Categories: australia, elections-2
Date: 22 August 2010 05:43:55
Looks like we may have a hung parliament, with Labor suffering from large losses in Queensland and New South Wales, but not a large enough swing to the Coalition [Liberals(*) and Nationals] to enable them to govern outright. [(*) the Liberals in Australia, just to confuse you, are the conservative party; Labor, which dropped the 'u' sometime in times past, is the traditional left-leaning party: though in this election there has been precious little as I saw it to distinguish them -- a race, and a dull one, to the middle.] Voting is compulsory here [you are fined if you do not, or at least do not turn up] and there was a large queue when I got to my old high school to vote just after 8am. You have your name checked off and you are given your Senate [large white] and House of Representatives [small green] and off you go to the cardboard voting booths [yes, they are not closed off] where a pencil awaits and off you go. As someone who votes 'below-the-line' in the Senate [numbering all 84 candidates rather than giving a 1 to a party/group above the line and letting them decide where preferences go should they have enough votes] it took me a while but I like to do it. Being in a safe Labor seat my House of Representatives vote does not mean as much. The rest of the day was spent with my Godfather and his family, of which more later in the week; and the night spent watching the ABC's election coverage. The next few days will be interesting at least... With the UK being in a similar position it will be interesting to see what deals are done, and if in fact any deals can be done. As Bernard Keane, a correspondent for Crikey, wrote today, we are blessed here with our Australian Electoral Commission (AEC); votes are counted efficiency and with great care; particularly given we use paper and pencil, seemingly behind many other countries who go to electronic means. But then, as he writes, the AEC does it well and I agree with his sentiments entirely:... the AEC has yet again demonstrated why it is the best electoral outfit in the world, running a very close election with expedition, efficiency and integrity. There are always hiccups, but when you see how it’s done in comparable countries, you can only be amazed at how well the AEC does it. It is one of our finest public institutions.