The Australian Democrats have welcomed the return of the Tasmanian Division, which was re-established this month as part of the rebuilding process.
The Tasmanian Division held its first meeting last night and appointed the interim executive who will establish the party's operations in Tasmania ahead of elections next year.
The new executive is:
President - James Irvine
Senior Vice President - Russell Mitchell
Vice President, Policy - Dwayne Purdy
Vice President, Events and Fundraising - Adam Young
Vice President, Administration - Debbie Howard
General Member - Andrew Bishop
General Member - Terence Seymour
Australian Democrats President Julia Melland said the re-establishment of the Tasmanian Division is a concrete sign that the Australian Democrats are coming back. "There has been a great deal of work go in to the re-establishment of the Tasmanian Division and we are all really proud to have Tassie back on its feet. This is real progress and will boost the spirits of all Democrats."
The Victorian Division absorbed the Tasmanian Division some years ago when the membership fell to too few people to sustain a separate division of the party. The Australian Democrats were de-registered as a party in Tasmania in 2006, but the new executive committed itself to re-registering as its highest priority at last nights meeting.
"We're asking all our members and supporters throughout Australia to call their friends and family in Tasmania and ask them to join the party today," Ms Melland said. "The Tasmanians have done a fantastic job to achieve what they have in such a short period of time, so anything we can do nationally to help them be able to contest the State election in March we will do."
The party needs 100 members to re-register at state level in Tasmania and is well over half way, however, the requirement that the member's names and home addresses be published in the paper has meant that some members have felt unable to submit their names to the Tasmanian Electoral Commission for registration purposes. The new Tasmanian Executive have committed themselves to an all out push to recruit the estimated 40 additional members willing to have their details published to make up the shortfall.
"We are running out of time so we need all supporters of the Australian Democrats in Tasmania to join today, so all Tasmanians have the option to vote to keep the bastards honest in March," Ms Melland said.
People wishing to join the Australian Democrats can do so easily from the website at www.democrats.org.au/join. More information about the Tasmanian Division is available from www.tas.democrats.org.au.
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Contact:
Julia Melland
President, Australian Democrats
Julia.melland@democrats.org.au
Tel 0431 357 585
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