10 Jan First Australian indigenous party listed (Sydney Morning Herald)
Paul Osborne, Senior Political Writer
Australia’s first indigenous political party has been officially registered.
The First Nations Political Party plans to contest the next federal and Northern Territory elections and has its sights set on other states.
First Nations organiser Japarta Ryan is the grandson of early land rights activist Vincent Lingiari and ran as an independent in the federal seat named after his grandfather in 2007 and 2010.
Mr Ryan said he was delighted to hear of the electoral commission’s confirmation of registration, which meant the party could get started electing an executive and preselecting candidates.
Mr Ryan said there were many people among the estimated 2500 party supporters who wanted to run as candidates.
He said he wanted the party to be ready for an early federal election.
“It’s not a stable government – if one of the independents decides to go, there could be problems … we’ve got to be ready for that,” Mr Ryan told AAP. … Go to article.