Jamie van Burgel, candidate for Armadale

With the retirement of Alannah McTiernan from State parliament, a by-election has been called for the Armadale District. It will be held on Sat 2 October 2010.

Four candidates are contesting the seat of Armadale : Labor, Greens, Christian Democratic Party and an Independent.

Jamie is 27 years old and is the leader of the Young CDP. He is a committed Christian and an active member of the Free Reformed Church.

Jamie has been married for 7 years and is blessed with two children aged 2 and 5. He is a Licensed Property Valuer and has lived in theArmadale  district all his life.

Jamie is passionate about restoring the lost Christian values of our nation. This is why he stands as a candidate and supports the CDP.

If you would like to help Jamie at his election, contact our office or Jamie directly jjvanburgel@iinet.net.au

The major parties are kept humble. Regional Australia rejoices at a potential winfall via the Independents. The Greens boast of their growth in popularity. The Sex Party probably has a good laugh too! Meanwhile the Christian vote has increased again.

Christians voters have become more aware of their political responsibilities and will continue to pray for their government and voice their concerns.

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As the president of CDP in Western Australia, I want to take a moment, on behalf of the State Council, to thank all of you who voted for CDP and supported our efforts to elect Trevor Young to the Federal Senate last Saturday.

Senate race

Trevor Young did amazingly well and is to be congratulated. By count 22 when Wendy Purdon (ALP) was excluded and Rachel Siewert (Green) was elected as the 6^th and last WA Senator, CDP had accumulated a vote with preferences that was the highest of the non-elected remaining parties (The Nationals, Australian Sex Party, Family First and the Liberal Democrats). The first preference vote to CDP has increased by around 3 per cent since the last Federal election, as did the combined Christian vote (the sum of the Christian Democratic Party, Family First and the Democratic Labor Party).

Trevor Young is now in very good stead, after having done a great deal of work throughout the Agricultural Region, to stand as CDP’s WA Upper House candidate in the next State election. In our State Council’s estimation, he has a genuine chance of being elected then.

Preferences and Federal Outcome

The Federal outcome is hanging on a knife’s edge. The seat of Hasluck now seems to be the most critical seat in the nation. If Ken Wyatt (Liberal, Hasluck) is re-elected to the Federal House of Representatives (he currently has a margin of only 317 votes with thousands still to be counted), it is likely that the Liberals will be able to form government.

In Hasluck, CDP candidate Linda Brewer received 3.0 per cent of the vote which upon her elimination flowed to Ken Wyatt. As mentioned previously, he is on a margin of only 317 votes, or 0.4 per cent. In Canning, CDP candidate Jamie Van Burgel received 3.3 per cent of the vote which flowed upon his elimination to Don Randall (Liberal). Don has a margin of only 3.0 per cent.

Without CDP preferences in these two critical seats, Julia Gillard could now be forming government with the Greens, but with our preferences to Ken Wyatt and Don Randall, she may be unable to do so.

CDP preferenced these Liberal candidates firstly because of a concern that a government led by Julia Gillard would be likely to implement policies that reflect her atheism, her disregard for the importance of children, and her long standing support of abortion on demand. Don Randall has consistently voted in defence of human life against embryo research, cloning and abortion. Sharryn Jackson (Labor, Hasluck) and Alannah Mactiernan (Labor, Canning) are both supporters of unlimited abortion.

Should Tony Abbott (who is Catholic and pro-life) and the Liberals win government, it will only be on the tightest of margins and with CDP preferences. This illustrates and reinforces that Christian involvement in politics is vitally important, and that it can result in positive change.

Labor and the Greens

Although the vote for the Greens is up 3.7 per cent at this election, the increased percentage does not appear to have come from across the board, but almost entirely at the expense of the Labor Party. Labor is down 5.4 per cent on the last election, while the conservative side of politics is up 1.9 per cent. Thus, it appears that most conservatives have not turned to the Greens, (a key goal of CDP’s campaign), but have abandoned Labor in favour of the Greens (which disempowers Labor).

It also appears that the swing to the conservatives (up 1.9 per cent from the last election) may, with the help of CDP, change the government. If so, this will be the first time since the 1940s that an incumbent government has lost power after only one term.

