Election Gets Willing As Preference Deals Announced; Turnbull Says Libs Will Put Greens Last

Jun 12, 2016

The Liberal Party has announced that it will preference the Labor Party ahead of the Greens in every electorate in the election.

The ALP has announced that it will preference the Liberal Party ahead of The Nationals in the rural seats of Murray (Vic), Durack and O’Connor (WA).

The Liberal Party decision is particularly important since it makes it very difficult for the Greens to make up ground in Batman, Wills and Melbourne Ports (Vic), and in Sydney and Grayndler (NSW). The decision all but guarantees that the ALP candidates will win these seats. Late last week, the Greens announced that they would preference the ALP ahead of the Liberals in the inner-city Melbourne seats.

The decision could make Melbourne difficult for the Greens member Adam Bandt, who will need to maintain his primary vote to overcome the lack of Liberal preferences.

The ALP’s preferences in the three rural seats will also prevent The Nationals increasing their numbers in the Coalition, relative to the Liberal Party. ALP preferences will be of particular value in Murray, where the new Liberal candidate, Duncan McGauchie, faces a strong Nationals contender, Damian Drum. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Campaign Techniques, Greens, How-To-Vote Cards, Liberal Party, Turnbull Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

“Our Policy Is Clear” – Liberals Pounce On ALP’s Border Protection Dissension

May 09, 2016

The Liberal Party has seized on dissension in Labor ranks over offshore processing of asylum seekers.

The ALP candidate for Melbourne, Sophie Ismail, went on the record today as favouring bringing asylum seekers to Australia and processing them here. Melbourne is held for the Greens by Adam Bandt.

The Liberals released the advertisement shown below. It quotes Ismail and other comments by retiring WA MP Melissa Parke and Tasmanian Senator Lisa Singh. The repeated “our policy is clear” comments from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten are taken from his media conference today where he was questioned about Ismail’s comments. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Election Advertisements, Liberal Party, Refugees, Turnbull Tagged With: , , , , ,

Melbourne: Two Kinds Of Politics

Aug 16, 2010

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m standing in front of Melbourne’s State Library. A large crowd has gathered for the Equal Love rally in support of gay marriage.

It’s a motley crowd. Many carry placards, one of which reads, “I can’t believe we’re still protesting this shit”. Others demand amendment of the Marriage Act. There are calls for equal rights and many challenges to the conventional definition of “family”.

My interest is to see how the election candidates fare. In a week’s time, the electorate of Melbourne will have a new member in the House of Representatives. This Federation seat, established in 1901 and represented by the ALP since 1904, may be about to reject the Labor candidate in favour of the Greens. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2010 Federal Election, A.L.P., Gillard, Greens, LGBTI, Opinion, Video Tagged With: , , , , ,

Day 27: What Are They Thinking?

Aug 13, 2010

Day 27 of my election campaign began with a hair-cut.

The salon I visit lies close to the boundary between the safe Liberal electorate of Goldstein and the safe Labor electorate of Hotham. The local members, Andrew Robb and Simon Crean, are leading lights in their respective parties and one or other man will be a senior minister after the election.

Paul, my hairdresser, tells me interest in the election has tailed off in the past couple of weeks. The political talk around the time Gillard deposed Rudd has been replaced by other concerns.

A lot of people are annoyed with both sides, Paul says. Some are saying they won’t vote or will vote informal. I tell him the electoral statistics show that most of these people won’t do what they say they will. Nevertheless, he says they’re disillusioned with what’s on offer.

“It’s as if two apprentices are after a craftsman’s job,” is Paul’s interpretation of the mood. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2010 Federal Election, A.L.P., Gillard, Liberal Party, Opinion Tagged With: , , , ,
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