The West Party

Summary

Policies & Commentary

If there’s any development in this election that show how badly the ALP has alienated a lot of its traditional base, it’s the rise of One Nation. But if there are two such developments, the West Party is another example (and in some ways, a better one).

The West Party represents the suburbs of Melbourne’s West, and it offers the sort of bread-and-butter policies that were once the hallmark of the Victorian Labor Party – a sort of sensible centrism, the kind of thing that always played well in Labor heartlands for decades, albeit updated for today³John Cain’s government didn’t have to worry about Data Centres, for example.

Their website contains introductions to their fourteen candidates – two for the Western Metropolitan Region, one each for the eleven districts that make up that Region, and an additional one for the neighbouring district of Melton. There are ten separate policy areas, of varying levels of detail, but also each candidate has their own page at which they go into greater detail about the specific areas of policy they see as relevant in their district. The only serious flaw with the website is that none of the social media buttons visible on every page is actually linked to the correct social media site (or indeed, to anything else).

Let’s get stuck in.

Community Safety
This starts off with fairly average motherhood statements – increase police resources, police coordination with local authorities, and so on. But they also want to address repeat offending and improve accountability across the justice system, although sadly, not details are provided as to how these two goals are to be pursued. They also want improved support for the victims of crime, which is definitely a place where the current system falls down. All in all, nothing too surprising or objectionable.

However, the larger portion of this section is given over to a discussion of mental health, and the need for increased resources for treatment, especially as regards criminals whose mental health is a causative factor in their crimes. This is refreshingly nuanced compared to the kinds of lawranorder bullshit a lot of parties are running on this election, although it does include the caveat that where it’s necessary to choose between public safety and rights of a mentally ill person, the former wins every time. I find very little to argue with in this section, and the mental health stuff in particular is very good.

End Government Waste
A shorter section, consisting entirely of the words:

The West Party will fight corruption and demand less waste and more accountability for government spending.

And that’s it. No details, no plans. I checked the individual pages for each of their candidates, and while a couple describe the Andrews ALP government as “corrupt”, not one of them goes into more detail on this point. West Party, if you’re listening – we’d love to hear more about your plans for this under-detailed section, and any others. What’s here sounds good, but more elaboration would help.

Transport & Roads
If there’s any one passion that unites the candidates of the West Party, it’s transport infrastructure. The West Party has a broad plan of improving road and rail in their area, including electrifying the Wyndham Vale and Melton train lines, and building three new infill stations on western lines, plus reopening a closed station at Paisley. They also want to see the Western Freeway widened to four lanes each way all the way to Melton, and the construction of the Outer Metropolitan Ring Road. They also want to see the plans of the Better Buses for the West group realised, although this is one policy that the ALP seems to also be across. And they want the rail connection between Geelong and Werribee improved, although again, no specifics are provided.

Finally, they end with a pledge to “Ensure transport infrastructure is built before new residential development“, which honestly might be the tallest order in this section. That said, although I have some doubts about the freeways (induced demand is always a problem there), overall their transportation policies are not merely reasonable, but overdue.

No New Homes Without Infrastructure
Reiterating the end of the last section, and expanding on it, they pledge that:

The West Party will demand that roads, schools, public transport, health services, parks and community facilities are planned and built before new houses.

Again, I quite like that idea, I just think it’s unlikely to fly with the two big parties so clearly courting the property developers.

Back Small Business, Cut Red Tape
While their statement that:

The West Party will cut unnecessary red tape, and reduce government charges and levies, so small businesses can thrive.

is very much a motherhood statement, the impetus that drives it is real – there are a lot of small businesses in Melbourne’s west. I would like to see specifics about what they want to cut – a lot of the thing businesses decry as “red tape” tend to be things like safety precautions – but it’s hard to object too much to anyone wanting less bureaucracy in their life.

Health
Another prong of the West Party’s commitment to infrastructure, mostly consisting of motherhood statements about increasing coverage and options, along with a few specifics – more beds at Melton Hospital, radiotherapy at Werribee Hospital. The only real criticism of this is the idea that this is specifically a western suburbs problem – health care, and in particular, GP coverage, has been getting worse (albeit at differing rates) across the entire nation. And I must say, I’m surprised to see no mention of bulk-billing here.

Teaching and Learning
At this point, the idea that schools must be built at the same time as new residential areas is reiterated, and is no less an excellent point than ever. There’s support here for extra resources for teaching and vocational studies, including a new, 400 student TAFE to be built in Melton. Finally, the Party is “Supporting expansion of university and tertiary education opportunities in the West” – which is frustratingly vague, because how will you achieve that? Is it just making it easier for students to get to existing tertiary institutions, or will there be a new university in St Albans?

Protect Nature
This is the closest thing so far that the West Party has to an environmental policy, a single statement:

The West Party will protect our waterways, parks, trees and open spaces.

Presumably, the West Party does not anticipate much competition from the Greens, because this is so non-specific as to be almost meaningless.

Data Centres
The West Party is walking a fine line here. This policy is trying to appease both sides of the Data Centre debate. Yes, of course we support business⁴Never mind that the business benefits of Data Centres are largely illusory – this is a good summary.; No, we think Data Centre construction should be much more limited. After listing some pre-conditions they would apply to data centre construction – not least a full planning permission process, they summarise their position quite neatly:

We are not opposed to technology, investment or responsible development.

We are opposed to allowing private developers to profit while local communities carry the environmental, infrastructure and financial costs.

The west should not become the dumping ground for developments that other communities would not accept.

If a data centre is proposed in our region, it must meet rigorous standards, demonstrate that it can operate sustainably and deliver a lasting benefit to the people who live here.

Growth must work for our communities, not just the companies building it.

The simple fact is, the kind of restrictions they’re proposing would make data centres damned near impossible to build in the west, at least not the same way they’re currently being built. This is no bad thing – this is one of the most sensible data centre policies I’ve seen this election.

End Gambling Harm in the West
To me, this:

The West Party will push for less poker machines and safer-designed machines.

Looks less like an end to gambling, and more like harm minimisation. And only for one specific part of the gambling problem, at that – what about the phone apps whose advertising is everywhere?

All in all, if I lived in the West, I’d be damn tempted to vote for the West Party. I don’t know I’d put them ahead of the Greens or the Socialists, but I’d definitely put them ahead of the ALP (and anyone further right than them). I would like to see more details on several of their positions, and I think the gambling policy in particular is woefully narrow and timid, but on balance, I think there’s a lot of good here. If you’re a rusted off ALP voter who lives in one of these electorates, you could do worse.