General Chat

Rollo ........

In my humble opinion

you are talking out of the back of your hat!

Once you have lived in a country, been there through an election period, and really know that country, THEN and only THEN can you say that you know the situation.

So far as I know, you have NOT lived for extended periods in Australia, Canada, or the US, nor have you voted in any of those countries, or at the very least been there during an election period and really paid attention to what is happening.

On the other hand, I have voted in the UK and in Canada, and lived in Australia and the US for extended periods. We were in both the latter countries during particularly interesting elections, and made every effort to understand what was happening, what the rationale was for the way they voted, and how the system then worked after a new government was elected.

Not only that, but I participated actively in elections in the UK in the 1960s, I even campaigned for a particular candidate in one of those elections.

You're like so many armchair experts!

Know a lot in theory and know nowt in practice!

I believe that the only thing about the Oz system that is better than that in the UK is that Oz uses the proportional representation system.

The worse thing about it is compulsory voting.

In the UK one can judge by the percentage of non-voters how little the electorate believes or has faith in politicians. Although ruined ballot papers in Oz can be an indication of the same lack of faith, it is impossible to come to a more precise percentage because of the donkey vote - 1, 2, 3, straight down the paper. Such papers are counted as valid.

It was interesting to be in San Francisco during the Bush/Gore election.

Early in the morning the television announced the winner as Gore.

A little later and a few queries in Florida (Jed Bush's state) and G W Bush was declared the winner.

We believed that things were not as transparent and strict enough as they ought to have been. In fact we thought 'Gore wuz robbed.'

"believed they were not as transparent"

it was downright rigged!!!! :-D

not only that, but there was the "hanging chad" dispute!

and the US ended up with Bush .......... usually called Dubya

and the world ended up getting involved in the second Iraq War, an attempt to complete Bush Sr. desire to force American "civilization" in the Middle East.

Sylvia, by using the words 'transparent' and 'strict' I was trying to be as diplomatic as I could be. :-D

well, we in this country, and many below the line, are NOT diplomatic about that election!

Well I've enjoyed this election so much that I'm jumping at the chance to do it all over again next March, when we have a State Election in WA.

I'm also looking forward to reading Rollo's cutting edge comments on the results, and how he sees, no matter which party wins, why the Election was won or lost on social economic and financial grounds.

Co-incidentally, Rollo has touched on one area of policy which may be a factor in the State Election, coal.

One of the largest miners in WA, Griffin Coal, is currently trying to cut the workforce pay by 43%. Also WA does not export any coal, all production is used for Electricity generation within the South West.

we're almost the same as you ....... Federal election last October, provincial election May next year

"Electioneering" by the party in power began a year before the Federal election ........ didn't call it that obviously because that's not allowed. But I don't know what else to call the type of "government advertising" that we got

The PM in power was kicked out :-D :-D


"electioneering" by the provincial party in power began over a year ago .............. I can but hope that the same thing happens to the Premier in power :-D :-D :-D

43% - what is their underlying purpose I wonder, because they'll know the unions would never stand for that?

I believe that Griffin want to cancel the current Enterprise Bargaining Agreement to reduce costs.

Since 2011 Griffin Coal has been owned by Lanco, an Indian company which has done its best to reduce wages etc. In the five years Griffin Coal has been in the ownership of Lanco there have been a series of industrial disputes. Lanco also has a history of not paying on-site contractors

so you're also outsourcing ownership of Australian resource companies :-(

Yes, and Australian agricultural land :-(

China is one of the biggest Investors, but India is not far behind