29 November 07 - 08:42Bite My Shiny, Metal...

Yay! The new Futurama movie has been released in the US.

I'm sure it will be better than the Simpsons movie

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25 November 07 - 16:53The Federal election

Well, I managed to get sunburn on my arms where I forgot to put sunblock.
Firstly, thanks to everyone who ran as candidates, worked on the campaign team, worked in Lyn's office, stood on a polling booth, letter boxed, or voted for us. We all really appreciate your support.

What a night! I was at the Dems party in Southbank, and then went onto Crown with a few people. It was a comprehensive ALP victory, and the loss of the current Dems seats in the senate. It would have been great if we'd polled a bit better, especially in Victoria and Queensland, but the outcome wasn't unexpected. It was an absolute privilege to support Senator Lyn Allison - she's a great person, and she has handled the media with grace and dignity today (she had radio interviews this morning, and a press conference in Port Melbourne today at midday). I think we have been very lucky to have her leadership over the last few years - the whole campaign could have been a hell of a lot more unpleasant to be involved with, and she has held the party together well. In the end it was just an impossible ask.

The total minor party vote was quite low, and in a Government-changing election, we couldn't find a voting niche to appeal to. Despite how much we tried, we couldn't get much media on the importance of the contest in the senate. The moderate ALP and Liberal voters who used to support us in the senate went with the ALP in this campaign.

It will be interesting to see how the ALP handles government - and what happens with the senate. At the moment,it looks like the balance of power will be held between the Greens, Nick Xenophon and Family First. I have no idea how this will work out - it could be disasterous - it's hard to see how common ground can be found between the new balance of power parties on many contentious issues. A lot of it will depend on the attitude of the Liberal/National coalition in opposition. Will they work with the ALP on issues they have in common, or will they oppose most of the ALP's platform, which will bring this shared balance of power situation regularly into play?

Is it over for the Democrats after 30 years? Well, it really depends. The party needs to have a good look at what campaigns we can and want to run, and where we can have electoral success between now and the next federal election. There is room for a genuine socially liberal, economically centrist party with a constructive approach to legislation in Australian politics, and such parties have had success in the UK (the Liberal Democrats ) and Canada (New Democratic Party), but we will need to change our approach and focus. Whether there is the will and the drive within the party to do this remains to be seen.

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23 November 07 - 14:59Buffer zones outside fertility clinics

Lyn Allison has made a video submission to Victorian Law Reform Commission regarding abortion laws, and she has highlighted the need for buffer zones to be put in place around fertility clinics.
Senator Allison's office is down the road from the fertility clinic where security guard, Steven Rogers was murdered by an anti-choice fanatic. Years later, the protesters are still there every morning, yelling abuse at people entering the clinic, and on occasion at people passing by just to go to a nearby cafe for a coffee or sandwich. The white line you can see in the video that the protesters must stand behind has been recently placed there, and only after extensive lobbying.
There are many things that governments can do to lower the number of terminations, namely:
> Government funded paid maternity leave;
> More affordable and accessible childcare;
> The right to part-time work and to flexible hours;
> Better financial, social and maternal and child health support for pregnant women, new mothers and their partners;
> Better support for children with disabilities and their families;
> Better support for adoption. Just a personal note on this: my Mum was adopted, and although she would have loved to have contact with her biological family, she had a good childhood being brought up my Nanna (who was a single,working woman, and would have been considered unsuitable to bring up a child by today's set of religious fundamentalists, who believe that a family is a heterosexual, married couple with kids).

Governments can also reduce the need for abortion by reducing the rate of unplanned pregnancy through:
> comprehensive, school based sexual health and relationships education programs for young people before they become sexually active;
> improved men’s and women’s access to sexual and reproductive health information;
> access to a full range of safe, affordable contraception on demand, including over the counter access to the oral contraceptive pill, placement of all forms of contraception on the PBS, and ready access to low cost condoms and emergency contraception in schools;
> adequate provision of affordable, impartial, sexual health, family planning and pregnancy advice and counselling by properly trained health workers and counsellors.

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22 November 07 - 13:38Family comes first, tolerance last

The Monash Journal has published an article about Family First's decision to preference the One Nation candidate in Bruce ahead of the ALP, Democrats and Greens, along with their decision to preference One Nation in the senate ahead of the Liberals, ALP, Democrats and Greens.
The local One Nation candidate, Neil Henry Smith is running with the slogan: "Vote 1 Neil Henry Smith One Nation to enforce a 100 years moratorium on coloured immigration."
He also claims that Glen Waverley has been turned into a suburb of Beijing. Good on Red Cap Distributors for refusing to distribute his election pamphlet. The Victorian Democrats put One Nation candidates absolutely last wherever and whenever they run a candidate.

