I’m not going to tell you how to vote. Heck I haven’t even made up my own mind yet.
But I can tell you that the following candidates here in the ACT thought it was reasonable to be asked questions when presenting themselves for election:
- — Quintin Phillips-Hedges for Fraser (Secular Party)
— Anthony David for the Senate (Democrats)
— Darren Churchill for the Senate (Democrats)
— Indra Esguerra for Fraser (Greens)
— Hannah Parris for the Senate (Greens)
— Lin Hatfield Dodds for the Senate (Greens)
— Sue Ellerman for Canberra (Greens)
— Gai Brodtmann for Canberra (Labor)
(In order of return)
The other candidates, from the day after the Electoral Commission confirmed them as candidates to the day before the election, could not or would not answer simple polite questions from the public on the record.
I leave it up to the reader to decide what that’s worth.
(Incidentally one candidate offered to do an interview, but on condition the questionnaire questions were not asked)
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Grrrr said :
p1 said :
Go ahead, throw your vote away.
Minor irregularity at the Darra polling place: table right inside on the way in, covered in pamphlets – it looked like a “pick up how to vote cards” spot but people on their way in were simply leaving their materials there. (nb it was not the “on the way out” disposal spot). I nearly picked up a how to vote for one of the parties, before I figured it wasn’t kosher to have them sitting there inside the polling place. The woman greeting voters should really have been disposing of them. Most of the cards happened to be Green promo material, so I’d say it was a minor but significant irregularity … and something the poll supervisor should have been managing.
How To Vote cards seem hopelessly unnecessary this time around… I actually voted below the line in the Senate for once because there were so few boxes to fill out!
“A fair point about the safe seats, but both Brodtmann and Leigh beat the factions’ preferred candidates. Their preselection wins were not what the Labor Party wanted.”
Bollocks, its the Labor Party you’re talking about here. No one beats the factions or powerbrokers
Making Canberra seats miore marginal is exactly what we should be doing, regardless of our political beliefs. Additionally, giving your first preference to a minor party ensures the bastards who’ve been polluting our TV channels with ads over the last month don’t get your $2.
This is the hardest election yet, I really don’t want to vote for any of them:
Greens: committed to reducing funding to independent schools; very little in the way of “Green” policy anymore – it’s all social engineering crap.
Labor: Undid Howard’s succcessful border control policies and started a flood of illegal immigration which is costing us hundreds of $millions$. This is a huge and significant issue. Gillard’s East Timor gaffe was probably enough to convince any doubters that Labor is impotent and clueless on border-control.
Liberal: Under Abbott, pro-Workchoices and climate-change denial. Abbott has committed to stopping the highly successful Marine Parks program – clear sign he is a committed environmental vandal.
Who does that leave? Nobody. We’re screwed.
CanberraCreative said :
Well the last candidate who you could say ‘really inspired’ was Kevin07 and look how well that turned out. We ain’t got no Obamas in this town. The last politician who took a stand on any principle was Turnbull (on the ETS).
I’m so disillusioned with all sides. We’ve got Abbott who I think is unelectable as PM. Labor, so full of apparatchiks and so thin on talent that they’re going to make Whitlam look competent, and The Greens, with some nasty ideologues lined up behind a green trojan horse.
I’d vote informal in protest but that’s a bit like giving a nod to that idiot Latham.
I voted already… the AEC should be handing out prozac at polling places given that voting feels like choosing the least worst option rather than a candidate who truly speaks or inspires.
cranky said :
A fair point about the safe seats, but both Brodtmann and Leigh beat the factions’ preferred candidates. Their preselection wins were not what the Labor Party wanted.
shaneb said :
Unless you have a strong preference for a particular party:
1. Both house of reps seats are safe Labor seats, which they are guaranteed to retain, so vote Liberal above Labor to make the electorate appear more marginal. This is especially important if you are employed in the APS. No party would cut jobs from the APS if it was marginal.
2. Give your first preferences to a minor party (below 4%) and save the AEC/taxpayer $2.31
In a similar position. Voting Liberal will get us a re-run of the Howard years, but run by the Catholic church, and a surefire Canberra recession.
Labor is slightly more pallatable, but I shy at voting for candidates no one knows, foisted on the elctorate as a result of party room manouvering, and virtually guarranteed a job for life.
Probably Green in the Senate, simply to stick it up the majors.
I don’t see responses from either Kodos or Kang there..
Remember, “It makes no difference which one of us you vote for. Either way, your planet is doomed. DOOMED!”
There’s a little bit of bogan in all of us.
Johnboy said: “Heck I haven’t even made up my own mind yet.”
http://thingsboganslike.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/bogan-bribe-watch-august-20th/