Australian Sex Party re-enters politics two months after deregistration

The Australian Sex Party is back in the federal political scene, two months after its registration status was cancelled.

Furious supporters had protested in early May right after the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) decided to deregister the party due to the 'uncertain status of 500 of its members'.

Since then, a large number of Sex Party members posted photos of themselves holding proof of their party membership on social media to prove there were enough supporters to justify the party's existence.

The leader of the party, Fiona Patten, who is also an elected member of the Victorian Parliament, said the AEC decision provoked an angry response.

The party claimed to have more than 6,000 members throughout Australia.

However, Patten believes that the cancellation was due to AEC's terms for membership which requires party members to provide landline telephone numbers.

Somehow, the incident was a blessing in disguise.

"What was interesting was the number of people who joined the party during this process.

"Even people who weren't members, but may have voted for us, were outraged by this process and by the prospect that we wouldn't be allowed to contest the next election," said Patten, adding that a number of people have been donating to the party.

Patten is optimistic to find a candidate who will contest the next election in all states and territories.

In its mission statement, Sex Party is a political response to restore the balance between sexual privacy and sexual publicity that has been severely distorted by morals campaigners and prudish politicians.

According to them, the vast majority of Australians are relaxed and tolerant of a broad spectrum of sexual expression, but state and federal governments have increasingly ignored this demographic and pursued policies and legislation that restrict sexual free speech and expression.