The Mental Health Party
Compassion, A Future we can all Believe in.
in dedication of Hamish.
Let me tell you a story,
I am a postgraduate psychologist, with specialisations in health & organisational psychology, with postgraduate qualifications. I entered university mature age, beforehand and during university I worked in nearly every industry imaginable. I also established and directed my own small business employing on average 8 people. Despite my experience and qualifications I have struggled to find decent employment within the mental health field for the last year, unable and unwilling to pay an extra $30,000.00 for placement, bound by bureaucracy and red tape from helping others who are in need.
A working with children’s card gives employers the ability to check criminal records and is necessary for nearly every application in the mental health field; work, education and volunteering. Mine recently expired, so the other day I traveled to Fremantle post office to renew it.
As I got out of the car I noticed a man sat nearby. I could see he needed someone to talk to. Over the next hour we spoke along side the road. He explained that his son died last week. He descried how he was suffering psychologically. Although he didn’t say the words, I assumed from what he said, his son had taken his own life. He told me countless stories of his son trying again and again, to acquire help. Increasing in desperation, continuously being turned away at mental health facilities he eventually resorted to lashing out as a last ditch attempt, a scream for help, to no avail.
The man explained how it wasn’t over, how all the bureaucracy surrounding the event was only causing more hardship, both mental and financial. He too was now becoming desperate for help, and felt like he was beating his head against the wall trying to find any. This at a time where support means so much, is unfathomably beneficial and protective.
He discussed his disappointment with the government. How over his lifetime he’s seen quality of life decline within Australia, and no clear positive direction for the future. I think all of us who have spent enough time in Australia would agree.
Like many of us this man struggled to understand why there is no option of government focused on the well being of the population. He said if only there was a Mental Health party that had people’s best interest at heart, he would vote for them.
We parted ways, and I hope that things have become easier for him since our conversation, but realistically I doubt they have. All he needed at that point was someone to listen to him. I continued to the post office.
With forms and id in hand including my recently expired working with children card I acquired when I was at university, I explained I would like to renew it. “where are you currently working” said the clerk. I am not working in a position that requires a working with children card right now. “It is required for my applications so I can attain a job within the field”. “oh I’m sorry we can’t help you then”. “so, your saying that even though I need this to be employable I cant renew it unless I already am already employed”. Two of employees simultaneously looked at me, like blank automatons and in sync reply “yes”. It astounds me when people don’t question these things. Chicken and egg bureaucracy at its finest.
What a state we have got ourselves into. Through no fault of our own. The saddest and most frustrating thing is many like me, have the desire, skills and time to have helped that mans son and those like him, but are restrained from doing so. We have a government that values profit over compassion and control over empowerment and social mobility. For these reasons I’ve decided to try and make this man’s idea a reality. To create a political party and hopefully movement dedicated to the well being of the population, and in turn planet. By doing so we will eliminate so many of the problems negatively affecting society and encourage a positive outlook on the future. One that is currently missing and greatly needed.
The Plan
The truth is we already know how to design a society that encourages the best in people and allows everyone to prosper. Debt and profit systems are incapable of doing this. These have continued to fail through recorded history. We can see this starting to happen in the world already. The people in charge are continuing the exact same financial tactics that caused the financial crash of 2008 and Australia is leading the charge in credit default swaps. Science and nature are our best teachers. The rat park experiment is a great example.
Ironically enough I began writing this before the most recent political fall out and the loss of another Australian figurehead. But the people we have in charge are neither teachers nor leaders. They are career politicians. Politicians who spend so much time bickering they do not have enough time to understand the world and who have given themselves that many pay rises at the expense of others they no longer live in nor understand the world of the people they are supposed to serve. In essence they have forgotten that leadership is a service, not a privilege.
This is not something I necessarily want to do. I value my privacy. I will happily hand over the torch of leadership to anyone more suited and continue to offer my knowledge and guidance. But it is something I know I can do and together we can do it better. At present we do not have a true democracy. We have one that resembles a south park episode. One that is built on the illusion of choice. The two party system.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”
-Einstein
It’s time for a radically new approach to politics in Australia
A time for new thinking.
The Mental Health Party will aim at creating a true democracy, with compassion, sustainability and equal distribution of prosperity generated by new technology. The public is ill prepared for a fast approaching future that current politicians fail to acknowledge. We will work toward improving peoples work life balance without detriment to quality of life. We already understand and have the technology to do this. By strengthening the weakest among us we all prosper.
