Can anyone summarize the Australian Democrats policies for me?

Question

It's for a school project.
=)

Could somebody please summarize it, as in 'put it into words I can understand?
Short and sweet, what are their policies?

Answer 1

De facto Labor party with Republican position thrown in.
They were to "Keep the bastards honest" as Don Chip had said but soon became tared with the same brush.

Answer 2

Australian Democrats Policies

Answer 3

POLICY

Policies determined by the unique participatory method were socially progressive, promoting environmental awareness and sustainability, opposition to the primacy of economic rationalism, preventive approaches to human health and welfare, animal rights, rejection of nuclear technology and weapons. This actually reflected the first emergence of 'green' politics in Australia, and the Democrats took centre stage in forcing legislation for the cause célèbre of saving Tasmania's Franklin River. However, the former conservative affiliation of leader Don Chipp was recalled by competitors[3] in an ongoing campaign to discredit the sincerity of the Democrats. The party's 'centreline' role was, therefore, always subjected to vindictive criticism from both the 'right' and 'left' of the political spectrum, a reality which was to torment later leaders and strategists who, by 1991, were proclaiming "the electoral objective" as a higher priority than the rigorous participatory democracy espoused by the party's founders.

The party's original support base was disaffected middle-class traditional Liberal voters from the centre-right Liberal Party's socially liberal, "wet" wing, together with a medley of people concerned about environmental issues and social justice. The party aimed to combine liberal social policies with centrist, particularly neo-Keynesian economics and a progressive environmental platform. However, the major parties, including the social democratic Labor Party, have moved to the right on economics since the early 1980s, shifting the 'centre' of Australian politics well to the right. Thus the Democrats have come to be seen as leaning to the left on economic as well as social issues.

The Democrats' agenda includes interventionist economic policies, commitment to environmental causes, support for reconciliation with Australia's indigenous population through such mechanisms as formal treaties, pacifist approaches to international relations, open government, constitutional reform, progressive approaches to social issues such as sexuality and drugs, and strong support for human rights and civil liberties. Its core support base is overwhelmingly tertiary-educated, and middle-class. The party also explicitly targets voters who seek a brake on the powers of the government of the day to change things or to have alternative views aired in the Senate and media.

The party has a platform of participatory democracy, with policies supporting proportional representation and citizen-initiated referenda. Many important internal issues (such as electoral preselection and leadership) are decided by direct postal ballot of the membership. Although policies are theoretically set in a similar fashion, Democrat parliamentarians have extensive freedom in interpreting them. The ballot mechanism is also susceptible to fluctuations in information flow and to manipulation or obstruction by the party officers charged with authenticating and actioning member-initiated petitions.