Scotty from Marketing

[Bruce Tuncks]

Dutton looks too much like Voldemort. Mind you, the SA premier looks too much like Brezhnev for me but he got voted in anyway.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Awww... c'mon, Bruce.. don't tell me you vote on looks.. you sensitive new age guy, you....

 

(Darn it... I thought with half a brain and no looks, I had a chance... seems not! 😉 )

Edited March 27, 2021 by Jerry_Atrick

[willedoo]

Scotty has told a Christian conference that he was called to do God's work as prime minister. Does that mean that God is a Liberal? Or does God not care which party Scotty belongs too, that he just wants Scotty for PM. No wonder he won the election; he's got some powerful backing by the sound of it.

 

He also enlightened the crowd by informing them that the weapons of social media can be used by the evil one. I would imagine that the community guidelines for Facebook, Twitter and others would prevent the Devil from directly having accounts, so El Diablo must have taken over people's minds and made them post bad things. At least now we know where the fake news really comes from.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/26/scott-morrison-tells-christian-conference-he-was-called-to-do-gods-work-as-prime-minister

 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by willedoo

[Jerry_Atrick]

Can't deny his election win was a miracle win.. but delviered by Labor, not god. Unless, he things Labor is god.. that would be one for the books.

 

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs; but I would love him to define gods work.. What does it mean?

 

 

[onetrack]

The miracle of the last election was the fact that so few idiot voters realised that a vote for Clive Palmer was a vote directly to the Liberals. They would have been in the wilderness now, if Palmer hadn't run.

[Marty_d]

Seems to be a common theme in democracies that people can be easily fooled into voting against their own interests.

[Yenn]

Marty. Especially when we have compulsory voting. The pollies love it all the non thinkers and idiots have to vote, so the pollies only have to promise to make them better off and hey presto.

I think Labor have learned that it is better to be in opposition, then they cannot be judged, but they can stir the pot against the party in power.

[onetrack]

Our flawed voting system is part of the problem, with votes ending up going to the politicians that the voter didn't want to vote for.

The last W.A. election is a classic, one dope with a single policy, based on introducing Daylight Saving into W.A., won a parliamentary seat with less than 100 primary votes.

The win would be laughable if it wasn't true - but it's all thanks to "gaming" preferences. To cap it all, the bloke lives in Seattle - and W.A. has overwhelmingly rejected DS four times over the last 4 decades!

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-02/new-wa-mp-daylight-saving-party-leader-wilson-tucker-lives-in-us/100046668

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-05-16/wa-voters-reject-daylight-saving/1685358

 

Fortunately, with the massive majority McGowans party holds in both Houses in W.A. - hopefully, we'll soon see some major revision of the W.A. voting legislation, to ensure that preference gaming can't happen again.

[red750]

Someone (many) must have thought Seattle WA was Seattle Western Australia, not Seattle Washington.

[Jerry_Atrick]

He is one smart bloke and good on him for highlighting the apparent flaw int he voting system. What I don't understand, though, is the preference system in WA. Does it mean that a candidate can transfer their primary votes to someone else at their discretion?

 

I haven't voted in an Aussie election for many years now (last was actually not an election, but the republic referendum).. But, I don't recall such a system. Ultimately, it was me who decided my preferences (BTW, preferential voting is held up as a much fairer system that the first past the post we have here). I guess a lot of the donkey or parttial donkey vote has an impact, but if I lived in WA and I was dead against daylight savings, then any candidate calling themselves from the daylight savings party would be last on my numbered preferences (if at all, because at least in federal elections, I think the senate ticket only requires 6 or so preferences).

 

Maybe I should look it up.. but a concise explanation would be much better...

[onetrack]

Jerry, the voting system here is flawed because the voters in W.A. don't take the trouble to mark their preference for each and every candidate.

We get the choice of two voting papers for the Upper House - the first one for the major parties - which, if you choose to use, gives your preferences to the candidates you vote for.

 

The second voting paper lists every single election candidate, and the voter must tick every single box, in the order of their voting preference.

With 50 or 60, or 65, or even more candidates, in most elections - filling in the second voting paper, is a chore that 95% of the voters choose to avoid.

 

So we end up with 95% of the voters handing their preferences to the major party candidates, and then we get preference bargaining between candidates and parties.

 

The Lower House voting is a little more simple, with only one voting paper - but preferences are once again, handed out by the candidate, not by the individual voters.

 

https://www.elections.wa.gov.au/vote/voting-systems-wa

 

A more thorough explanation ...

 

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/wa-election-an-idiots-guide-to-preferences-and-voting-20170308-gutk77.html

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by onetrack
addendum...

[spacesailor]

Yes !

I found it took far to long to pick each of the ' least liked ' candidate by order.

Leaving me, no choice but to put a LINE through my paper rendering it Null & void.

At leased my name was ticked off, so no fine.

In the Old days elderly folk were given a lift in some candidates car.

Now,! Hobble with your walking frame, all the way to the polling station.

Those pollies really know how to Rort the system.

spacesailor

[facthunter]

You can do a postal vote spacey.  Also what if EVERYBODY DID what I do? Would the system work?. You have the right to vote here. Make it work and be grateful. The rest of the world is much much worse than here. WE of course COULD be better. There's some shonky tricks being used.  We DO have a few polies trying hard to do a good job. Do we  want them to give up? Nev

[red750]

1 hour ago, spacesailor said:

Now,! Hobble with your walking frame, all the way to the polling station.

And take care you don't get run over by those candidates in their chauffer-driven BMW's

[facthunter]

Bullet proofed as a result of Tony A Bot's deal. They are Com Cars  I don't know the scope of their use.   Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

You have the right to vote here. Make it work and be grateful.

