polli publicity

[damian]

Define "vote for".

If you are in an election with mandatory preferential voting your last 3 places should be greens coal/lnp/whatever and labor. If you put them higher than that you ARE voting for them.

If you are lucky to be able to vote partial preferential then you should give them no vote at all. This is why they force us to mark every box, it increases the chance their bunny will get up.

Since I was 18 I've voted independents and minor parties. It doesn't matter which one you pick either way you put a scare into the majors. I have on a few occasions put a 0 in every box. It kills me to do it, voting is a duty, but when there are only 3 boxes I can't bring myself to vote for any of them. I hate this situation so much I'm thinking of getting on the paper for teh next state election, just so _I_ have someone to vote for (anyone who votes for me is an idiot).

[doug3030]

(anyone who votes for me is an idiot).

Well looking at who has been elected in the past 20 years or so, there's a lot of idiots on the electoral rolls.

If you can get ALL the idiots to vote for you you can win it easy.

[rustynail]

A Firie just called in to check that all was OK. I told him we were fine and asked how he was faring. His eyes welled up with tears (probably the smoke) and said it all seems like a bad dream and never ending. He has been at it for 8 weeks.
I can remember, as a kid, fighting a fire for 4 days, at the end of which I slept for 14 hours straight. I can't even begin to imagine what 8 weeks would be like for your equilibrium.
But one thing I do know; That fella aint travelling too good.

[woodPixel]

What to know something that REALLY gets my goat - we had a break in at the building last night.

The downstairs cages in the secure carpark.

A bloke here is a RFS volunteer, he has a mini-truck he drives home (perhaps its more of a souped-up 4WD).

Some goddam scumbag stole his chainsaw. Not the RFS', but his.

What sort of mongrel filth steals a bloody chainsaw out a RFS volunteer's storage at THIS TIME of the year when the sheizz is hitting ALL fans?

It boggles the mind. The sheer amazing stupidity of it. My mind... boggled!

There are a few people here who are pretty excited over it. If they catch said scumbag, I dont think its the cops that'll be called....

[AlexS]

Since I was 18 I've voted independents and minor parties.

I do the same, only in the hope that one day, it will encourage one who is any good.
If I look at the only politicians that have ever been worth feeding, I only see independents: John Hatton, who was vilified by the Coalition when he shone the sunlight on police corruption. When he finally forced them to hold the Wood Royal Commission, look what it turned up. Ted Mack, divested himself of his architecture practice immediately on election to council and introduced open government in council elections, resigned from federal and state parliaments just in time to avoid receiving a parliamentary pension etc etc. Andrew Wilkie...possibly. It's a pretty short list.

Edited to mention Bob Katter. He was an independent before forming Katter's Australia Party, and before he resigned to become an independent, he was a Country member.

Cue that famous line from Gough Whitlam.

[damian]

Well looking at who has been elected in the past 20 years or so, there's a lot of idiots on the electoral rolls.

If you can get ALL the idiots to vote for you you can win it easy.

Nooooo! I think I'd suicide before wading into that sewer every day. It would be nice to get enough votes to qualify for the payout though. If it covered the cost of the candidacy.. But goodness don't let me win. That'd be hell.

Maybe the politicians worth having don't want to be politicians...

[Bushmiller]

I don't believe the controversy over Scomo's holiday is really about the holiday itself. In the normal course of events everybody, in Australia, is entitled to annual leave. It seems that the issue is more to do with how a PM should behave when there is a crisis current and irrespective of whether he is physically able to assist. I tend to agree that he is probably more use remaining in his office and mobilising assistance from there. Agreed he could do it from his holiday destination, but that lacks the necessary political look that is so favoured among our politicians.

Any CEO would return to the "office" if a crisis presented itself. By any other name, that is what a Prime Minister is. I am not sure that too many PMs around the world take extended holidays other than a long weekend. My own belief is that his position was exacerbated by the apparent hypocrisy following his comments about Christine Nixon and she only went out to eat. It is perhaps a lesson to all politicians to be wary before shouting your mouth off for political mileage as it may come back to haunt you.

The other strange aspect of the holiday was the secrecy that surrounded it. It was always going to raise eyebrows

The PM's job is not an ordinary job. If you put up your hand for such an exalted position (that one is arguable too, but maybe not here), do not expect to have time off: Particularly after less than a year in office. If it was pre-planned, cancel it.

Regards
Paul

[pippin88]

The secrecy was a major issue. No notification that we had an acting Prime Minister.

I don't have an issue with Scotty from marketing going on holiday. Follow the normal conventions. Leave someone in charge and let people know who is covering.

[Sturdee]

The PM's job is not an ordinary job. If you put up your hand for such an exalted position (that one is arguable too, but maybe not here), do not expect to have time off.

If it was pre-planned, cancel it.

Here in Vic the premier was on holidays prior to the fires and the emergency services was supervised by the minister in charge of them.

As soon as the fires broke out he cancelled his holidays and was on deck in the state emergency control room and supervising an emergency meeting of cabinet to see what the government could do.

Immediate plans of action is being taken for emergency relief, evacuation plans for getting people, including the thousands of holiday makers, out of the affected areas by asking for immediate help from the Federal government for military assistance.

At the press conference yesterday he was asked if he would visit the fire areas and he said that his first job is to help the emergency relief efforts by ensuring that no petty bureaucracy got in the way and that he would visit later this week if and when the fire services would not be hindered by his visit.

Peter.

[ian]

At the press conference yesterday he was asked if he would visit the fire areas and he said that his first job is to help the emergency relief efforts by ensuring that no petty bureaucracy got in the way and that he would visit later this week if and when the fire services would not be hindered by his visit.

Precisely
Andrews knows that his job is to stay out of the bloody way and let the professionals manage the situation, while providing the necessary push where required to make things that need to happen in the next few hours happen.

There'll be more than enough time to manage people's expectations of meeting and greeting once the emergency is finally contained

[Bushmiller]

Edited to mention Bob Katter. He was an independent before forming Katter's Australia Party, and before he resigned to become an independent, he was a Country member.

Cue that famous line from Gough Whitlam.

Yes, we remember.



Regards
Paul