As we previously wrote in our Music Lover’s Guide to the 2015 Victorian Election, as voters made their way into voting booths on Saturday it seemed the only thing on their minds besides the budget, the East West Link, and funding for TAFE, was music.
Indeed, 2014 might prove a flashpoint in the history of Victoria’s music scene, with politicians rolling out schemes and plans specifically addressing how they plan to service music in the state, committing millions to planned projects.
And if that wasn’t enough, two bonafide musicians were running for seats in this year’s state election – local legend Tex Perkins and Kris Schroeder, one third of The Basics, in which he performs alongside Wally De Backer, better known as Gotye, and Tim Heath.
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While we’re all aware how Labor and party leader Daniel Andrews ultimately came out on top, the question remains: just how well did Tex Perkins, who was running on a platform of saving St. Kilda’s crumbling Palais Theatre, and Kris Schroeder of The Basics Rock’n’Roll Party do?
Let’s start with the BRRP, who proved one of this election’s most controversial parties. While they lost their bid for a seat in the upper house, amassing just 1.41 percent of the Northern Metropolitan Region vote, which comprises 477,652 voters, it’s not all bad news.
Having received 3,509 votes, the BRRP managed to garner more support than the Liberal Democrats, the Australian Christians, the Palmer United Party, and the Shooters and Fishers Party Victoria.
Schroeder’s party also failed in their bid for a seat in Victoria’s lower house. Candidate and actor Jamie McCarney received just 2.58 percent of the vote, comprising only 653 votes from 44,273 eligible voters in the Northcote electorate.
Despite this, Schroeder sees the result as a win, taking to Facebook to insist that the party are proud of their efforts in managing to “dislodge one of Smaug’s many hardened scales, and perhaps [contributing] in some small way to the promise of a fairer Victoria, and ultimately Australia”.
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The bassist also warned Victorians to stay vigilant, despite Labor’s victory and the Greens being awarded their first ever lower house seat. “This should not be seen as a salve to the indignities that the Federal Government has suffered upon us and on our behalf. Do not get complacent! The battle for Australia’s soul is only just beginning.”
Perkins faired a little better in his respective electorate. The rocker scored 4.35 percent of the total votes cast in the Albert Park District. Breaking down the numbers, that’s 1,013 out of a total of 24,227 votes in an electorate that includes some 43,134 enrolled voters.
Perkins was something of a late guest to this year’s election, only recently announcing his candidacy on a platform of saving the Palais. However, as Crikey wrote last month, his campaign posed the incongruous problem of running in opposition to the only party interested in bringing back funding for live music, Labor.