To determine whether this is something people want and to acquire the funds to bring it to fruition, I have decided to start a crowd-funding opportunity. This is a way of offering my service, ideas and expertise without forcing them on anyone.
Vote by Crowd Funding
Think of this crowd funding as a vote. I guess I’ve been inspired by the likes of Burnie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I’ve set the funding to AU$126, 338.45.
Rational: Nature is a true democracy, the old peddled belief was that herd animals look to their leader, usually the dominant male, when he moves the heard follows. How convenient.
But this is false. Now we know that they have an equal vote. As soon as over half the heard look in a certain direction the herd will move that way.
At the time of writing this the Australian population is 24,772,247, 51% = 12,633,845. It is also important that all people have the ability to vote so I dropped a couple of decimals. A target of AU$126,338.45 means that if %51 of Australians donate 1 cent each this project will go ahead. This also means that you can vote for 100 Australians with $1. I see no reason, why this amount of money, with your help, spent wisely would not be enough to start a political party and possibly fund an election campaign.
It is worth noting how much liberal and labour spend trying to convince you to vote them into power. What a waste of money.
Final election funding payments summary July 2016 federal election |
Political Party |
Interim Payment ($) |
Final Payment ($) |
Total Payment ($) |
Liberal Party of Australia |
23,464,128.62 |
739,025.38 |
24,203,154.00 |
Australian Labor Party |
22,355,109.55 |
836,577.02 |
23,191,686.57 |
(https://www.aec.gov.au/media/media-releases/201...)
This money, the money used by mainstream parties to persuade the public comes from lobbyists. Lobbyists who often have intentions and motivations, contrary to those that benefit society. Once a political party has been elected they are indebted to these lobbyists and encouraged to push through legislation that benefit the people that paid for them to win the election, not the people that voted for them in. How often do you hear politicians say one thing preceding the election and do the opposite once in power. The Obama campaign won prestigious advertising awards upon his election.
(https://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/story?id=7947528&page=1)
This is not a true democracy and we wont have one until this practice is ended. Crowd funding is one way to eliminate this. A party paid for by the people, is owned by the people.
Before opening your wallet, I know there are generous people out there that will want to give more than they can afford. Desperation for change can prompt people to invest heavily. But change rarely comes easy. Please don’t donate more than can afford to lose. Only give an amount you will not miss and that wont impact negatively on your life. If this fundraiser results in the establishment of The Mental Health Party as intended and gains funding from elsewhere, I will endeavor to refund any initial crowd-funding donation upon request.
Initial Spending
Rational
The truth is, that to make this party a reality we don’t need money, we need reach, space, human capital, skills & passion, and public will.
If this crowd funding is successful, I will treat the creation and direction of The Mental Health party as my only full time job and will draw a weekly wage of $330.00 because I don’t need more than that to survive. If the Mental Health Party is successfully established I will increase my wage to minimum wage, It will remain at that level unless I can justify raising it and it is agreed upon by the majority of members, that means you.
Human capital is the most valuable thing we possess as a society. It is unfortunate the current system does not value it as it should. That is why we have an increasing amount of homelessness in Australia and people with University degrees on work for the dole. A new term has emerged over the last decade “the working poor”. Describing those with jobs, sometimes full time jobs who still live below the poverty line. This is due to wage stagnation, lack of work and 50 years of siphoning increasing profits off to the top. The middle class is disappearing. A healthy middle class is one indication of effective government and a positive society.
Many people are generous. It’s usually the poorest among us, that give the most to others in need. I will welcome any input that people are willing to offer. However, your time is valuable. You are valuable. For this reason I will offer as many minimum wage positions/contracts as possible dependent on funding to achieve our initial objectives. I will explain why it is important that these positions are minimum wage in the next section. I will consider everyone for paid roles, and would prefer to be able to pay all volunteers, but priority will go to those who need it most. I will accept aligned help people are willing to offer, and will aim at making the most of the time you invest.
