Australian Election, one week to go.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

This post is my senate voting strategy and I thought some of you furriners would appreciate what goes in to voting in an Australian election (most of you have heard stories). This is for the upper house, where in my state there are over 100 candidates.


Ballot for the Senate

For the "I don't care" or "I don't know" voters, you only have to number one box. If that person doesn't get a seat, then they get to choose where your vote goes next. I don't like this, so I number all the boxes (you must number either 1 or at least 90% for the ballot to be valid).

Follows is an FB PSA I just wrote up:

There's lots of funny shenanigans going on with preferences this election (including, I'm sure, some parties that have been created specifically to funnel preferences), this means that voting below the line is more important than ever, unfortunately, there's a bazillion candidates, so who is gonna read all that (again, I'm pretty sure it's an anti-democratic plot by the majors).

Your 1 vote gives the person/party $2.31, provided they get 4% of the vote, so prioritise the person/party who you want to keep going; even without getting elected there's things that can be done with that money (like advocacy).

I've just read through ALL the policies and have given each a one line summary. This is obviously not objective and my personal opinion must be taken into account. My general idea is: Party I want my $2 to go to at 1 (wikileaks), who have a small chance of getting a seat and then the Sex Party who also have a small chance. Then I have three general groups: Parties I agree with, parties I don't care about, and parties I oppose. I've put the Greens in between parties I agree with and don't care, because if wikileaks and sex party don't get in then my vote will eventually fall there, but before it does so, it would have gone through and given support to every party I agree with. Then I have the Labs between don't care and oppose, so that if my vote for some reason doesn't fall with the Greens (that would be if the final seat is lib v lab, but it will most likely be green v lab), then it goes to the ALP, but they are waaayyyyy down the list, saying I really didn't want to vote for you guys.

Then I have the Libs about halfway down my oppose list, below the ones I'm opposed to, but don't think have Buckley's chance, but above the ones I oppose even more than the Libs, but have a chance (One Nation, Family First and the Christians).

One vote can do all that, not just elect someone you want to elect, but also give other people you support money and send a message to the major parties about your priorities.



Wikileaks

Single issue party, open government, transparency and anti-corruption, other policies broadly left wing.

Australian Sex Party

Social libertarians, economic social welfare.

Secular Party

Pro-euthenasia, gay marriage, science, abortion, reduction of copyright, carbon tax anti-religion, internet censorship. Social democratic welfare statists.

Senator Online

No policies, all decision based on a poll via smartphone app.

Help End Mariuana Prohibition

Single issue party, does what it says on the box

Drug Law Reform Party

Single issue party, Harm Minimisation based.

Bullet Train for Australia

Single issue party, proudly have absolutely no other policies.

Australian Democrats

Used to be the party between the Libs and the Labs, now left of the Labs (the Labs went right, not the other way around).

Australian Independents

Bleeding hearts, want to save everyone, but also want to cut taxes.

Animal Justice Party

Have many policies, all for a specific animal. No other real policies, single issue party.

Stop CSG (Coal Seam Gas)

Single issue party, but widely environmentally focussed

The Greens

Environmental Socialists

Pirate Party

Yargh! Left Libertarians (reworking, not removing the welfare state)

Socialist Equity Party

Trotskyists (ie actual communists)

Katter’s Australia Party

Protectionsists. Right wing on education, immigration, social and energy policies.

Lib Dem

Proper libertarians (ie I don’t want to pay tax, but I’m also not that interested in how you spend your spare time)

Stable population party

Single issue party, don’t seem to be racist, just like their space.

Bank Reform Party

Single issue party, seem to be against “interest rate gouging” can’t really work out anything else.

Country Alliance

Anti-environment, want more boat ramps.

Building Australia Party

Pro-building industry, but other than that, apparently not crazy, light on policy though.

Smokers rights party

Single issue party, wind back restrictions on smoking introduced in the last 20 years.

Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party

Single issue party, hard to read where they would stand on anything else.

Australian Voice Party

Crazy, mainly seem to be anti-politician, fairly incoherent.

Shooters and Fishers

GUNS! GUNS! EVERYWHERE GUNS!

Palmer United Party

Policy focus is remaking 90s disaster films, next to be “Waterworld”.

Australian Republicans

Libertarians, but policy is too light to know what kind of libertarians.

Australian Labor Party

Lost the plot

Democratic Labour Party

Racist, homophobic, but not crazy, and at least they know how to spell Labour.

Stop The Greens (outdoor recreation party)

Basically want to use national parks as bogan playgrounds. Libertarian leaning.

Citizens Electoral Council

La Rouche! (Crazy)

NICHOLLS, Bob

Hey ma! I’m on the ballot!

