Animal Justice Party

[b_auspol]

Animal Justice Party

Website: https://www.animaljusticeparty.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/animaljusticeAU

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalJusticePartyAJP/

(My review for the 2021 WA Election)

The Animal Justice Party were founded in 2009, and originally Sydney based: they currently have two members in the NSW Legislative Council and one in the Victorian Legislative Council. They gained federal registration in 2011 and have run every election since then.

AJP are a party focused on animal and environment issues. They now require candidates to be vegan, after a truly bizarre incident where their first MP was seen eating seafood at a Japanese restaurant, outraging their core angry vegan dynamic: “I strayed for that moment; for that morsel. It's all over.”

My biggest complaint about AJP is that they are so thoroughly focused on animal welfare that their invasive animal policies are practically incoherent. They would like brumbies to stop destroying habitat while also resisting any sort of effective method of removing them from Alpine country.

Party Analysis

This year their election policies are in a very slick pdf booklet. Their policies are arranged into “Animals, People, Planet” this year – the environment got the shaft! Normally People are last to put us all in our places.

Animal policies this year revolve around live exports (they’re against), ending factory farming, stopping animal testing, look do I really need to spell these out? I will also make the usual point that some level of animal testing is necessary, even minimised by scientists, as in some cases there is no safe test between in vitro and human trials without running it through at least one animal model. They also have a “protect Australian icon species” policy that is both a ‘protect koala habitats’ policy, and a ‘stop shooting and eating roos’ policy. They want to outlaw selling killed roo. And here my own omnivorous habits rear up, as roo is both delicious and a more environmentally friendly meat, so banning all sale would be a step backwards, given that a portion of people will still eat meat. They would like no poisoning of feral animals and prefer desexing and rehoming (which is fine except rabbits exist, AJP, as do feral cats and foxes. The scale of the issue is beyond easy rehoming).

In interesting animal policies, AJP are pushing for more national registries for pets to help ban puppy farming, national policy on pet food labelling, and a federal animal protection body. They make the point that animal protection is currently regulated by fishing and agriculture departments, rather than an external independent body. This is an interesting suggestion, as self regulation is generally not the most effective method at achieving goals. They also want to stop people advertising pets in other states to avoid state regulations.

People polices are veganism is cool! But seriously, eat less meat, advocate for less meat in institutions, teach people about the health aspects of veganism etc etc. Apparently we should ban advertising of meat containing nitrates, because of the possible cancer link. AJP are actually very into banning advertising this year.

Ok beyond the veganism ad, AJP want “free basic healthcare” (this concerns me, complex healthcare is what causes issues), free education and affordable housing as basic human rights. They want a First Nations treaty, support for queer people and families, and increased international aid. This is all very standard left stuff. They DO want the international aid to prevent global overpopulation, though, so we have our lefty nimby moment. And they are again advocating for more support for animals in family violence situations, particularly in accessing shelters – this is something AJP have been for for a long time and it’s an important policy, given how often animals are caught up in these situations and used as a threat/lever.

An interesting COVID policy change that I’ve seen in their platform this time is a focus on how farming animals creates animal reservoirs for diseases and that we should stop future pandemics from zoonotic infections. This isn’t wrong (in that keeping animals healthy is always an issue) but has also led to them posting a video called “The Viral Spiral” that looks like a dubbed US video. I laughed watching it a few too many times.

Interestingly, AJP are supportive of cell/vat grown meat, along with plantbased meat alternatives. I wasn’t sure which way they’d lean on this but the lack of cruelty by growing cells apparently outweighs the “ew meat” vegans.

Planet policies are that we should decrease animal farming to reduce our greenhouse gases! They’d also like to ban new coal mines and gas wells, fracking, and overuse of water in the Murray-Darling. There is an “end species extinction” policy, which is nothing if not ambitious (mostly habitat regeneration and ending land clearing). I think they also want a bill of rights for the natural world – calling for “ecocide” to be an international crime. Also we should acknowledge the Climate Emergency and go for net zero by 2035.

Really, all the planet stuff is pretty standard and expected. Net zero for 2035 and the heavier animal focus are really the only things that stand out from boilerplate here.

Is this party trying to kill me?

No. AJP do not want to kill anything. Even if they really probably should (rabbits, brumbies).

Is this party trying to harm me?

Only my diet. AJP don’t have an explicit guns policy this time, possibly because it’s so far out of their minds they don’t even want guns used on animals, let alone people.

Conclusion:

AJP continue to mature into a minor party, courtesy of their actual state level experience. They are at least no longer specifically listing off their policies for each animal individually. They’re still a bit too radically focused on animal rights above human rights for my taste, but I know people who feel that way.

Their policy spread is still pretty focused (animals, veganism, climate and family violence), but if you want to signal to both ALP and the Greens that you want more focus on veganism/animals, you could definitely do worse.

If you enjoy pictures of extremely fluffy animals in your Canva political advertising, go look at the AJP. It's your party for leftwing animal rights issues.