ACT held its party conference over the weekend, in which delegates and MPs reacted to their increasing irrelevance by retreating even further into shrill radicalism (because obviously, if people hate something, you should give them more of it!). But after a series of increasingly racist speeches and a demand for open-cast mining the party reached a new low when a delegate suggested reviving Australia’s "shoot the natives" policy. Contrary to that report, the suggestion was not met with groans - but laughter [audio; starts at 2:25].
This little blurt is very revealing about where ACT is now: deeply racist, willing to voice the previously unthinkable: that people should be murdered based on the colour of their skin to prevent them from irritating rich white people with their demands for justice. There are some ugly, ugly views hiding behind that "one law for all" rhetoric - the sorts of views you'd expect to see in the National Front. And it speaks volumes that the party leadership has not condemned them.
This is who ACT is now: no longer "the liberal party", but the racist party. And hopefully they'll pay for that in November.
