Glenn Druery
Glenn Druery is an Australian ultra-distance cyclist who has also made a mark as an electoral campaigner, while himself failing to be elected to any parliament.
Cycling
Druery has competed in the Race Across America (RAAM) three times, in 2005, 2007 and 2009. In 2009 his four-man team, Team RANS, won the epic 5000 km event in 6 days 3 hours and 40 minutes.[1]
In 2003 and 2007 he participated in the 1200 km Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP) cycling event.
Politics
In 1996 Druery was instrumental in the formation of the Outdoor Recreation Party. In the lead-up to the New South Wales state election, 1999, he exploited weaknesses of the electoral and preferential voting systems by setting up and/or organising 24 minor party structures to harvest flow-on votes from the ballot paper which made that election known as "the tablecloth election".
The NSW Legislative Council elects 21 members every four years, with a quota of 4.5 per cent of the vote. In 1999 the ballot paper had to accommodate 264 candidates and 81 parties. Many of these were newly created parties with attractive names such as the Three Day Weekend Party, the Marijuana Freedom Party and the Four Wheel Drive Party. The sole purpose of such micro parties was 'preference harvesting', attracting above-the-line votes which could then be channelled via registered group tickets to particular individuals, in this case Glen Druery of People First and Malcolm Jones of the Outdoor Recreation Party. In the end Malcolm Jones received preferences from 19 party tickets and won a seat, despite having attracted only 0.2 per cent of the primary vote. Voters for these micro parties were often deceived as to the nature of the party. . .[2]
In that election, seven members of minor parties were elected to the Legislative Council, three of whom were undoubtedly assisted by Druery. The parliament later passed legislation to tighten the requirements for political party registration.[citation needed]
As a candidate, Druery has unsuccessfully contested several elections. He ran for the New South Wales Legislative Council in the 1999 state election; as a Liberals for Forests candidate for the Senate in the 2004 federal election; and as a Liberal Democrats candidate for the Senate in the 2010 federal election.[3]
References
- ^ Cyclist, Australian (2009-09-01). "Endure it". Australiancyclist.com.au. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- ^ Sawer, Prof M. Above-the-line voting—How democratic? pp. 4-5, Paper for Political Science Program, RSSS, ANU (June 2004). Also cited at pp. 18-19 in section Ticket Voting of Australian Electoral Commission second submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, September 2008, pp 18-19
- ^ "Liberal Democratic Party website". Ldp.org.au. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- Self-published profile at the subject's lobbying business, Independent Liaison
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