The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party was a

political party in Australia The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. Federally, 16 of the 151 members of the lower house ( ...

from 2013 to 2017.

Ricky Muir Ricky Lee Muir (born 25 December 1980) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2014 to 2016. Muir was elected to the Senate at the 2013 federal election, standing for the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AM ...

held a seat for the party in the Australian Senate from 2013 to 2016. The party voluntarily de-registered with the AEC on 8 February 2017.

History

The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AMEP) was formed on 11 May 2013 in Queensland at a public meeting of motoring enthusiasts. The formation of the party followed moves by state governments, particularly in Queensland, to toughen anti- hooning and vehicle impoundment legislation. The Australian Electoral Commission registered the party on 9 July 2013.

Formation and structure

The AMEP's structure included State Councils and a Central Executive. The Queensland State Council and the Central Executive were formed when the party was established on 11 May 2013. At that point the Central Executive was made up of the Queensland State Council's office bearers. The first Annual General Meeting of the AMEP was held on 11 July 2013. The Queensland State Council office bearers were returned as the Central Executive's office bearers. The Victorian State Council was formed on 17 July 2013. The Western Australian State Council was formed on 23 July 2013. The New South Wales State Council was formed on 7 August 2013. The Victorian State Council was suspended by the party's executive in October 2013 over claims that it had set up a

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page without permission and had engaged in what ABC News reported as being labelled "illegal and unauthorised use of AMEP identification, confidential information, incorrect policy announcements, and the misuse of the party brand". The former chairman of the Victorian State Council, Scott McDonald, told the ABC that it was unclear why the action had been taken.

2013 Federal election

The party endorsed Senate candidates in the 2013 Federal Election in New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. The party had been involved in

Glenn Druery Glenn Druery is an Australian political strategist, electoral campaigner and ultra-distance cyclist. He has played a leading role in the electoral success of various micro and minor parties in Australia since the mid-1990s. He acquired a reputat ...

Minor Party Alliance The Minor Party Alliance (MPA) is a collaborative undertaking of small Australian political parties, created by Glenn Druery's "Independent Liaison" business, which assists in organising preference meetings and negotiating preference flows between ...

represented AMEP in Victoria and won a seat in the senate after preference distribution from a record-low primary vote of 0.51 percent or 17,122 first preferences he assumed his seat on 1 July 2014. Larger parties including the incoming government are looking at changes to the

group voting ticket A group voting ticket (GVT) is a shortcut for voters in a preferential voting system, where a voter can indicate support for a list of candidates instead of marking preferences for individual candidates. For multi-member electoral divisions with s ...

system. On 10 October 2013 Muir announced he would enter into an alliance with the

Palmer United Party The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is a currently deregistered Australian political party formed by mining magnate Clive Palmer in April 2013. The party ...

. Muir's senior adviser was electoral consultant

, but he was sacked by Muir less than a month later and was escorted out of Parliament. Muir stated that Druery did not "get along with the staff". Muir also hired former

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

state politician Peter Breen to advise him on legislation. Muir lost his seat at the federal election held on 2 July 2016, leaving the AMEP without any representation in the federal parliament.

References

{{Defunct Australian political parties Defunct political parties in Australia Defunct political parties in Queensland Political parties established in 2013 Political parties disestablished in 2017 Recreational political parties 2013 establishments in Australia 2017 disestablishments in Australia Automobile associations in Australia

History

Formation and structure

2013 Federal election

See also

References