Former special forces operative Heston Russell is stepping down as leader of the Australian Values Party citing the oversimplification of political debate in the country.
The Australian Values Party ran candidates (many with military backgrounds) in the May 2022 federal election, as well as the recent Victorian state election where the party did not manage to win a seat.
At the time the party was established, a spate of alternative new political entities (on both the left and right spectrum) were set up largely due to dissatisfaction with the current state of politics.
While left-leaning parties—like the Australian Greens and “teal” independents—managed to fare well promising action on climate change, those on the right or “freedom parties” made minor inroads while siphoning votes from the major centre-right Liberal Party….