Fight for our MP’s right to vote online
Whilst the ‘Dome of Conscience‘ may sound like a tardis type contraption, it was only a few years back that many thought it was the magic bullet in the quest towards parliamentary honesty and transparent debate. The now possible deal breaker MP Rob Oakeshott was on board, as was current Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage Greg Hunt. Former prime minister Kevin Rudd was also involved and voted on the site, before winning Government in 2007. With such a list of names supporting the project, it’s a wonder what happened.
Blogger v. journalist: my election night escapades
My election day was a long one that started with some unsuccessful vox popping before I moved on to slightly more effective pollie chasing. My Saturday began in hometown Wollongong at my local polling booth and before I knew it I was in the car and rolling on down to Canberra. Attempting to edit an audio piece in the car just made me feel car sick, so I had to wait till we got to the hotel before the reporting really started.
Liberals cry foul at lack of Labor pork.
Call it what you will, pollies love a bit of pork barreling. And it’s not always a bad thing if you live in a marginal seat. However things are different if you live in an area with a strong leaning to one side. Well, that’s at least if you ask the opposing team.
Basement Birds landing at the UniBar this Thursday
The Basement Birds are looking forward to their remaining shows around the country, after kicking off their national tour in Adelaide last week. Having written, recorded and then released the group’s one and only album just over a month ago, the band has spent the last few weeks getting ready for what will be a brief national tour.
A (simple) guide to voting
The Herald Sun says that at the 2007 election, 2.5% of the votes weren’t counted. That’s 331,009 people who went to a polling booth whose votes were irrelevant. This is because they filled in the ballot paper incorrectly or wrote something apart from a number, leaving voting intentions unclear (i.e., an invalid or ‘informal vote’). It can also be invalid if you identify yourself on the ballot paper.
In Australia, it is compulsory to vote. This means if you’re enrolled, you are required by law to have your say (or at least show up).
The case of the crucial missing candidate in Gilmore
Politics is a funny game, particularly in the seat of Gilmore on the south coast of New South Wales where a Family First candidate is set to play a crucial role in the result. Except nobody knows who she is.
After a redistribution the seat, held by Liberal MP Joanna Gash, is now notionally Labor with a margin estimated between 0.2-0.4%. Family First will direct its preferences to the Liberal Party and even its expected few hundred votes could prove vital to Gash’s chances.
Gilmore: Gash has preference for values over candidate
Politics is a funny game. Particularly when you’re talking about the seat of Gilmore on the south coast of New South Wales. Electioneering wrote the other day about the ‘faceless’ Family First candidate Elizabeth Cunningham and the preference deal with the Liberal Party that could carry incumbent MP Joanna Gash over the line at the election. Whilst we’re talking about just 0.51% of the vote going to Family First, it could have a more significant effect at this election. After a redistribution, the seat is now notionally Labor with a margin estimated between 0.2-0.4%. This means that those 500 or so votes for Family First could effectively return Mrs Gash to the seat.
Mystery Gilmore candidate could be a “mistake”
Talk about an election mystery. In the NSW South Coast electorate of Gilmore, voters are asking who Elizabeth Cunningham is. She’ll be listed on the ballot as the Family First candidate, but no one seems to know that much more about her.
The Illawarra Mercury ran a story about the ‘faceless’ candidate last week. They reported that although she was running for election, she was not willing to speak publicly, and was opting to maintain a ‘low profile’ before the poll. The AEC lists her occupation as a ‘factory worker’. Family First has confirmed that she resides outside the electorate.
Why is the status quo the only go?
This election has become a choice between two parties with very few differences. We’ve seen a race to the centre as both Gillard and Abbott try to prove to voters that they would be the best at maintaining the status quo. This has been at the expense of pragmatic policy making.
Avril Henry is an expert on generational behaviours in the workplace and she thinks this is having an effect on the way young people are engaging with politics. Henry doesn’t think young people are necessarily uninterested in politics but says they just don’t feel there are any options at this election.
Mental health announcement positive but more work needed
Julia Gillard yesterday revealed her response to the coalition’s $1.5 billion mental health policy announced earlier in the month. A re-elected Gillard Government would increase efforts in suicide prevention and crisis intervention. The Government said it would invest an additional $113.9 million to provide more frontline services in the community for people with severe mental illness.
