16 July 2005

Gary Humphries sends letters to new enrolments

| Samuel Gordon-Stewart
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During the week (Thursday I think) I received a letter from Gary Humphries. It appears that he has sent letters out to newly enrolled young voters.

Apart from being a blatant “Look, I’m here, notice me!” letter, he makes some interesting statements, for example “You can’t ‘eat’ democracy” “democracy takes heaps to define”.

Over all, the letter says nothing, but it does come with a reply paid survey!

There is something wrong with the survey, at the end it asks if you would like to receive any of the following publications:
*Seniors’ guide for pensioners
*Child care guide
*Deeming guide for self funded retirees
*Veterans’ affairs guide

I wouldn’t expect many newly enrolled young voters will want any of those publications.

I hope this isn’t being paid for by taxpayers.

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i think you get political junk mail because it is addressed to a suburb or district. That makes it not mass produced, and thus not junk mail. Same as the neighbourhood watch documents, nad the chronicle.

bonfire – you probably receive political junkmail because political parties are exempt I believe from receiving ‘junk mail’ status.

Mr Hyphenated name should get a life. Kimba has a point – we’d complain if we got nothing from them.

Well in line with JB’s comments previously, we have a chance to do something right with the upcoming Identity Card issue.

Imagine if all your vehicle licensing, enrollment details, tax details, address, bank details, myer card, grace bros, darrel-lee chocolate lovers card etc etc etc was all on the one card !

I bet you that the Govt just hog all the credit and I’ll still be stuck with 100 unrelated cards in my wallet.

can someone explain why even though i have a ‘no junk mail’ (except chronicle) stiker on my letterbox, i always get political shit put in it anyway ?

AND – is there legislation that says when you move house and give aust post a redirect mail form, that the aec then send you a re-enrolment pack ? surely this breaches privacy legislation.

for folks like myself who will not vote while its compulsory (or enrol) this nosey-parker interference irritates the hell out of me.

I’m pretty sure It’s illegal to use the electoral roll for advertising purposes. But many do regardless.

Samuel Gordon-Stewart2:35 pm 17 Jul 05

Kimba, re-read my comment, I stated that I would prefer it “if they were coming from party funds”. At no time did I say it actually was.

MR. Samuel Gordon-Stewart

The last time I bothered to look, the Electoral Roll was a public document and thus anyone or business could have access to it.

You’re right johnboy, we the tax payers pay for these mail outs, not from “party funds” as incorrectly stated by Mr/s GORDON-STEWART!!!

Oh please Kimba, you don’t think every other marketer wouldn’t give their eye-teeth to get a list of new residents in any given area from the electoral roll?

But Gazza’a allowed to dump the diff into his mail merge and then send out his propaganda at OUR expense?

And you know what? It’d actually be really cool if next time i moved the local take-aways and pizza shops and bars and dry cleaners could all be made aware and get in touch to present their wares (vouchers really I guess).

But you have to be a political party to get the info and an incumbent to get the funding to pay for it.

It’s an incumbency rort of massive proportions, perpetuated by both sides of politics and totally in contravention of the rules the rest of us have to abide by.

It’s not the smelliest of all the dead cats in australian politics but it’s still a dead cat.

Samuel Gordon-Stewart10:31 am 17 Jul 05

Kimba, I am happy to hear from the pollies, that is what happens every time I turn on the news. I also wouldn’t mind the mailouts if they were coming from party funds and were slightly better thought out.

It is Mr, and I like my hyphenated name.

Samuel

So cynical…the poor old pollie can never win.

If you Mr/s Gordon-Stewart (don’t you just love hyphenated names) did not hear or receive anything from your local Members you’d be the first person to say “we never hear anything from the politicians” .

Aren’t we a great race of whingers!

The reason for the seemingly odd things for “new” voters is because some “new” people on the electoral role could include people who have moved/become citizens recently. A small group of people, but they like to cover all bases.

Mail drops are better than pre-recorded phone messages at least, but I do get annoyed at the spam in my letterbox from Gary (and other pollies)

They’re just standard form letters sent out by a politician periodically to new entries on the electoral roll. Years ago I got one from Margaret Reid “welcoming me to Canberra” and listing all the great things about the city, when all I’d done was move from Palmerston to Kaleen and change my enrolment details to reflect the move.

Musn’t have been for newly enrolled voters who’ve already voted…I didn’t get one.
I feel left out.
K

I used to get ones from aiden ridgeway all the tim, and one time it was asking for money/dnations for the party :p

They have a plethora of allowances Sam,

Sadly this is but one of them.

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