MOOK'S MAIN COURSE-LONG TIME LISTENER, FIRST TIME CALLER!!!
October 9 is an important date in the history of Australia. It is on that day that not only the pole position for the Bathurst 1000 motor race is decided, but it is also the day where the majority of the 17 million Australians vote to see who becomes the new Prime Minister. And interestingly enough, it is the first time where I have a chance to voice my opinion on who goes to Canberra to bludge, lie and waste money for 3 years.
Just a brief overview on how the day works. Polls open at 6AM on election day. Everyone enrolled has to vote or risk a fine ( I believe), and everyone can only vote once. Polls close at 6PM, and that night everyone is glued to the set to see who wins, who loses and what dazzling statistics that election analysts like Laurie Oakes or Antony Green come up with. Oh yeah, and we have to vote for both a member of the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
There are 2 main parties that operate in Australia (actually 3, but 2 form a coalition). The Liberal and National parties are basically a joint ticket, with a representative in each electorate but rarely do you see a National Party and a Liberal Party candidate run for the same seat. They are trying to beat the other major party in Parliament, the Australian Labor Party. Of course there are other parties like the Democrats, The Greens and a bevy of Independents (of which 3 were elected to Parliament in the House of Reps last time, as well as a member of the Greens for the 1st time ever).
The candidates are who we are supposedly voting for, but in the end it is a leader of the Party that gets the ultimate vote. In the Blue and Green corner is Prime Minister John Howard, hated by many, loved by others. In the Red Corner is newcomer Mark Latham, who was once a firebrand but has tried to tone down his image (which according to many, including my Grandparents, is to his detriment). Basically whichever Party wins the most seats wins the Election, and gets to rule the country for 3 years. If there is a tie, then the leaders put the heat on the Independents and Minor Parties Representatives (IF ANY) for their support.
So what has been dominating the airwaves in terms of issues? Well the 3 main issues that I have been seeing has been Education (particularly higher education), health and security. Of course, many believe that John Howard only won the last election on the back of solid reform on Border Patrol, but he’ll lose brownie points given the involvement of Australia in Iraq and also for allegedly messing up the Medicare system and allowing University fees to rise by up to 25%. Conversely Latham will lose a few votes with the lack of economic packages being announced.
Voting for Senators is far easier than it is to vote for a Member of the House of Reps. All I need to do is put a 1 above the line for the corresponding party, and all members get my vote (basically). If I wanted to be a coward (and hold others up), I could number all members below the line off, but I don’t particularly want to count to 26 or something like that on a Saturday when I have better things to do.
So to the burning question, WHO WILL I VOTE FOR? Naturally because this is a confidential ballot, I can’t divulge into too many details of how I will vote. However, I can tell you that the current Government will NOT be getting any preferential treatment from this disgruntled voter. Perhaps I will vote for an Independent candidate, maybe for the Opposition, maybe even for a mate if one is running, but now I’m dreaming.
Of course the weekend coincides with a weekend that I look ford (pun intended) to all year, BATHURST. That’s right, the election is the day before the Bathurst 1000 car race, where 35 Fords and Holden’s do battle over 161 laps to see who will be the king of the mountain this year. Like every year I want Ford to win, and this year I am more confident than ever. But then again, my tipping form has not been as good as it should be so I can only hope.
