2014-11-16
Giz Watson and Penny Allman-Payne
Last weekend, two years of hard work by an amazing group of dedicated members from across the country culminated in three days of intensive negotiations conducted in the spirit of goodwill and compromise.
The end result?
A new Australian Greens Constitution that sets us on the path to being a more cohesive and effective national organisation — by the membership, for the membership.
At the centre of most discussions which took place in Canberra on the weekend beginning 7 November was the contested and difficult issue of our growth as a party that seeks to do politics differently (based on consensus decision-making and the involvement of all our members) but also effectively (taking account of the hierarchical adversarial realities of parliament, the intended crucible of Australian democracy).
The most significant decision made by conference was to establish the new National Council. This body will meet regularly, including four face to face meetings each year, and will provide, for the first time, a forum that brings together the party membership, the parliamentarians and the office bearers into a decision-making body. The National Council will provide increased opportunities for States to share ideas and work co-operatively and enable more regular meetings between the party and MPs. It will have the responsibilities of the present Australian Greens Co-ordinating Group (convened by national office bearers), National Campaign Committee and the national Quick Decision Making Group.
The creation of the new National Council is also linked to a new formula for determining the number of delegates to National Conference. The formula seeks to address the desire of some states for greater proportionality in circumstances where other states wanted cultural change, with delegations no longer acting in state blocks. The new formula will be trialled for a year or so and is subject to review by conference.
A number of the constitutional proposals to conference lapsed, which was unsurprising given the breadth of options for change that were on the table. For example, proposals relating to the election of the parliamentary leader, removing parliamentarians' right to a conscience vote and consulting the party members before going into government/coalition or blocking appropriations bills failed to achieve consensus. Conference felt that these proposals for increased party room accountability to the wider membership may no longer be deemed necessary if improved communication and mutual support between the party membership, our elected representatives and our office bearers is achieved through National Council.
The passing of the new constitution late in the afternoon on the last day of conference was met with a mixture of jubilation and relief. The fact it was agreed unanimously by consensus after an exhaustive process of consultation with all of our members, negotiation and debate is something we as Greens can all be proud of.
The new constitution reflects our current practises, strengthens our internal democracy and removes considerable ambiguity from the original document.
That such a positive outcome was achieved is a testament to the collective hard work of our membership. Particular thanks to all the conference delegates and office bearers who did so well in steering us to consensus in a spirt of compromise and good will. Together we hope to assist the party to make the transition to a more effective and inclusive political force to be reckoned with!
Penny Allman-Payne and Giz Watson
Australian Greens Co-convenors