TOSCANAO, Joseph

*shrug* wanted his name on the ballot?

Lin GUNTER

My name is on the ballot in the right order!

Daniel Scott MORRISON

I’m last! That’s got to get me a few votes right! Reverse donkey FTW!

Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party

Low tax libertarians (ie don’t tell me to pay tax, but I’ll tell you how to live), very few specific policies beyond fishing laws.

Lib/Nats

Crazy, but has nice pants.

No carbon tax climate skeptics

Single issue party, and they’re wrong on the single issue.

Rise Up Australia

Homophobic, racist, crazy

One Nation

Homophobic, racist, Crazy

Family First

Homophobic, racist, crazy

Australian Christian Party

No.


Many people may see this as onerous, I revel in the opportunity to have such a say over the make up of my parliament.

Comments

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

Such a refreshingly and fascinatingly large number of parties! I love it. =)

[jaye-elle.livejournal.com]

I have to whole heartedly agree with you on the top few although I think I'll vote sex party then secular. Not a big fan of wikileaks. Very disappointed with the two major parties at the moment but we've got a dickhead of a premier at the moment who's LNP so I'm hoping Labor get in.

Althought I kinda want Pauline to get a seat so the Chaser boys can have some good material ... ;)

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

When Pauline had a seat all the nutjobs had a voice, then the LNP decided they could steal the nutjob vote with a few well placed dog whistles.

Minor party nutjobs are good for democracy, they keep the crazies out of the parties that actually run the joint.

Is your issue with wikileaks an issue with Julian Assange? I can understand that. If it's a policy issue then I'd be interested to hear.

In all honesty, I probably closer align with the Sex Party than Wikileaks, they're both *very* similar, just with different priorities (essentially it's a personal freedom vs. government transparency priority, they both believe in pretty identical things, just different emphasis). The main reason I'm voting Wikileaks is because I want to see elected a guy who is seeking asylum in another country get elected to parliament, and what that will do with things like diplomatic immunity, governments preferencing the interests of their allies over their citizens and the asylum seeker debate in general.

I voted Liberal in my first election, Labour in my second (product of upbringing, half of my family are capitalists, the other half are socialists, Anglos and Catholics). I haven't voted for either since and most likely never will again. Voting for a major party does nothing for the system. I don't know how anyone could read the policies of all the parties I've listed and come up with the idea that the Libs or the Labs best represent them. My dream world is one where they only manage to get 50% of the senate between them. I think it will happen too; it's not that young people today are necessarily better informed, but they have better access to information, which I think is going to increase minor party votes immensely. It will drastically reduce the ability of one of the major parties to reduce an election campaign down to one three word slogan.

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

Every time you post about the Aussie political system I get more and more tempted to repatriate. This is an extremely eccentric question, but do you happen by any chance to know anything about the healthcare job market in Oz? Specifically, anything about nursing licensing and/or whether there's a shortage/surplus of nurses these days?

[gillianinoz.livejournal.com]

There is definitely a shortage of doctors and nurses in Oz - google 'immigrating to Australia' and there is info about visas etc.

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

Actually, I don't need a visa - I'm a citizen. But I'd like to be able to find work if/when I move. So this is very good news for me.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Yep, heaps of healthcare jobs. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that healthcare in Australia would probably be one of the easiest combos in the world to find a job in.

[jaye-elle.livejournal.com]

I have to argue - I work in health care and we're slashing jobs at the moment like wildfire. We fired 200 casual/part time nurses in three months! But that's only in my area - it might be different in other states. The best of luck if you're looking for work :)

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Eh, well there ya go, I'm not in the industry but it was my impression it was different. The only medical people I know are a ultrasound tech, an ER nurse and a pediatric surgeon, so they might be high demand skills.

Are you in QLD? Cos that would explain it, Campbell Newman is trying to make it so no one works for the government except LNP politicians.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Ah, a weighted ballot! How refreshing!

I've been trying to get at least our local officials to move to weighted balloting for years, but so far, they've actually made is worse. Currently, we have a "top two" election cycle, meaning everyone in the primaries is removed from consideration in the final election. Amazingly undemocratic!

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

i just love that my single vote doesn't just count once, but potentially a hundred times.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

One-issue parties are somewhat exotic!

This Pirate Party thingy seems to be spreading around the world like... like a computer virus!

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

And the great thing is that a preferential voting system means a 1 vote for a single issue party that won't get elected isn't a vote wasted. Eventually your vote filters down to the last two candidates standing, so even if your candidate doesn't get in, you still get to choose between the douchebag and the turd sandwich.