SECRET BALLOT CAMPAIGN

Preliminary Constitution

The Secret Ballot Campaign is committed to the establishment of the secret ballot in our parliaments, to restore our democracy, in which we have failed to maintain 'government of the people, by the people, for the people.'.

Before he was murdered, Dr. Martin Luther King quoted Englishman Edmund Burke:

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

We need a practical approach to justly deal with the undue influence of minority interests, whether religious or otherwise, who subvert our democracy, which must aim for the political equality of all, to secure justice, peace and the advancing wellbeing of mankind, reflected in the words of William Hazlett, 1778.

The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves."

Furthermore we know the words of Jesus are vital to the life of the world,  the Golden Rule:

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you

It is the ultimate norm of high morality in our culture. Sure, there are other morals by which we live, but this one phrase embodies our most cherished value: that we should treat people as we would like to be treated. http://www.elroy.net/ehr/dountoothers.html

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man. These unassailable characteristics of democracy can be, and are 'decimated' every day by the powers of minorities to subvert them.

Democracy needs more than just principles. It needs the mechanics of political organisation - 'representative government' (in reality), to implement them in practice. This became evident in 1854 at the Eureka Stockade when military power crushed the suffering miners' protest against unjust laws, and the secret ballot for elections went on from there to become a world norm - the 'Australian Ballot' - a milestone indeed.

We need now the final step to secure a real democracy to pass on just,efficient government to future generations.

Today, we need this one more step to connect the people 'online' to government.
We cannot rely on the media to take responsibility for this. It cannot do it.

We therefore urgently need the secret ballot in our parliaments to:

• free our representatives to represent us and no one else,
• recreate objective, civil debate in parliament as the norm,
• restore parliamentary control of the executive, and bureaucracy,
• eliminate the cult of unwarranted secrecy,
• amend the role of all MPs - as independents,
• cause all representatives to institute regular local forums, in their electorates.
• increase constituent political understanding and sophistication by participation and deeper involvement.
• advance the cause of credible, real, democracy worldwide, and
• block minority interests, religious or otherwise, from exercising their baneful influence over the decisions of our parliaments, on which we must, perforce, rely, for the wellbeing of our national, corporate, social and separate lives.

Apart from the central policy of the Campaign, the Secret Ballot Campaign wiill, by this constitution, have no power to proclaim policy nor any jurisdiction over any candidate. That is the preserve of candidates and subsequently elected representatives, following consultation with their constituents. Thus, all candidates will be completely free and operate as independents.



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