I am interpreting this as we should always cast a valid vote, and if I have misinterpreted it, apols in advance.

 

I don't agree that just because we have the right to vote, we should exercise that right and cast a valid vote. I think it is just as valid to cast an invalid vote if none of the candidates on the ticket represent you or they all have policies you disagree with. In fact, casting a vote for the least repugnant, assuming that candidate is least repugnant to the majority, will give them a false sense that they have a mandate to carry out their policies.

 

It will never happen that no one votes, but a significant spoiled/invalid vote denies them a legitimate mandate and sends a clear message that the electorate is not happy with them... This is a better outcome than a false mandate. Of course, this is based on a conscience decision and not apathy.. But in a compulsory voting regime like Australia, the donkey vote is a sign of apathy; the invalid vote is an expression of discontent and therefore not apathy - with the possible exception on unmarked ballot cards. In Spacey's case, it sounded like he wanted to cast a valid vote, but it was too complicated and much effort for the value if provided. So, it is an expression something is wrong and has to be fixed.

 

This is why I am all for compulsory voting, Aussie style. In optional voting, such as the UK, does a low voter turnout mean apathy or disenfranchisement. You could argue an unusually low turnout would indicate disenfranchisement, but for normal turnouts, what is the proportion of apathy v disenfranchisement? From memory, for national elections, the average turnout is about 65%; for the Brexit referendum, it was about 75%. Did those who did not vote want Brexit, want to remain, were disenfranchised, or simply apathetic? If it is all disenfranchisement, 25% is a big number; 35% in national elections must deny a mandate. But, we will never know.

 

One of the arguments against compulsory voting I user to hear in Aus was that it is a breach of a democratic right not to vote. My counter to that was you still have that right (and should exercise it when you feel it necessary). You simply need to put your ballot in the box (or post it in).. no need to vote. I used to work as a polling clerk on election day in Kensington (Melbourne) and still have fond memories of some of the invalid votes we saw (some great works of art; some poetry; and some non-too-subtle expressions of dissatisfaction. But one of my favourite memories is of a pensioner walking up to the ballot box I was manning at the time, popping his neatly folded batton in and with a wry smile and cheeky inflection in his voice, saying "I didn't vote."

 

Also, just because one doesn't cast a valid vote, does not mean one doesn't have a right to participate in democracy. It is a fallacy to think that democracy starts and ends at the ballot box; True democracy is an ongoing interaction between government and the population at large.

 

[edit]

Given it is unlikely that more than the third preference votes will be distributed, a simpler solution to preferential voting is to limit the amount of numbers one has to place - to 3 or maybe 4. However, the option should be just to put 1 in; and maybe what should happen when there can't be a majority is a (groan) run-off election between those that poll the highest primary vote... a bit like the US.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Jerry_Atrick

[Yenn]

The right to not vote, by just getting your name crossed off and not marking the paper is OB, but those who are so thick that they should not be allowed to vote are also too thick to realise that they can just dump the ballot paper.

My son tells me he got his name crossed off and straight away put the ballot paper in the ballot box. The official there told him he could not do that, but as my son pointed out that he just did. Of course it is a secret ballot so how did the official know how he had voted.

I was on holiday in Wales a few years ago and had a postal ballot from Australia house. My brother in law was so amazed at the 1.5m long voting paper that he took it into Abergavenney to show all his mates. I think there were about 50 names on the senate sheet that time.

[facthunter]

Jerry . You often interpret my posts as I don't intend them. I don't know why that is. I don't think it's all my fault either but maybe we are just on different wavelengths.?  Nev

[red750]

If you don't lodge a valid vote, you can't complain about the outcome of the election.

 

That would be like not placing a bet but complaining that you didn't win anything.

[Jerry_Atrick]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

Jerry . You often interpret my posts as I don't intend them. I don't know why that is. I don't think it's all my fault either but maybe we are just on different wavelengths.?  Nev

Just a slight phase shift; or maybe the different poles 😉

 

(Hence I preface them, apols in advance)

[Marty_d]

I always work backwards, give the last number to those you truly despise then work your way up to those you tolerate.

[facthunter]

The last time I did the Senate one, it literally took me hours. Some very clever people at that time were working the preferences for money. We got some real whacko's in the senate then..Nev

[spacesailor]

Takes Too long !,

IF

Youv,e hobbled a mile, stood in that queue, then lent over that low carboard booth, that would collapse if you put any weight on  it.

With the Loong road back to your 'easyboy' type chair.

NOW

With this New hip ( hip hip haray ) l  can jog ( don,t call it running yet )  a half klmt , 15 Star jumps.

And yet to lift my leg up front & side ways is Still painful .

ALSO !, TWO DAYS after my covert jab, my arm is still tender.

spacesailor

PS weight going down 93.5 klgms.

 

.

 

[willedoo]

21 hours ago, spacesailor said:

With this New hip ( hip hip haray ) l  can jog ( don,t call it running yet )  a half klmt , 15 Star jumps.

And yet to lift my leg up front & side ways is Still painful .

spacey, with my bad left hip I've had a lot of trouble trying to get a sock on the left foot. There's lot's of gadgets that take a few weeks to come from China to do the job. But Youtube came to the rescue. I learnt you can roll up a magazine to a sort of funnel shape, pull the sock over the pointy end, put it on the floor and wiggle your foot into the non pointy end. Then pull on the non pointy end and bingo, the sock is either on or close enough to grab the ends and finish the job. You have to have just the right magazine though. I'm using a piece of stiff cardboard ex packaging and it works as good as the bought products.

 

All that combines with an extra long shoe horn and luckily the leg will still bend enough to tie shoelaces. Time for a new hip I think.

[red750]