NON-CUSTODIAL PARENTS PARTY (EQUAL PARENTING)

A. History of the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting)

The Non-Custodial Parents Party (NCPP) was originally formed in Australia in 1998. This was by Andrew Thompson and other concerned citizens. Andrew is the Founding and the current Party Secretary of the Party.

There was (and still is) a concern at the unnecessarily high level of Government intervention into the lives of ordinary Australian citizens. This is particularly with respect to Family Law and Child Support issues.

Our Party was originally registered at both the NSW State level and at the Federal level. The NCPP ran twenty-two (22) candidates in the NSW State Election of 1999. This included twenty (20) candidates in the NSW Lower House and two (2) candidates in the NSW Upper House.

The issues that mainly affect us are as a result of Commonwealth legislation. As a result, our State registration was subsequently allowed to lapse. This is so that we could concentrate our efforts on Federal Elections.

In the 2001 Federal Election, we had two (2) Senate candidates and six (6) House of Representatives candidates. The seats contested were Bennelong, Eden-Monaro, Lindsay, Macarthur, Parramatta and Richmond. All candidates were based in NSW.

In 2003, we contested the by-election for the then vacant Federal seat of Cunningham (near Wollongong). The seat was formed in 1949 and had been continually held by the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Our preferences were directed away from the ALP. We contributed in a small way to the ALP not winning the by-election (Cunningham subsequently reverted back to the ALP at the next General Election held in 2004).

In the 2004 Federal Election, we had eight (8) Senate candidates and two (2) House of Representatives candidates. The States contested were New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. The two (2) House of Representatives seats contested were Cunningham and Parramatta.

In 2007, we made a small change to the name of our Party. It was changed from the Non-Custodial Parents Party to the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting).

In the 2007 Federal Election, we had eight (8) Senate candidates and two (2) House of Representatives candidates. The States contested were again New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. The two (2) House of Representatives seats contested were Cunningham and Macarthur.

We are currently registered as a political party with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Our party will be contesting the 2010 Federal Election.

B. Allocation (recommended) of Your Voting Preferences

Your preferences are important. It is crucial to let both major Political Parties know that family law and child support reform are important issues.

None of the major political parties have indicated that they will support necessary family law and child support reform.

Therefore, a strong vote for our Party will signal to these parties that there is a need to change their policies in that regard.

In the House of Representatives, voters have to number all squares. Otherwise your vote will be declared informal.

In the Senate, we will have pre-allocated our preferences. It is then only required to place the number [1] "above the line" (if you vote "below the line" you will need to number every square - but not both)

We suggest the following voting preferences. However even if you do not follow this order of preferencing, it would be appreciated if you would at least place a number put [1] beside our candidate's name, in the first instance.

a. Vote [1] for the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting).

b. Then vote [2], [3], [4], etc., to the political parties that do tend to support our policies viz. Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group), Family First Party and various other small political parties and independents.

c. Then vote for the Liberal Party of Australia, the Nationals

d.   Then vote for the Australian Labor Party (who have been even less inclined than the Liberal-National Coalition to even make  minor changes to the current legislation).

e. Finally then vote for the minor political parties that do not tend to support our policies viz. The Australian Democrats, the Australian Greens (the “Greens”), Socialist Alliance, etc

Our Contact Details are:

Andrew Thompson,

Party Secretary,

Non-Custodial Parents Party,

PO Box 97,

DOUGLAS PARK. NSW. 2569.

Telephone: (02) 4630 9072

Mobile: 0408 645 544

Fax: (02) 4630 8300

Email Address: ncpp@xisle.info

Any comments and feedback on our website would be appreciated.

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