Animal Justice Party

Summary

Policies & Commentary

The Animal Justice Party is, not surprisingly, opposed to many of the things that are currently done to or with animals in our society. This includes wanting outright bans on all animal racing, beginning with greyhound and jumps racing, on recreational hunting, game fishing, rodeos and horse-drawn carriage rides, and on ban animals in circuses and marine theme parks. There’s a little more flexibility regarding zoos, on which The AJP only supports zoos, marine parks and aquariums where they function in the service of animals. Functions may include breeding of endangered animals, rescue and rehabilitation and serving as a permanent home for animals where release is impossible. Thus all zoos, marine parks and aquariums will join those already evolving to become even more like conservation parks and sanctuaries. They also oppose the use of animals in experimentation unless it can be demonstrated that the experimentation will not harm the animal and will benefit research and the individual animals involved, and want to see an end to aquaculture, wet markets and all uses of animal fur.

There’s a little more leeway regarding pets and companion animals, although they also want to see puppy and kitten factories close, as well as additional legal protections for animals as individuals rather than as property, along with a new enforcement agency to oversee that. The AJP also wants To assert Australian sovereignty over all laws protecting animals, regardless of international trade treaties, until trading nations sign a Universal Convention of Non-Human Animal Rights. Their protections for wildlife are similar, with some variation to accommodate the particulars of various animals.

Moving on to their policies regarding animals who vote, the AJP supports a universal publicly funded healthcare system, but also that they want to broaden the focus in health policy from just treating disease to also improving health. We believe the biggest gains in health, longevity and economy are to be gained by improving people’s knowledge and access to healthy diet and exercise opportunities. Our key dietary goal is to shift Australia’s food focus towards healthy plant-based wholefoods. This will greatly reduce the rates of many illnesses. Allied to this, they have concerns about cultured meat, dairy and egg products, and think that Processed meat should not be sold to people under 18 years of age. Their policy regarding genetic modification of wants to look at things on a case-by-case basis, drawing on the value base of kindness, equality, rationality and non-violence to assess the merits of each case. We seek regulation that prevents misuse and promotes social advancements. We will not hesitate to condemn GM when used in ways that harm animals. We will support GM where it removes existing forms of animal exploitation, improves human health, creates nutritious and sustainable crops, or helps protect our environment. It should be noted, howeve, that they consistently refer to GM as Genetic Manipulation rather than Genetic Modification.

Like nearly everyone, they have a Biosecurity policy, although the AJP’s may be the only one I’ve seen that doesn’t mention covid at all, being instead preoccupied with the risks of viruses originating in factory farms and in natural habitats – it is also unique in being the only party to be concerned about human to animal infection, as well as they other way around. In fact, nearly all of their policies are viewed through an animal-centric lens. Their employment and mental health policies mention the debilitating effects of working in abbatoirs, they want to see plant-based foods provided wherever the government provides food (schools, hospitals, prisons, etc), and so on and so forth. Their environmental policies are much the same as those of other green parties, albeit with a greater focus on the welfare animals.

They do have a few other concerns, though – their education policy pointedly includes an operational understanding of our voting system, which was just recently removed from the National Curriculum by the federal government. They’d also like to see the age of criminal responsibility increased to 14, in line with the United Nations’ Human Rights Review of Australia in 2019, fair treatment of asylum seekers, a federal ICAC and equitable treatment of minorities, including First Nations people and QUILTBAG people.

All in all, if you’re a left-leaning voter, you could do a lot worse. The Animal Justice Party is exactly what it says it is.

Just a reminder that Maz and I lack the necessary Eurovision knowledge to choose the songs that Catherine liked to include, but we’d love to see what you suggest in the comments below 🙂