There is no actual budgeting of what an independent WA could do that uses real numbers.
In fact, in ways that remind me very MUCH of Brexit, “we can keep our GST” is treated the same way as “We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead”: a random number, with no discussion of whether this money is realistically enough. It likely is possible but I don't see any real costings that aren't "divide by 10".
There is no discussion of what they plan to do about any other policy that comes before the WA parliament if they get a LC seat other than agitating for secession. I mean, I can guess they are probably all about Liberal-and-more-right policies, but they don’t give you any indication of how they plan to vote.
This is not the Scottish National Party, to be blunt. It’s not even Sinn Fein and their principled policy of not sitting. There is no indication they have any ideas about what to actually do other than be agitators for a lost cause.
I took to their social media in hoping to find some actual policies. Their twitter is not linked on their website, but I managed to turn it up. The facebook link on their website doesn’t work and I couldn’t spot another. That was… interesting.
WAxit want the WA election held by post only, in case Mark McGowan decides to lock down the state again. Now, personally, I think the need for a postal-only election for WESTERN AUSTRALIA is rather different to the reasonable concerns in the US last year. Also, McGowan is almost guaranteed to romp home after this election, so I really doubt the man is likely to lock down the state over election Saturday, even if there is a community case: I suspect we will see reliance on Test, Trace and Isolate with encouragements to vote early so lines are shorter.
They don’t like either Labor or Liberal policies, shockingly enough. WAxit are also offended at the characterisation as a one issue party: “Unlike the single-issue parties, the WAxit Party's policy is to broaden the economic basis of the State, which is currently too dependent on mining and agriculture.” I’m excited! That’s an ACTUAL POLICY (ish). Could you not give me a bit more on that other than “we need to broaden”, because that is ALL I got from your website.
They also are offended by water running out to sea and being “wasted” and want to dam and divert it all for use (ahhh, farmers. Running rivers are not wasting water, folks).
Any Predictions?
Okay, this is one of André’s:
Cannot wait for the WA separation movement to revive on the grounds that it is the only way to protect the western third of the continent from COVID-19.
Well, McGowan got there first, but we do have the glorious return of the WA secession movement. Solid effort André at predicting the absolutely predictable.
Is this party trying to kill me?
No.
Is this party trying to harm me?
No. That would require having policies. Though I think they wouldn’t mind going to war against an Eastern Stater like me.
Conclusion
WAxit are right here with broad suite of policies including: independence for WA, broaden the WA economic base, independence for WA, water is for farmers not rivers, independence for WA, hold a postal-only election, and independence for WA.
If you too wish to indulge in the secret tendencies underlying every person from WA to have a grizzle about those damn eastern states who steal the GST money and secretly dream of WA independence… vote for Labor. They actually have a set of policies for what to do while McGowan quietly continues to possibly secede from Canberra. Don’t vote for these yahoos.
I’d probably put them ahead of the far right parties who have guns, but no higher on the ballot than that.