Call to prayer

Please be in prayer about the final outcome. It is on a razor’s edge. As Christians, we have endeavoured to be faithful to God in all areas, including with our votes, and we now trust in and wait upon God, earnestly praying that His will will be done in Australia.

Thank you again for your support—whether with your vote, or with your hands and feet, or with your financial gifts—for this steadily growing and outcome-changing Christian political party. We deeply value your prayers and continued support in the future.

God bless you,

Dwight Randall, president CDP WA

At this election, it is important to direct the votes away from the Labor-Greens unhealthy alliance. We do not want the Greens to hold the balance of power in the Senate because of their anti-Christian agenda. Voting 1 CDP for the Senate is the only way your Christian Vote is not wasted.
Make your Christian vote count !

The 2010 Federal Election is on 21 August. Do you know how to vote for the CDP?

In five weeks time, Australians will go to polling booths and exercise their democratic right to elect their representatives in the federal parliament. What is at stake for the Christian voter? How should we prepare ourselves for this election?

Voting ticket CDP

Having trouble viewing this image? Download the CDP How To Vote 2010 Federal Election.

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We witnessed an unusual event on Monday night, 26 July: the Fox Lecture theatre at the University of WA was filled to capacity with dedicated Christian voters, young and old, men and women, coming from a large spectrum of Christian churches, united in their concern about the upcoming federal election and the future of Christian values in our nation. There was certainly no sign of political apathy there!

Dwight Randall, CDP WA State President, explained why there is such a deep concern at this time in the political history of Australia. An atheistic Prime minister and the growing influence of the Greens party (likely to hold the balance of power in the Senate) are two urgent causes of concern for Christians. Dwight reminded us that beliefs drive what we are passionate about, what we stand for, what we are willing to defend or what we are willing to compromise; beliefs drive what we define as right or wrong.  Defending Christian values will not be a priority under the leadership of Julia Gillard and the pressure of the Greens’ anti-Christian agenda.

Ray Moran,CDP State Director, outlined a strategy to warn as many Christians as possible of the dangers of the situation while showing them also how their vote in the Senate can make a real positive difference. A three-minutes video, One Vote Can Make a Difference, was previewed on the night and copies of the DVD were available for distribution to churches and other Christian organisations.  The video does not promote a specific party but promotes a Christian vote in the Senate. An accompanying pamphlet “This election, one vote can make all the difference” was also made available for distribution on the evening. More information and the video clip are found at onevote.com.au. These can also be shared on Facebook or other social networks. Please, encourage all your friends to use this useful information and share it with others.

Trevor Young and Lachlan Dunjey (CDP Senate team)

Most of the CDP candidates were present at the meeting and it was most encouraging to hear Trevor Young, our lead senate candidate, affirm his willingness to stand for Christian values  and to humbly trust on God’s leading in this election. Trevor and the whole CDP team need our prayer support at this busy time. If you would like to offer your help in practical ways (such as mailout and polling booth help), simply register your offer of help on the CDP website, or email or phone the office. All offers are greatly appreciated.

The authors of the Declaration explain why these particular values need defending in Australia and outline the implications of their pledge.

Religious freedom, marriage and family, and the sacredness of human life have provided the foundations enabling Western democratic societies to flourish. We erode these foundations at our peril.
The faith which is at the heart of many of the values and strengths underpinning the Australian nation now compels us to speak up in their defence.
For the future of this nation, and for our children’s future, we call upon all like-minded citizens to support and sign this declaration.

Religious Freedom

We affirm the fundamental right of Australians to religious freedom and freedom of speech, and we oppose legislation which denies such freedoms. We likewise oppose laws subjugating our nation to foreign powers and instrumentalities which restrict these freedoms.

Marriage and family
We affirm the importance and social utility of marriage between a man and a woman and the families formed thereby.

Human Life
We insist on the right of all persons, including those who are vulnerable or dependent, to protection from conception to natural death. We will support, protect, and be advocates for such people, since to do anything less is to weaken our humanity and despise our personhood.
We will not comply with any directive that compels us to participate in or facilitate abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or any other act that involves the intentional taking of innocent human life.