I kid you not: Australia has its own political Sex Party! While in Quebec we do have "Le Bloc Pot" (a marijuana/green sort of party), the Sex Party is definitely one of its kind.Formed in 2008 and officially launched at Melbourne Sexpo on the 20th November 2008, it is led by Fiona Patten (picture), also CEO of the Eros Association. The group was put in place as a counter-reaction to growing convervatism in Australian politics.
As Patten puts it:
"Sex is deeply rooted in the lives of all Australians. It is relevant to hundreds of pieces of legislation made around the country. If you're sick of being preached at by wowser and chauvinistic politicians, join the Australian Sex Party. We're positive about sex."
As for what's on the Sex Party menu (re: Wikipedia):
- Bring about the establishment of a truly national classification scheme which includes a uniform non-violent erotica rating for explicit adult material for all jurisdictions and through all media including the Internet and computer games.
- Introduce an R and X rating for computer games.
- To overturn mandatory ISP filtering of the Internet (there is Internet censorship in Australia!) and return Internet censorship to parents and individuals
- To bring about the development of a national sex education curriculum as a first step in preventing the sexualisation of children and development of a national internet education scheme for parents.
- To create total equal rights in all areas of the law for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
- Overturn racist laws that ban Aboriginal people from possessing erotic and sexual media in the Northern Territory.
- The listing of Viagra, Cialis, and other drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction, on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
- Convene a Royal Commission into child sex abuse in the nation’s religious institutions.
- Develop global approaches to tackling child pornography which focus on detection and apprehension of the producers of the material.
- The public education system should be secular in nature and not provide for any religious instruction whatsoever.
- Ending the tax exempt status for religions.
- Supports stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research, and maintains it is a vital medical issue, not a religious issue.
- Supports women’s rights to have an abortion if they so choose.
- Opposes a blanket ban on women wearing the burqa conditional upon it being the woman’s choice.
- Decriminalisation, not legalisation, of purchase, possession and consumption of all drugs for personal use, such quantity to be defined as an amount equal or less than 14 day’s supply for one person.
- Immediate cessation of the use of drug sniffer dogs in public.
- Legalise and regulate cannabis for specified medical uses.
- Trafficking and dealing in drugs to remain a criminal offence.
- Supply of any drugs to a minor is to be a criminal offence.
- Laboratory quality drug testing stations to be provided at all music festivals and the like.
- Legalise and increase the number of medically supervised injecting rooms.
- Legalise the prescription of heroin to registered and habitual users.
- Voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide for patients with a terminal illness and suffering severe pain to be decriminalised.
- Minors (under the age of 16) may obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent/guardian.
- Ensure abortion is a part of sex education in schools.
A very interesting (albeit a bit shocking on some issues) party indeed...