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20 November 07 - 00:47On the ground campaigning in Chisholm

Daniel campaigning at Oakleigh Station

Daniel has been campaigning strongly in Chisholm. He has worked hard on getting media in the local papers (hopefully, we'll see a good result for this when the papers come out later this week), and was interviewed on radio by John Faine.
We have also been letterboxing the electorate, putting up posters, and handing out flyers at train stations.

Lyn Allison poster in Box Hill




Lyn Allison poster at Monash University, Clayton Campus



If you can help in anyway, with putting up posters or especially with staffing polling booths, do get in touch. Staffing polling booths could be the difference between Lyn Allison getting re-elected in the senate or not - and the Democrats retaining our seats could be what snatches control of the senate away from the Liberal/National Coalition.

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19 November 07 - 23:18Election Scorecards

Many lobby groups produce scorecards where they rate the various political parties on their policies, or on specific responses to surveys.

Here are some scorecards I have come across online:

• Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby
  
• Doctors Reform Society
  
• Public Transport Users Association
  
• Australian Conservation Foundation
  
• Dying With Dignity Victoria has a candidate ranking, rather than a detailed scorecard.
  
• National Rural Health Alliance
  
• National Tertiary Education Union
  
• Vote Nuclear Free
  
• Australian "Christian" Values Checklist
  
• Festival of Light
  

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17 November 07 - 14:53Tarja's My Winter Storm

Stuff the federal election - I'm stupidly excited about ex-Nightwish lead singer, Tarja Turunen's new solo album My Winter Storm.

My Winter Storm has just come out on the Australian iTunes store today, and I'm listening to it right now. I love it so far, there is a great mix of bombastic symphonic metal and more subtle, sweet ballads. The only thing I don't like is her cover of Alice Cooper's Poison. It just doesn't work for me.

You can watch the video clip for the single from the album, I Walk Alone here. The video clip isn't anything special - it's your usual fantasy-themed metal clip, and although I'd rather look at Tarja then at your more typical burly-looking, long-haired, long-bearded, black t-shirt wearing metal singer, the director should be locked up for making her wear that ridiculous eye shadow. That said, though, it's an awesome track, and a great first single.

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11 November 07 - 22:04Vote 1 Daniel Berk in Chisholm

One of my best friends, Daniel Berk is running for the Democrats in the seat of Chisholm.


He's a great guy, and one of the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and I'm happy I live in Chisholm so I get to vote for him. He's running on better funding for universities (Australia's largest university campus at Monash, Clayton is in Chisholm), state schools and hospitals, as well as getting the federal government to start funding urban public transport projects, such as the Rowville rail line. He is also campaigning in support of Senator Lyn Allison's re-election, and wants to see a balanced senate, where the government of the day has its legislation thoroughly scrutinized and improved.

Daniel has been campaigning extensively in the electorate. He has attended several forums, including two services at the Syndal Baptist Church, and was interviewed by John Faine on 774. I think he has an excellent chance of polling strongly for us, and we're planning on letter-boxing the seat at least twice before polling day, as well as covering pre-poll in the last two weeks. However, we still need help. If you can help us in Chisholm with handing out how to vote card on election day or at a prepoll centre in the next two weeks, or with letterboxing, or with a donation, you can contact us (if you live outside Chisholm, but still want to help Daniel, you can specify that you wish to help Daniel in Chisholm by leaving a comment with your details).

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06 November 07 - 16:24Preference decisions

One of the worst things about the Federal election, is the requirement for grouped senate candiates to lodge voting tickets for above the line voters. I personally think it's a complete distortion of the intent of our quota-proportional preferential voting system, and I'd love to see optional preferential voting introduced into federal elections, and above the line voting abolished.

That said, though, it's currently a necessary evil, and it is worthwhile that people inform themselves of what decision parties have taken in their senate group voting tickets. The Victorian senate group voting tickets are available at Antony Green's site

In Victoria, The Democrats have decided to preference socially or environmentally progressive parties like the Carers Alliance, the Climate Change Coalition, the What Women Want party, and then to the Greens, before split-ticketing between the major parties, followed by parties like the Liberty and Democracy Party, and Conservatives for Climate and Environment, and only then going to the right-wing micro parties, such as the DLP, Family First, the CDP (Fred Nile Group), and finally One Nation last.

The Greens have decided in most states to put the Liberal/National coalition candidates absolutely last on their tickets. They first also go through like-minded parties, and then preference the Democrats, and the ALP, followed by rightwing micros. For most practical purposes, it won't make any difference, but I do find it odd that they have decided to preference both Family First and the CDP (Fred Nile Group) ahead of moderate liberal senator Marise Payne in NSW (one of the few small-l liberals left in the federal Liberal party). I'm actually quite shocked by their decision to do this, as the discriminatory policies of Fred Nile in particular are just terrible, and there is an outside chance that the CDP candidate could get elected ahead of Marise Payne, although it is far more likely that either she will retain her seat, or lose it to the Greens or the Climate Change Coalition.

