This is the constitution for the political party known as "VOTEFLUX.ORG | Upgrade Democracy!", sometimes referred to as "Flux" or "the party" in this document.
Flux is hereby established as an organization.
The canonical version of the constitution is stored in the repository at https://github.com/voteflux/flux/
Clauses should be referred to by line number and most recent commit hash.
For the purposes of interpretation all rules, regulations, and instructions in this document are to be considered bylaws.
The primary objective of Flux is to promote the election of endorsed candidates to the Senate and House of Representatives. Promotion and endorsement of candidates will be contextually appropriate.
Further objectives:
- To provide every Australian voter with real democratic potential
- To use elected parliamentarians as a gateway for members to directly influence parliament within Australian law, using an internal voting system
- To provide the framework and means for minor parties and independents to participate productively without winning a seat
- To facilitate a culture of criticism through empowering specialists and passionate voters
- To stimulate the creation of new policy options
Flux's membership criteria are:
- Maintain a list of at least 500 members who are on the Australian electoral roll
- or, Have at least 1 member who is a parliamentarian
All Australian voters are eligible for membership. There is no cost for membership. Each member is required to provide their name and address such that it matches the electoral roll. Other required details include methods of contact, an email address is required, a phone number is optional. Their membership application is to be submitted through Flux's website, at https://voteflux.org. Members may resign or revoke their membership through the resignation feature on the member's membership details page.
To retain membership, after at least one Flux parliamentarian has been elected, members will need to (once a year) confirm their details are up to date through an email notification. Each time this happens their membership is valid for 1 year and they are granted voting rights within Flux's internal voting system.
There are no obligations outside of maintaining membership.
Parliamentarians who are members of Flux are not permitted to be members of other political parties. In a case where a parliamentarian does find themselves a member of another party, they must immediately resign from that other party.
Members may be expelled from the party only in the case it is agreed upon unanimously by the Leadership.
Official roles of the party are:
- Leader
- Deputy Leader
- Secretary
- Party Agent
- Treasurer
- Registered Officer
There is also a group known as the Leadership described below. Official roles (with the exception of Leader and Deputy Leader) are chosen by the Leadership, or by the Leader as per the section on Decision Making.
The Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day running of the party. They also have the responsibility for the carrying out of the administration, and for the conduct of the correspondence, of the party.
Initially the roles will be filled as per the below:
- Leader: Max Kaye
- Deputy Leader: Nathan Spataro
- Secretary: Max Kaye
- Registered Officer: Nathan Spataro
- Treasurer: Jonathon Miller
- Party Agent: Jonathon Miller
When the party's application to the AEC is successful this constitution comes into effect and is adopted by the party.
Members of The Leadership are hand chosen by the Leader and Deputy Leader and form the support for the Leader. They have no special roles, but form a close team to assist the Leader in managing and leading the party.
Amendments to this section (The Leadership) are only able to be made with the authorization of the Leader and this authority is not delegable.
Any amendments to the parent section (Structure of Flux and Office Bearers) must not contradict or affect this section without authorization of the Leader.
Max Kaye is the initial Leader. In the case of the death of the Leader, the Deputy Leader becomes Leader and then appoints a new Deputy Leader of their choosing.
The duration of the first term of Leader is 5 years from the date of registration. There is no election process for leadership currently; this is required to be implemented before the 5th anniversary of the party.
The Leader retains the final say in disputes or arguments regarding party operations.
If circumstances require the position of Leader to be filled but the Deputy Leader cannot take the position, the Leadership may elect a new Leader by whichever means they choose. If an impasse is reached a new Leader is randomly chosen from the Leadership.
The Leader may resign and appoint a new Leader during the initial 5 year period.
The Deputy Leader is chosen by the Leader for an ongoing appointment. The Leader may revoke the position of the Deputy Leader at their discretion.
Decisions are made by the party Leader. In their absence the Leadership may make decisions when at least 66% in agreement.
For the purposes of decision making a quorum is achieved when:
- The Leader is present
- The Deputy Leader and one other member of the Leadership is present
- Three members of the Leadership are present
The Leader may imbue any member with special authority for specific purposes, in which case decisions made by the delegate are treated as though they were made by the Leader, except in cases where such delegation would contradict with clauses in this document.
The party is required to announce the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) once per calendar year at a time of the Leadership's choosing, and hold the AGM within one month of the announcement.
An AGM is to be chaired by the secretary and follow an agenda. The agenda is open for any member to add an item. Members will be notified by email at least 1 week before the AGM. The Leadership is required to be present where possible, and the meeting will be live-streamed to members. Members may request to be invited to the AGM. Only members who are invited by the Leadership may participate. The AGM does not have to occur in one physical place; an online AGM is okay.
Party meetings may be called by the Leadership as per the section on decision making. A quorum is required. Members are not required to be notified.
Handling of assets is the responsibility of the Treasurer. At their discretion other party members may handle assets. The Leader and Deputy Leader are entitled to handle assets.
The Treasurer is responsible for managing the party's finances. A quorum can authorize spending of funds. Funds should be used only for the purposes of furthering the objectives of the party, and there is no other restriction on what funds may be spent on (except anything prohibited under Australian Law). The party agent is responsible for collating and submitting required documents to the AEC, and for keeping relevant party records for the times required by law.
Amendments to this constitution can be made with the support of at least 66% of a quorum, or at the discretion of the party Leader. They are to be submitted via pull request to the relevant Github repository.
Amendments to this section (Amendments to this Constitution) require the authorization of the Leader and such authority is not delegable.
Endorsed candidates are chosen by the Leader or by a quorum, though any candidates chosen by a quorum are able to be vetoed by the Leader.
State registered parties and branches may be created with the oversight of the Leadership. Members may opt-out of helping to form the state branch or party if they wish.
State and Territory branches may use the name "Flux" and associated branding elements when they have been created as a subsection here, as is the case with ACT Branch below.
The Flux NSW State Party is to be established with the constitution contained in the CONSTITUTION.NSW.md document in the root of this repository.
This constitution can be found at: https://github.com/voteflux/flux/blob/master/CONSTITUTION.NSW.md
The Flux WA State Party is to be established with the constitution contained in the CONSTITUTION.WA.md document in the root of this repository.
This constitution can be found at: https://github.com/voteflux/flux/blob/master/CONSTITUTION.WA.md
The Flux QLD State Party is to be established with the constitution contained in the CONSTITUTION.QLD.md document in the root of this repository.
This constitution can be found at: https://github.com/voteflux/flux/blob/master/CONSTITUTION.QLD.md
The ACT branch of the Flux party is to be established with the constitution contained in the CONSTITUTION.ACT.md document in the root of this repository.
This constitution can be found at: https://github.com/voteflux/flux/blob/master/CONSTITUTION.ACT.md
CONSTITUTION.ACT.md is accepted and ratified as the opening constitution of Flux ACT as defined in commit c37c68126e3c9d354d8bb66496d8efd6d9b35caa which is verified (and provided) at the following URL: https://github.com/voteflux/flux/blob/c37c68126e3c9d354d8bb66496d8efd6d9b35caa/CONSTITUTION.ACT.md (note the commit hash - the long string of random looking letters and numbers - matches the commit hash in the URL, indicating the document is correct and not tampered with).
Flux will use an internal voting system to
- Facilitate members participating in the parliamentary process
- Facilitate minor parties and independents' productive participation without winning a seat
The parameters and design choices of the system are left to the Leader, and not within the scope of this document. There is no requirement that the voting system for members is the same as the voting system for minor parties.