Reach is easy today with the Internet; you just need to hit the share button. Do that. However earlier generations that hold a large portion of the vote, use the Internet less and are often more rigid in their thinking. Word of mouth, taking time to understand and explain the The Mental Health party to the ones you love who do not have access to, or use the internet would be one of the most helpful and effective ways to counter this. Another way is to take the message to them. For this reason one of the main initial goals of The Mental Health party is to create a prime time advertisement to reach the above mentioned demographic and counter the mainstream political propaganda.
My idea for our commercial is also simple. You’ve seen them time and time again. Political adverts using actors pretending to be an assortment of real people, reading consecutive lines off a script, telling you how great a certain politician is. Ours will be the same, but it will be honest and all it will take is you, your webcam, a script and some editing. I’m just a little sick of seeing actors pretending to be tradies with brand new Hi Vis shirts and a left handed hammer.
Its no wonder political campaigns cost so much, they constantly interrupt your day. The prices for advertising are extortionate, and can well surpass $150,000.00 per 30 seconds. Yes you read correctly. For this reason the bulk of the crowd funding will probably go on airing the advert once, at the best time, on the most channels possible.
https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/k-for-30-secs-you8217ve-got-to-be-kidding-the-most-expensive-tv-shows-for-advertisers-in-australia-revealed/news-story/dd39a4a74c83dfbcd1c020f1b9a1f2e8
Initial Break Down/ Road Map
In no particular order.
Office Space
Although not required due to the Internet, I believe face-to-face contact is important. It is also important to be accessible to the public. I will not allocate funds to renting office space unless voted upon. Rent for prime locations is overly expensive. However I often see empty office blocks in the centre of town. If you are willing to donate office space that is not in use I would love to hear from you.
Requirements:
- Administration (in anticipation of a torrent of emails)
Website
Server costs will be covered by crowd funding unless voluntarily supplied. Initially the website will act as a point of contact for all interested parties. Registration of members who will have a vote on how the party develops. Voting portal. An honest, transparent, ledger defining fund allocation and expenditure. Information relevant to party decisions. Printable “honest” propaganda (We need a name for this) for anyone who wants to hit the streets.
Requirements:
- Web developers
- Designers
- Artists
- Copy Writers
- Server Space
- Social media fanatics (reach)
- Block Chain developers (transparency, immutability, accessibility)
- Crowd Sourcing Enthusiast
Commercial
With any luck this campaign will go viral enough to make the 6:30 news. Then we don’t need to waste money on advertising.
Requirements:
- Script writer
- Actresses/Actors (Anyone with a webcam)
- Video Editors
The first Goal is getting the message out there, and determining whether this is something Australians want. The next step comes when
The Mental Health party wins the election.
One of the automatic responses spouted by politicians to justify inaction is “where will the money come from?”. If elected my first course of action will be to reduce leading political wages to minimum wage, I will also accept this wage. This obviously cannot happen instantly otherwise they will all end up on the streets too. The idea behind this is simple. Incentive. Real leaders lead from the trenches, they are first to charge into the battle field, they lead and inspire from the bottom. They do not judge from the top. In doing so they understand those they serve.
For this idea alone The Mental Health Party will gain no traction unless the public want it to. It may be ridiculed by media and hated by those currently in power. However, It will also ensure the people in positions of power are there for the right reasons, the Australian people, our future generations and environment. It will encourage policy to lift people out of poverty and re-establish a healthy middle class. This is wear the first of the money will come from.
My second course of action will be to establish an efficient, transparent online voting system that will allow members to directly vote on ideas and policy they are interested in. To start Members must be residential Australians. Membership will always be free.
Thirdly I will instate an unbiased scientific body, accessible to both the public and politicians. One accessible for politicians used to be a reality. Intended to adequately counsel parliament on any decision, taking into account current scientific knowledge. It was deemed unnecessary and discontinued. Now lobbyists have equal influence over the scientific community. For a true democracy to exist, voters decisions need to be educated ones.
I am by no means finished writing this proposal. I was going to include all the ways we can improve our situation and society. However considering we don’t currently have a leader I thought I’d strike while the iron is hot. Stand by for the next instalment.
Together we can do this, and can work towards a future we can all be proud of.
Vote In
The Mental Health Party
& vote
DM for PM
for the coming election.
There may not be a box on the ballet but you have a Pen.
Remember a vote for The Mental Health Party is not a vote for one person to lead.
You are voting for the idea that by strengthening the weakest among us, without asking for anything in return, we all prosper.