| Health, Environment, Accountability, Rights, Transparency | |
| Country: | Australia |
| Abbreviation: | HEART |
| Colorcode: |
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| Leader: | Michael O'Neill |
| Secretary: | Michael O'Neill |
| Foundation: | 17 August 2023 |
| Registered: | 3 October 2023 |
| Headquarters: | Bellbrook, New South Wales |
Health, Environment, Accountability, Rights, Transparency, also known as HEART, is a minor Australian political party registered for New South Wales state elections. The party was founded as the Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party, before later renaming to the Informed Medical Options Party (IMOP). In August 2023, IMOP merged with the Health Australia Party (HAP) to become HEART. The party's registered officer in New South Wales is Michael O'Neill, who also acts as its secretary and agent. Rebecca McCredie is the deputy registered officer.[1]
HEART was previously registered in Queensland, but was voluntarily deregistered on 9 February 2024. The party was also registered at the federal level until 26 August 2024, when it was deregistered for not having enough members.
The Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party was first registered at the federal level by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 26 October 2016. Its registered officer was Gary Martin at the time of registration.[2]
Between 2019 and 2020, the Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party applied to rename itself to the Informed Medical Options Party at the federal level.
Party founder Michael O'Neill said the "anti-vaxxer" label regularly used by critics was "insulting".[3]
In March 2020, Tom Barnett, a party candidate in the 2019 federal election, created a video discussing coronavirus. In it, he stated: "You can’t catch a virus; it's impossible" and "the only way that you can catch a virus is by having it injected into your bloodstream". The video was removed from Facebook and YouTube, with the companies stating that the video was in breach of their policies.[4]
On 4 December 2019, the Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party applied to the AEC to be renamed to the "Informed Medical Options Party".[5] The AEC received 27 written objections to the proposed name change, including from then-federal health minister, Greg Hunt. Most objections centred around the use of the term "Medical" and concerns that it would infer the party was based on medical evidence/science, and the chance of being confused with the Australian Medical Association. The AEC rejected the objections on the basis that the term did not meet the legislative criteria required to refuse the application.
On 22 April 2020, the party was officially was renamed to the Informed Medical Options Party at the federal level.[6]
IMOP applied to the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) to change its name to HEART on 15 December 2023, and officially was renamed on 19 January 2024.
As of 2 September 2024, IMOP has been formally renamed to the HEART Party and is actively listed on the New South Wales register of political parties.[7]
The party announced its formation in a Facebook video, with both HAP and IMOP saying the decision to merge was made due to their similar policies.[8] However, HAP withdrew from HEART on 10 October, a week after the new party was registered with the Australian Electoral Commission.[9]
The Informed Medical Options Party was rebranded to HEART by the:
On 20 April 2023, the Australian Electoral Commission initiated a review of the HEART Party requiring the party to submit a list of members. Australian federal law requires political parties to have at least 1,500 party members, or have a representative in parliament, to remain registered. After several extensions, HEART provided a list of 1,553 members to the AEC. Of the 1,553 members:
Utilising standardised methodology and formulation by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a random sample of a portion of the membership list were contacted and asked to confirm their membership of the party. A sample of 33 people were contacted, of which 31 or more must have reaffirmed their membership. 3 people denied their membership, resulting in a proportional fail and the AEC issuing a notice to the party on 13 December 2023.
On 12 January 2024, HEART provided a written response to the AEC claiming it had over 7,000 members but could not provide approved evidence of such. HEART submitted an amended list of 1,601 names, of which:
Standardised proportional confirmation was re-completed by the AEC, of which 27 people were contacted and at least 26 must reaffirm their support. 5 of the 27 people contacted denied their membership resulting in a subsequent failure to meet the minimum requirements. On 26 August 2024, the formally deregistered the HEART party under s 137(6)(a) of the Electoral Act and was removed from the Register of Political Parties.[12] [13]
On 25 January 2024, the deputy registered officer of HEART submitted an application to the ECQ requesting that it cancel the registration of the party. The ECQ approved the deregistration of the party on 9 February 2024.
The party was first registered for federal elections on 26 October 2016 and was deregistered on 26 August 2024.
The party first ran in the 2019 Australian federal election as the Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party. It received 1,179 primary votes for the House of Representatives (0.01%), and 17,055 primary votes for the Senate (0.12%). It did not result in any parliamentary representation.[14] [15]
The party ran again in the 2022 Australian federal election, this time as the Informed Medical Options Party. It received 25,850 primary votes for the House of Representatives (0.18%), and 48,830 primary votes for the Senate (0.32%). It did not result in any parliamentary representation.[16] [17]
The Informed Medical Options Party has only run in one Queensland election - the 2020 Queensland state election. The party did not win any seats, gaining 17,646 primary votes (first preference) or 0.61% of all votes.[18]
The IMOP was not listed, or did not receive any votes. in the 2019 New South Wales state election.[19]
The "HEART" acronym was first used by IMOP at the 2023 New South Wales state election, although the party continued to be registered as the Informed Medical Options Party. The party received 11,529 primary votes, accounting for 0.25% of all primary votes in the State. No members were elected to parliament.[20] [21]