In May 2018, the party applied to the AEC for registration for federal elections as "Reason Australia",[8] which was approved on 30 August 2018.[9]
In December 2019, the NSW branch of the Voluntary Euthanasia Party merged with the Reason Party, and changed its name to "Reason Party NSW".[10]
In December 2020 it was announced that Patten would enter a coalition with independent Mildura MP, Ali Cupper who sits in the Legislative Assembly.[11] Cupper ended the agreement on 13 May 2021.[12]
The party's main goal should they be elected was to establish voluntary assisted dying laws for Victoria. After a long process and a marathon legislative session, the bill became law on a conscience vote.[14][15]
In 2017, Patten renewed calls for a pilot program of a safe injecting room in North Richmond, in response to a large increase of Victorian drug-related deaths in the last several years.[16][17] In the first session for the Legislative Council of the year, she introduced the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Pilot Medically Supervised Injecting Centre) Bill 2017.[18] At the time there were regular overdoses in the streets of Richmond, and that number has been reduced significantly since the centre was opened, with various estimates about the number of lives saved due to the opening of the centre.[19][20]
National media classification and introduction of non-violent sexual content label
Other areas
Reason Party supporters with placards at Yes Marriage Equality rally Sydney Town Hall 10 Sept 2017
Focusing on community housing and ensuring that at-risk people have a place to live
Decriminalise sex work and remove censorship so that people can make their own choices about what they want to watch
Improving public transport especially for high growth outer suburban areas
Increasing oversight around politicians and tighten the rules to prevent unethical behaviour by the state's politicians and public figures
Taxing the non-charitable business arms of religious institutions. This includes the estimated $9 billion portfolio of the Catholic Church in the state[27][28]
Holding a referendum on whether or not Australia should become a republic
Provide improved, interconnected and safer walking and cycling paths, including:[30]
Investment in safe, direct and continuous bike routes, separated from other forms of traffic
Revitalisation and expansion of existing cycling trails
Providing bike racks on buses, trams and trains
The right for terminally ill people to choose voluntary assisted dying[31]
Repealing laws that prevent the territories from enacting voluntary assisted dying legislation[31]
Promote and support legalisation of voluntary assisted dying in every state and territory of Australia[31]
Electoral history
Victorian state elections
Fiona Patten Portrait 2013
In addition to fielding candidates in a number of Victorian Legislative Assembly seats, the party stood candidates in all regions of the Victorian Legislative Council after 2017. In 2018 the party succeeded in re-electing Fiona Patten to the Northern Metropolitan Region.
*Chipp was endorsed by the party, but the party was not registered with the VEC at the time, as they were in the process of changing their name.
Links
The party has had some involvement in Glenn Druery's Minor Party Alliance.[32][33] However, in the lead-up to the 2018 state election, Fiona Patten had a falling out with Glenn Druery due to his new conflict of interest as chief-of-staff to Federal Senator, Derryn Hinch, who was running candidates in the election and receiving favourable preferences due to Druery's private business dealings as the "preference whisperer". She claimed that he demanded that the Reason Party pay him money, or she would not be re-elected. Patten made an official complaint to the VEC, and Druery is now subject to an ongoing police investigation over this complaint.[34][35]
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_supporters_with_placards_at_Yes_Marriage_Equality_rally_Sydney_Town_Hall_10_Sept_2017.jpg)
