Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, also known as the Justice Party, was a political party in Australia, registered for federal elections since 14 April 2016. The party was named after its founder,

Derryn Hinch Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for ...

, an Australian media personality. The party won a single three-year term in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

at the 2016 federal election, after achieving 6.05% of the first-preference votes in Victoria, though lost the seat in 2019. It also was registered by the

Victorian Electoral Commission The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), formerly the State Electoral Office, is the statutory body responsible for the running of state, municipal and various non-government elections in Victoria, Australia. Independence It is an independen ...

in May 2018 and ran candidates in the

2018 Victorian state election The 2018 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 24 November 2018 to elect the 59th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house) were up for elect ...

, three of whom were elected. No Justice Party candidates were re-elected at the

2022 Victorian state election The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Victorian Legislat ...

. In March 2023, Hinch announced that the party would be dissolved following poor election results.

Background

Hinch announced his political ambitions in October 2015, and at that stage remained host of his weekly program '' Hinch Live'', in a decision supported by Sky News Live. Hinch stepped down from the program on 24 April 2016, telling viewers the program was entering either "semi or permanent recess" depending on the success of his party. The Justice Party's election platform was anti- paedophile, tough on crime, and in favour of stricter parole and bail conditions.

Policy platform

Focusing on reforms to the justice system, Derryn Hinch's Justice Party believed in a hard-line law-and-order approach. The party campaigned on prioritising jail sentences over rehabilitation and

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

, as well as tougher restrictions on parole. Anti-paedophilia formed another large part of the party's ideology, owing to Hinch's background in naming alleged sexual offenders. Derryn Hinch's Justice Party's advocated for longer sentences for violent crimes and further tightening of bail and

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

laws. The party also supported ending the live export trade and establishing a national public register of convicted sex offenders. According to The Age, between November 2018 and November 2021, the Derryn Hinch's Justice Party's Legislative Council members voted with the Andrews Government's position 53.9% of the time.

Electoral history

Federal

The Justice Party fielded candidates for the

in every state of Australia, and also six lower house seats, in the 2016 federal election.

was the party's lead candidate to represent Victoria in the Senate. Hinch was successful at securing the 10th seat of the 12 representing Victoria. No other Justice Party candidates were elected. Aged 72, Hinch is the oldest federal parliamentarian to be elected for the first time. Hinch lost his seat in 2019.

Victoria

The Justice Party fielded 6 lower house candidates with none winning more than 4.5% of their respective district's vote. The party fielded 12 candidates for the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

with three being elected: Stuart Grimley,

Tania Maxwell Tania Maree Maxwell is a former Australian politician. She was a Derryn Hinch's Justice Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 2018 and 2022, representing Northern Victoria Region. She was not re-elected at the 2022 state el ...

and Catherine Cumming. However, on 18 December

Western Metropolitan Region Western Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was create ...

member-elect Catherine Cumming was sacked from the party, and was sworn in as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. No Justice Party members were re-elected in 2022.

Elected representatives

Federal

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(2016–2019)

Victoria

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

* Stuart Grimley (2018–2022) *

(2018–2022)

Maribyrnong City Council

* Catherine Cumming (2018)

External links

Derryn Hinch's voting record in parliament from TheyVoteForYou.org.au

References

{{Political parties in Victoria (Australia) 2015 establishments in Australia Anti-pedophile activism Political parties established in 2015 Political parties in Australia Right-wing politics in Australia 2023 disestablishments in Australia Political parties disestablished in 2023