A critical thinker's guide to Victoria's Prahran By-election

Surrounded by controversy and an abundance of right-wing candidates, this Saturday's Prahran By-election is proving to be a 'democratic farce', writes Naomi Fryers.

WHILE THIS WEEKEND'S predicted 23-degree temperature would make for a welcome and refreshing reprieve for many of Prahran's voters and constituents, the lead-up to Saturday's by-election has been anything but that. The entire democratic farce proves that the only things we can be certain of these days are death and taxes. Or can we?

As for death (at least politically speaking), we only have to look to “Independent” candidate Tony Lupton’s political resurrection. Or not. From a once respected Parliamentary Cabinet Secretary for the Labor Party to a man in orange touting community support for his candidacy, while using the ‘It’s time’ slogan – to send his preferences to the Liberal Party – all in the blink of an eye.

If you’re confused, don’t worry. So are we.

Now for taxes. The Greens can pledge to abolish them in all forms because, let’s face it, they can promise anything if they never actually have half a chance of forming even a minority government. Anyway, if the minority party has its way with Prahran again, some in the caucus may indeed favour more of a tithe system approach as taxes sound a bit totalitarian, right? Surely some other kind of agreement can be reached unanimously by consensus through means of non-violent communication, because ‘Kumbaya’ or something.

Let's be clear: Australia is not immune to ‘democratic backsliding’

It is increasingly clear that we cannot take democracy for granted.

For those who’ve missed the controversy and are uncertain about how Prahran even ended up with a by-election, it so seems the former incumbent MP Sam Hibbins (elected via The Greens while Co-Deputy Leader of the Party) considered himself a bit fringe for rules and regulations. Thus, against a parliamentarian’s moral code of ethics, he engaged in a now well-documented extramarital affair with a staffer, which he later referred to as “a human mistake”.

For the record, Independent Australia remains unclear about what a “non-human mistake” might entail but notwithstanding this detail of note, it sounds almost fiendish.

Among the field of 11 hopeful candidates is a selection so random it could have been chosen via dart throw. Alas, these include five “Independents”, a Family First nominee, someone or other from Animal Justice, a man named Dennis who believes in sustainability and a Libertarian — none of which are the particularly surprising bits.

Widely considered frontrunners are the Liberal Party’s Rachel Westaway and Angela Di Camillo for The Greens. Although realistically for the latter, she may just have been passed the poisoned chalice, following her former colleague’s questionable conduct.

Rachel Westaway is perhaps best known (at least according to Wikipedia) for an ill-fated tilt in a NSW state election dating back two solid decades. She also has preferences flowing from two “Independents” including Nathan Chisholm, a high school principal in Prahran and... does he not remember the Kennett era?

By now you may be starting to conclude that this race has been well and truly sewn up by right-wingers and let’s face it, there’s a good chance you would be correct.

A more effective Australian electoral system is long overdue

The adversarial two-party political culture in Australia is in need of replacement.

In case there were any doubts about that fact, we don’t need to die wondering as Tony Lupton has made a call to arms via his campaign urging constituents to punitively punish the Greens. But also, less overtly, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen’s Labor Party, who he labelled “cowardly” for not sending an endorsed ALP candidate into the blood bath of which he may or may not have positioned himself to be the chosen one instead of having to go to the dogs.

Anyway, we haven’t quite finished.

Potentially, the last of the noteworthy or at least eyebrow-raising contestants – I mean contenders – is the Family First hopeful Genevieve Gilbert, best known for being the founder of the Pink Cross Foundation.

The Pink Cross Foundation is currently offering internships and seeking influencers to further its cause as a juggernaut against the sex industry and porn addiction, touting healing and hope for those impacted. This somehow reminds me of the time I inadvertently ended up in a debrief with a theologically trained counsellor at the Pentecostal church and there was everything but a laying of the hands, and that is absolutely a story for another time.

Exactly who claims victory on Saturday remains to be seen, although notably pre-poll and postal votes are likely already complete, perhaps even pathing the way to one party’s electoral victory already. In the post-Hibbins era, if the race for Prahran has taught us anything it is to expect the unexpected, not be surprised by the surprises democracy holds.

And remember that we can no longer be sure of anything — not even death or taxes. Perhaps even especially not death nor taxes.