The Christian Democratic Party has a proven record of 27 years of Honesty, Integrity and Political success.

The precursor to the Christian Democratic Party(CDP) was launched in NSW in 1974  under the name of Call to Australia and its first representative (Rev Fred Nile) was elected to Parliament in 1981.

In WA, the CDP was established in 1992 under the Call to Australia banner. In 1997, as part of a national initiative, the name was changed to the Christian Democratic Party. Although we do not have parliamentary representation in WA as yet, we are the fourth most popular party at the ballot box in WA.

1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES – in a general sense the purpose for which the party exists has not been changed, but continues to be:

a) to advance the glory of God through the institution of Parliament and through all aspects of Federal and State and Local Government, to advance Australia as “A Christian Commonwealth” as it was originally described in 1901 when the “Commonwealth of Australia” was formed;

b) to promote the true welfare of the people of Australia through all legislation being brought into conformity with the revealed will of God in the Holy Bible with a special emphasis on the MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION (2 Cor.5:18);

c) to support & promote recognition of our Christian heritage by uplifting the Judeo/Christian ethic, with pro-family, pro-child, pro-moral, pro-life, and pro-Australian policies;

d) to endorse, nominate and support the election of Christian Candidates into Local, State and Federal Government; especially in the Upper Houses of Parliament, and in the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory and the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory; and

e) to uphold our Christian Constitutional Monarchy and Christian Westminster System of Government through the policies of CDP as a Christian Democratic Political Movement, respecting the sovereignty of Australia.

In accordance with Jeremiah 51:27 we seek to “Set up a standard in the Land, blow the trumpet among the nations”, and to fulfil our Lord’s command in the Gospel of Matthew 5:13-19 “Let your light shine”.c.f.Isaiah 62:6-10, Romans 13, Ephesians 5.

2. STATEMENT OF BELIEF

a) GOD: We believe there is one creator God, eternal, manifested as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

b) THE BIBLE: We believe the Holy Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, written Word of God and the final authority above all man’s laws and government.

c) CIVIL GOVERNMENT: We believe civil government to be under the authority of God. (Romans 13:4).

d) THREE GOD-ORDAINED INSTITUTIONS: We believe that God has ordained three Institutions – 1.the family; 2.the church; 3.the civil government; each with their own special responsibilities, duties and authority.

1) THE FAMILY: We believe that the family, consisting of those individuals related by blood or marriage, is the foundational social unit of the nation.The family has primary responsibility for the education and property of its members.Civil government must respect this sanctity of the family and its unique sphere of authority and it must preserve and promote optimum conditions in which the integrity of the family unit can be maintained.

(A) MARRIAGE: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught that in the beginning God created mankind – male and female, and meant husband and wife to live together honourably in a lasting, loving, lifelong, faithful relationship. Marriage is a sacred relationship which God ordained for mankind so that the human race might be continued through the procreation of children, to be brought up in fear and nurture of the Lord; and for the mutual help, comfort and companionship both in prosperity and adversity.

(B) RIGHT TO LIFE: We believe that God is the author of life and that human life originates at conception. Abortion and euthanasia must be opposed under all circumstances as the shedding of innocent blood.

(C) GOD’S GIFT OF SEX: We believe that God has established laws of sexual morality for the well-being of society prohibiting pornography, adultery, incest, homosexuality, and other sexual aberrations which debase man, as well as defile and pollute our nation.

(D) PARENTS’ RIGHTS: We believe that parents (not the civil government) have the primary responsibility before God for child rearing and the education of their children according to the dictates of their conscience with the sole ability to choose what kind of education they want for their children.

2) THE CHURCH: We believe that the Church is a God ordained body of believers charged to proclaim God’s truth and to set an example both inwardly and outwardly of Godly living before the world. It has no authority to use physical coercion, but only to challenge man’s conscience to do what is right.

3) GOVERNMENT: Civil government is a God-ordained institution with authority to deal only with the outward deeds of people. Both Church and State are unique in their responsibilities before God: neither may seek to usurp the other’s role, but neither can be free of the other’s influence. We believe the purpose of civil government is to ensure freedom and justice for a nation’s citizens by establishing and upholding law and order in accordance with Biblical principles.

(a) BIBLICAL ETHICS: We believe that decision-making processes by civil government must not contravene Biblical ethics concerning the family, marriage, morality, etc.

(b) LAW AND ORDER: We believe that it is every citizen’s duty to submit to the God-ordained governing authority.The primary responsibility of civil government is to protect the lives of a nation’s citizens and to ensure that those who violate law and order receive just punishment. Crime should never carry with it a reward, and therefore the Biblical principle of restitution and compensation to victims of crime should be enforced.

(c) TAXATION: We believe that there should be ‘no taxation without representation’ at every level of government. We believe that the civil government exists to serve the people, not the people the civil government, and that people are therefore obliged to sustain civil government through just taxation. We believe that as Jesus Christ taught “Render to Caesar what is due to Caesar and render to God what is due to God“. (Matthew 22:21)

(d) FREEDOM: We believe that the national civil government should build up and maintain an adequate military preparedness to protect the nation’s unique identity and sovereignty from external attack or internal subversion.

(e) FREE ENTERPRISE: We believe that the Biblical principles concerning economics should be consistently upheld and respected by civil government, including honest weights and measures and avoidance of currency debasement. We further uphold the principle of responsible free enterprise, meaning maximum freedom to develop one’s talents matched with responsibility before God in dealing with our fellow man.

PREFERENCES

The preferences we recommend are determined largely in the light of the other candidates’ personal views and beliefs, irrespective of the party these candidates represent. As a result, at election time, not all of our preferences may necessarily go to one particular party but may be split up between different candidates belonging to different parties. This lack of allegiance to any particular party is a strength. It avoids being taken for granted by other socially conservative parties and provides an incentive for less socially conservative parties to reform their policies. It is also a more ethical approach to political negotiating. Naturally, the preferences we recommend are just that: a recommendation. You can still vote for the CDP even if you number your preferences differently. To do so you must however give your first vote to CDP. On the Legislative Council ballot paper, you would then have to number all boxes below the thick horizontal line in the order of your choice, starting with your number 1 for the CDP candidate.

YOUR VOTE IS NEVER WASTED

If the CDP candidate to whom you gave your number 1 vote is not elected, the full value of  your vote goes to your next preferred yet unelected candidate until somebody has enough votes to get elected. It is because your vote is transferred each time at full value to the next preference of your choice that voting for CDP is never a waste of time.

Furthermore, even if the CDP candidate is not elected, your vote can help remove a poorly performing sitting Member or assist with the election of a better candidate. Voting for CDP is also your way of expressing your dissatisfaction with the policies of the major parties; it sends a clear signal that Christians want to be acknowledged by governments.

The CDP missed gaining a seat in the Legislative Council at the 2005 State election by a mere 181 votes out of 82,000 voters.  With your vote, we can now gain a seat in Parliament at the forthcoming State election!