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Sun Ripened Warm Tomato Party

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Sun Ripened Warm Tomato Party
Abbreviation
  • SRWT
  • SRWTP
  • Tomato Party[1]
LeaderEmile Brunoro
FounderEmile Brunoro
Founded10 January 1989; 35 years ago (10 January 1989)
Registered19 January 1989; 35 years ago (19 January 1989)
Dissolved23 December 1991; 33 years ago (23 December 1991)
Headquarters5 Phillip Avenue
Watson, Canberra[2]
IdeologyJoke

The Sun Ripened Warm Tomato Party (SRWT or SRWTP) was an Australian joke political party that contested the first election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 1989.[3]

The SRWTP was one of six parties formed by "provocateur" Emile Brunoro for the 1989 election − the others being Party! Party! Party!, the Surprise Party, Home Rule OK, A Better Idea and Sleepers Wake.[4][5][6] Brunoro planned to register a total of 17 parties (including one called the "Pre-Selection Party") and stand as a candidate for all of them, but was prevented by a $100 fee and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) closing a loophole in the electoral rules.[7][8][9]

History

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Formation

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The SRWTP was formed by on 10 January 1989 by Emile Brunoro, a two-time federal election candidate who contested the electorate of Fraser at the 1984 and 1987 elections.[10] It was officially registered with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) nine days later on 19 January.[11] Brunoro was also a member of the Residents Rally and a former member of the Rainbow Alliance, which were both also contesting the election (although the Rainbow Alliance later withdrew and joined the Fair Elections Coalition).[12][13]

It appears Brunoro may have got the idea for the party from Michael Boddy, who published a food column in The Canberra Times on 1 January 1989 where he wrote:

In fact, if someone would bring a bit of sense into the coming self-government elections and start an SRWT party, dedicated to banning the gas-coloured fake tomato forever from the ACT (an acronym you can't eat), I'd be in there boots and all with my support for such a civilised and civilising move.[14]

1989 election

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Just as Boddy had called for, the SRWTP advocated for a ban on "gas-coloured fake tomatoes" from the ACT.[5][15]

In February 1989, Brunoro commissioned opinion polling with Billy Bong Research, showing the SRWTP with 3.7% of the vote.[16] The results were rejected by ACT Labor Party leader Rosemary Follett and Liberak leader Trevor Kaine, with Kaine stating that: "The Sun-Ripened Warm Tomato Party notwithstanding, I think people will see that [the election is] not a joke".[17]

At the election on 4 March 1989, the SRWTP received 1.17% of first preference votes.[18] While it wasn't enough to elect Brunoro, the party's preferences did help to elect Residents Rally candidates.[19] 1.17% was the largest vote total for any of Brunoro's parties, with Party! Party! Party! receiving 0.69%, the Surprise Party and Sleepers Wake both claiming 0.12%, A Better Idea having 0.06% and Home Rule OK finishing with the lowest vote total for any party, 0.04% (or 62 votes).[20]

Deregistration

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Following the election, federal Liberal Party MP David Hawker attempted to ban "irreverent political party names" for the next ACT election, but the amendment was unsuccessful after the federal Labor government opposed it on the basis that "it would be too difficult to define mischievous in a legal sense".[21]

However, party registration laws were changed in the ACT, which now required that parties have 100 members and a formal constitution before being eligible to register.[22] Although the SRWT applied for re-registration, it was rejected by the AEC because it could not prove it had 100 members, and the party was formally deregistered on 23 November 1991.[1][22]

References

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  1. ^ a b "AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REGISTER OF POLITICAL PARTIES". The Canberra Times. 27 November 1991. p. 28. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  2. ^ "AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY REGISTER OF POLITICAL PARTIES". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. 11 January 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  3. ^ Abraham, Matthew (30 January 2002). "Grin and bare your campaign soul". Hills Messenger. p. 10. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  4. ^ Cumming, Fia (16 February 1989). "Preferences to Fair Elections". The Canberra Times. p. 7. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b "THE SUN RIPENED WARM TOMATO AND OTHER PARTIES". Woroni. 20 February 1989. p. 25. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  6. ^ Doherty, Megan (4 March 2019). "Thirty years since the 'Sun-Ripened Warm Tomato election'". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  7. ^ "WHICH PARTY?". Woroni. 20 February 1989. p. 26. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Independent seeks to 'stir things up'". The Canberra Times. 15 March 1990. p. 10. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  9. ^ Moore, Michael (27 February 2019). "The government we didn't want is here to stay". Canberra CityNews. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  10. ^ Salins, Christine (14 January 1989). "Wide's the word in voters' choice". The Canberra Times Christine Salins. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  11. ^ "NOTICE OF REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. 20 January 1989. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  12. ^ Wright, Tony (10 March 1989). "Abolish candidate 'asked to join Rally'". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  13. ^ Cumming, Fia (10 February 1989). "'Coalition of convenience' is created". The Canberra Times. p. 5. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  14. ^ Boddy, Michael (1 January 1989). "Now is the time to come to the SRWT party". The Canberra Times. p. 20. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  15. ^ Mahoney, Deirdre (22 January 1989). "Emile is sure to be the life of the parties". The Canberra Times. p. 26. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  16. ^ Whitfield, Kathryn (19 February 1989). "Poll: major parties unwanted". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  17. ^ Middleton, Karen (20 February 1989). "Kaine and Follett reject poll finding". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  18. ^ Warden, Ian (10 March 1989). "Sanders clutches a can of worms". The Canberra Times. p. 11. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Election shambles fuels doubt about system". The Canberra Times. 6 April 1989. p. 8. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  20. ^ "1989 First preference results". Elections ACT. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  21. ^ Coelli, Andree (14 November 1991). "Opposition tries to ban irreverent party names". The Canberra Times. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Party squashed". The Canberra Times. 24 December 1991. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
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