The Committee for Public Education (CFPE) opposes the anti-democratic electoral laws that were rushed through the Australian parliament on August 26 and supports the Socialist Equality Party’s (SEP) campaign to defeat the legislation.

The laws force all minor parties, including the SEP, to submit the personal details of 1,500 members to the Electoral Commission. This is treble the previous number and must be submitted in less than 90 days or face deregistration, meaning the party’s name will not appear on the ballot papers at the next election.

These laws were passed under conditions of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, as the deadly Delta variant is spreading rapidly across the country. The New South Wales Liberal and Victorian Labor governments are both pushing for the reopening of schools and universities, as part of the mantra that everyone needs to “learn to live with the virus.”

This is throwing millions of children and educators into unsafe workplaces, where they will inevitably catch and spread the virus. As international experience demonstrates, this will lead to mass hospitalisation and death.

The CFPE calls on every educator to join the campaign to defeat these anti-democratic laws and become an electoral member of the SEP today. Join the SEP’s public online meeting this Sunday September 19 to discuss how you can take this campaign forward. Click here to register for the meeting.