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2016 Australian federal election
9 years ago
Whelp, it seems I wasn't organised enough to vote in time for this year's election (I'll be at AC from now till the polls close at the consulate); which is a shame as it was one I was looking forward to. As a DD election, senate votes effectively count as double so this is the year to vote ^^
But I'll just quickly say to my Australian followers who won't be missing out; regardless on who you vote for (though I doubt there are too many liberals around here ^^); please give serious consideration to preferencing minor parties ahead of your preferred major.
The reasons being is more than simply because both major parties are awful and don't deserve the honour.
Firstly, with about a quater of the electorate set to vote 1 third party, the lower house will have 5-10% third party representation; and more than double that for the upper house. So there's a real chance that such a vote can make the difference (again, particularily in the senate). And keep in mind if your minor party votes don't win, your vote will still count at full value towards the first major you preference, so you haven't lost any say :)
Secondly, the AEC apportions election funding based on first preferences. So that means a vote for a minor party will help financially empower them next time around.
Aside from the greens, the other parties I was personally looking at preferencing were the Sex Party and the Science Party (though the latter is a bit crazy, I like a bit of crazy ^^). There are a ton of parties to pick from (the senate paper for VIC and NSW is over a meter long :o) so have a look and find a few you like ^^.
Be careful about voting based off names though. The Health Party has drawn first position in a state; they are anti-vax crazies.
Anyway wheter you take my advice or not, have fun out there ^^.
But I'll just quickly say to my Australian followers who won't be missing out; regardless on who you vote for (though I doubt there are too many liberals around here ^^); please give serious consideration to preferencing minor parties ahead of your preferred major.
The reasons being is more than simply because both major parties are awful and don't deserve the honour.
Firstly, with about a quater of the electorate set to vote 1 third party, the lower house will have 5-10% third party representation; and more than double that for the upper house. So there's a real chance that such a vote can make the difference (again, particularily in the senate). And keep in mind if your minor party votes don't win, your vote will still count at full value towards the first major you preference, so you haven't lost any say :)
Secondly, the AEC apportions election funding based on first preferences. So that means a vote for a minor party will help financially empower them next time around.
Aside from the greens, the other parties I was personally looking at preferencing were the Sex Party and the Science Party (though the latter is a bit crazy, I like a bit of crazy ^^). There are a ton of parties to pick from (the senate paper for VIC and NSW is over a meter long :o) so have a look and find a few you like ^^.
Be careful about voting based off names though. The Health Party has drawn first position in a state; they are anti-vax crazies.
Anyway wheter you take my advice or not, have fun out there ^^.
As for the two party system; actually no, its much better than the US in that regard. It's very rare for a major to control the senate (only happened once in my lifetime if I'm not mistaken), and in 2010 minor parties held the balance of power in the lower house too.
However a lot of European countries do it better than us; with huge third party representation meaning outright government is bareley heard of in many places. I'd love to see Australia move towards that; the system is set up for it, so it's just a cultural shift needed to get people to preference parties other than the majors ^^.
And yes I love the sex partys marketing as much as their policies. Though I did think their ad this year making fun of the Vatican wasn't quite as edgy as their last elections 'we love fucking but hate being fucked' tag line ^^
^^
Also you're awesome whatever happens Australia
I can't wait until this is over, the ads are getting ridiculous, let alone the campaigns!
The polls say the Liberals (which is right wing here) but there are a lot of marginal seats which are uncertain, so who knows what might happen!
However there is a small chance it will be with a minority government depending on how many lower house seats fall to third parties... That's the result I'm hoping for anyway ^^.
I think Turnbull did this DD election so he could pass a few bills through a combined parliament, which is what happens when the senate continues to block legislation after a DD. This will probably backfire on him though as he probably won't have the numbers with a combined parliament this time around :o
It would certainly be interesting to see minor parties enter into the fray. I don't have any preferences myself but watching policies getting thrown about keeps it interesting.
I'm in a very Liberal seat myself, but I'm not too bias so it all depends on policies for me, this election mostly looking at health, education (uni students woo) and the NBN.