In Victoria, the Greens have modified this approach by split-ticketing between the Liberals and right-wing religious parties for the last spot on their ticket. The Vic Greens go straight to the Democrats, and then to the ALP, so I can't see any circumstances in Victoria where their split-ticketing will make a difference to the outcome, and I guess they are doing it to send a message to the Vic Liberals about how unhappy they are about what the Federal Government has done with control of the senate. Personally, I think since 2004 Family First have shown themselves to be far worse than the Liberals, but I can see the logic behind what the Vic Greens have decided to do. In any case, there is a good chance that either Lyn Allison for the Democrats, or Richard Di Natale from the Greens can take the final spot in the senate from the 3rd Liberal candidate.

However, the most shocking preference deal that has occurred so far, is Family First's decision to cut preference deals with One Nation, and Pauline Hanson in QLD. In Victoria, Family First has put One Nation very high on their ticket, and ahead of not only the Democrats and the Greens, but also both the ALP and the Liberals. In QLD, they have also put Pauline Hanson behind the Coalition, but ahead of not only the Democrat and the Greens, but the ALP as well. Pauline Hanson's statements against Asian and African migrants are well-known. How can Family First possibly justify preferencing One Nation and Pauline Hanson, particularly when they claim to support all families? If, like over 30% of people living in Melbourne, you weren't born in Australia does your family not count with Family First?

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06 November 07 - 15:25Democrats chances in the senate

Now that the senate group voting tickets are in, it's worth looking at what chances the Australian Democrats have of getting reelected.
Our best chances are in Queensland, where Senator Andrew Bartlett is running, and in Victoria, where Australian Democrats leader, Senator Lyn Allison is running.
Depending on how other parties poll, Andrew Bartlett can get reelected on about 5.5% of the primary vote, and Lyn Allison can get reelected on a primary vote as low 4.5% Lyn gets preferences from the Climate Change Coaliton and the Carers Alliance, which will boost whatever primary vote she gets and give her a real chance of knocking of the 3rd Liberal candidate for the senate. This would be fantastic, not just for Democrats or Lyn Allison supporters, but also because if only 2 coalition senators are returned from Victoria, it will help break the coalition's control of the senate. Democrats preferences will go to the Greens if Lyn fails to get elected.

Antony Green has some online senate calculators which you can use to model various outcomes. He also has put the Senate Group Voting tickets for all candidates online, and they are much easier to read at his site than the pdfs available on the AEC's site.

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04 November 07 - 12:3736 candidates and 2 senate voting tickets

I'm one of the Deputy Registered Officers for the Vic Dems with the AEC, so it was my responsibility to submit our nominations for the Senate and the House of Representatives to the AEC, as well as to lodge our Senate Group Voting tickets. In Federal elections, our preferences are determined at a National level, but with very strong input from our state and territory divisions (our state and territories have an increased role in the decision-making process after the disasterous 2004 preferences decisions taken at a National level). We got our nominations in on the Monday before the Bulk nominations deadline, and our Senate Group Voting ticket in first thing yesterday morning (I'm now considerably more relaxed than I was earlier in the week ).

In Victoria, we have followed our normal practice of going to like minded parties and the Greens ahead of both the ALP and the Coalition, with parties such as the DLP, Family First, the Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile group) and One Nation going after the ALP and the Coalition. In summary, what this means is that if Senator Lyn Allison isn't re-elected then Democrats preferences will flow to the Greens.

There is definitely a chance for Victorians to turn around the Howard Government's control of the senate by voting for Senator Allison, as there is a real possibility of Victoria returning 4 senators from the ALP, Greens or Democrats, and only 2 from the Coalition. For this to happen, though, the Democrats primary vote needs to increase on our results in 2004, and there is a risk that Victoria could split 3/3 between the ALP and the Coalition, as the combined Democrats/Green vote in 2004 was too small to reach a quota in its own right, so if that level of vote is repeated then the combined Democrats/Green vote will be too low for either of us to get elected, even though we are trading preferences with each other.

To get Lyn back in, we need strong polling booth coverage. We have more candidates in the Reps than we did in 2004 (with 33 out of 37 seats covered, and a group of 3 in the Senate), and we have raised more money here in Victoria (although we still need donations), but any extra help with letterboxing, covering pre-poll and standing on a polling booth on election day could make the difference to Lyn's chances. It quite possibly will come down to a few hundred votes making the difference.

If you'd like to help, you can register your details here.

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