Roadside:
Megan Doherty in the Canberra Times is weirdly excited by finding David Morgan skulking by his signs on Yamba drive rather than doing the hard yakka of door knocking.
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Buses to Quangers:
The ABC reports that Deane’s Transit Group wants to know what the parties will do for them.
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Education:
The CT is trying to get across the massive wishlists from all comers on education. Things they can’t deliver with money they do not have.
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Health:
Candidates are putting forth ideas on reducing hospital waiting lists in the Canberra Times.
The CT is rather excited by Zed’s decision to pick up the Labor health policy rather than be beaten around the head by Jon Stanhope in the leader’s debate.
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Labor:
Jon Stanhope is outraged that Zed has caved in to his health policy.
The Canberra Times has word of a Labor plan to make it easier to convert empty offices into housing. Now who presided over the planning failures that lead us here?
JonKat reckon the new west Belco “Kingsford Smith School” is an example of how great their education policies are.
Mr Stanhope is on his own in promising more slums.
Katy Gallagher is once again flogging the dead horse of Liberal health policy.
Jon Stanhope is weeping, wailing, and tearing at his clothes lamenting that any jobs might be lost from the sacred ACT Public Service should the public be so stupid as to vote for anyone but him.
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CAP:
CAP thinks it’s a good idea to stick their noses into your behaviour and addictions with early intervention.
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Liberals:
Brendan Smyth is thinking happy thoughts about how much he’d like to help business development with millions of dollars.
The ABC brings word of areas the Liberals plan to cut spending:
- Areas the Liberals have targeted include arts programs and a 20 per cent cut in travel budgets.
They are aiming to save on programs and services at the ACT’s new jail and on the centenary of Canberra project.
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Greens:
Meredith Hunter thinks now is the time for more spending on public housing.
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Mulcahy Canberra Party:
Richard is outraged that the Liberals will de-fund playgrounds and streetlighting to pay for their other promises.
Richard also has a cunning plan to help disabled pensioners get back to work.
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Field notes:
Welkin31 opined:
- Listening to the two major parties argue over who said what over health and hospitals, I wondered how inefficient it must be for a city of ~300,000 people to try and duplicate all these layers of administration. Typically in Oz, cities do not run hospitals. So why do we not tell Kev747 that his Fed Health Dept now has the lot to run for us and whatever areas of regional NSW we serve now.
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Squashee observed:
- I was just driving through Civic at lunchtime and noticed something very strange.
There was a Subaru Forester driving around with the signs of the Greens candidates obvious driving around during lunchtime trying to advertise.
This got me on two points, 1) the Greens were driving a car called a Forester – would have thought the name alone would have prevented a Green from buying the car. 2) They were driving around advertising – if they drove for an hour, they would use nearly ten litres of petrol – how much pollution are they putting in the atmosphere?
On another point, do the Greens use only recycled paper for their how-to-vote cards and collect them again for recycling? I wont even start to go into detail about the plastic “Greens” posters on the side of the roads.
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Jonathan Reynolds has an examination of the chaotically law breaking Liberals:
- I was surprised to receive the following email today:
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From: Canberra Liberals [mailto:info@canberraliberals.org.au] Sent: Tuesday, 14 October 2008 9:36 AM To: Canberra Liberals Subject: FW: [Spam?]FW: Molonglo Campaign Update - 14 Oct 08 Importance: High Molonglo Campaign Update Tuesday October 14th 2008 4 Days To Go Dear Central Electorate Branch Members, Please see the attached Molonglo Campaign Update. With only four days until polling day, this will be the final update. We still need volunteers to work on polling booths and shopping centres on Saturday (polling day). We have slots available at many different booths at all times of the day. We also need scrutineers to work for an hour or two after the booths close. It’s vitally important we have a strong Liberal presence at booths on Saturday to help influence the 20% of voters who make up their mind on the day. Please see the update for further details on volunteering, or contact me via return email ([REDACTED]) or give me call on [REDACTED]. Regards, Jimmy Kiploks CEB Chairman [REDACTED - pdf file with mostly the same information]
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Nothing wrong with the intent, you gotta give every party or candidate credit for looking for volunteers to squeeze every available last vote out of the electorate. The only issue is here is that in the ACT it is against the law to canvass within 100m of a polling booth.
From the ACT Electoral Act
Division 17.3 – Campaign Offences
303 Canvassing within 100m of polling places
(1) A person shall not, during polling hours within the defined polling area in relation to a polling place—
(a) do anything for the purpose of influencing the vote of an elector as the elector is approaching, or while the elector is at, the polling place; or
(b) do anything for the purpose of inducing an elector not to vote as the elector is approaching, or while the elector is at, the polling place; or
(c) exhibit a notice containing electoral matter that is able to be clearly seen by electors approaching, or at, the polling place, other than a notice authorised by the commissioner for display there.
Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
(2) If the building where a polling place is located is situated on grounds within an enclosure, the commissioner may, by written notice, specify the boundary of that enclosure for subsection (7), definition of defined polling area, paragraph (b).
(3) A notice is a notifiable instrument.
Note A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act 2001.
(4) An officer may, if directed by the commissioner, remove or obliterate a notice that the commissioner or the officer believes on reasonable grounds to be exhibited in contravention of this section.
(5) Subsection (4) does not authorise an officer to enter land that is subject to a territory lease.
(6) A person shall not obstruct an officer in the exercise or attempted exercise of the officer’s functions under subsection (4).
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or both.
(7) In this section:
defined polling area, in relation to a polling place, means the area—
(a) within the building where the polling place is located, and within 100m of the building; or
(b) if the commissioner issues a notice under subsection (2) in relation to the polling place—within the boundary of the enclosure specified in the notice, and within 100m outside that boundary.
polling hours, in relation to a polling place, means—
(a) for a polling place appointed under section 119—between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm on polling day; or
(b) for a polling place where a vote may be made before an officer—any time when the place is open for the acceptance of votes; or
(c) for a polling place where polling is authorised under division 10.5—the period when a mobile polling visit is being made to the building where that place is located.
Should the law be changed to allow canvassing and how to vote cards be handed out as they are in the Federal Election – within close proximity (6m) of polling booths?
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