Last Monday morning I received a phone call from a young lady who identified as being from Albo’s Office. Now Albo, is my local member of the Australian Federal Parliament. He’s also the highest ranking member of the ‘Left Wing’ of the A.L.P., His full name is Anthony Albanese, and I like the man.
The War office is a bit iffy, I sometimes thought she’s a right wing, closet Liberal; which would not sit well with her very late grandfather. He was a member of the ALP, and had a seat in the ‘Upper House’, in the Bear Pit, otherwise known as the N.S.W. State Parliament in Macquarie Street, Sydney. More useless information than you need but it helps to fill up space.
This young lady rang me at the request of Comrade Albo, I being a card carrying member of the ALP, and knowing that I’m getting on in years and quite frail, or should that be fragile, to ask if I was right for getting to the polling station on Saturday, that’s tomorrow, to vote.
I assured her that I was fine, and though I much prefer, and enjoy, going to the polling station on the day, the War Office, AKA my wife, planned to take me to the nearest polling station on Wednesday to vote. We had a chat for a few minutes, and I said something that obviously amused her, as she said she’d pass it onto Albo and I thanked her and hung up.
Wednesday, the War Office took me to the nearest polling station, which happened to be in an Anglican; read Church of England, hall. As I entered, I felt sure the walls shuddered and were about to fall down upon me, but they recovered and I cast my vote.
When I returned to the car, she was waiting there, as we had Coco with us, we’d taken him for a run in the park, and we never leave him alone in the vehicle, he is a very nervous little puppy in a car; I think it stems from the day; he was taken to a pound, and dumped. He never looks out the window never takes his eyes off whoever’s driving.
I digress; the War Office decided that she too, might as well go along, and get her voting out of the way, she doesn’t enjoy Polling Day. On returning, she made a mistake, and did something, that she’s never done in the last 45 years, she actually let slip who she voted for.
Comrade Albo will be pleased.
But tomorrow I shall miss going along to the Annandale Public School to vote, A ‘flyer’ was in our letter box when we arrived home and you can read for yourselves what a jolly time we have here on Polling Day.
Children love it, and they are getting themselves well groomed for the future, when they too will be required to go along, and cast a vote. A privilege to savour, respect and might I add enjoy!
LordBeariOfBow 
Sad news about Bob Hawke. He was quite the man.
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Yes but lets face it he had an excellent load of ministers behind him. Paul Keating was without doubt in my mind the real brains behind that duo, Bob was the front man Paul the master craftsman. But then I’m a c.c.m of the alp
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Ahh, but Bob was the consummate negotiator. Paul was also a formidable politician. They were men who were there when they were needed, and they didn’t let us down.
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Spoken like a true believer, Indeed they were’ Did you ever see this, No doubt who comes out No. 1
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/photos/the-greatest-insults-in-political-history/ss-BBsjn4y?ocid=spartandhp#image=1
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I like to think you’d have voted even if it weren’t required. (Odd system, as I’ve noted before, but if it works for Aussies, that’s fine.)
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I certainly would, One doesn’t have to vote, One is required to register with the Electoral Commission, and attend a polling station, what one does with their paper is their business. I once went to a poll where I didn’t like or approve of any contestant and simple wrote something like “You have to be joking” and deposited that, I attended got crossed off as attending so all was well,
It’s an excellent sysyem and one that it wouldn’t hurt any country to adopt.
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Ah! I was very tempted, a few weeks back, to write an entire blog post dedicated to voting, and in particular, to our Australian compulsory system, which, in my opinion, is a key factor of democracy. Which argument, I acknowledge, is incomprehensible to those from countries who do not have the system. In short, a democracy is a system of government by the whole population, which requires input from that entire population in order to be upheld and supported. Democracy and capitalism are not the same systems. In my opinion, the two great governments currently locked in a trade war are both capitalistic, and neither are democratic.
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It’s very hard to make people understand what the word compulsory means when it comes to our system.
Me? I wouldn’t have or want it any other way.
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M’lord, Comrade (sorry, it just doesn’t flow)
Comrade Brian,
The true giants who lived amongst us are leaving us not bereft, but with a legacy. And what a legacy.
We are very lucky to have lived in the times of Gough and Hawkie.
The new generation has to be contented with lesser men. And here I am sorry, but somehow Shorten just does not make the cut.
Fortunately for me, I too have Comrade Albo to vote for, so all is easy at the ballot box.
Have just come out of the cinema watching Peterloo. Very ponderous, but most thought provoking at the eve of the election.
I shall hum a few bars from The Internationale as I go the polls tomorrow.
Ira
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Make sure all those waiyng to vote hear you humming Ira, We need all the votes that we can get.
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I have a postal vote, for the U.K. obviously! I use it about a week or so before the elections. I started doing this about three years ago. It’s more convenient and anyway I’ve never liked going to the local polling station. It was easier before I retired because polling is in my school hall. I began to resent having to make the effort, put on makeup and look presentable when I had no other plans to go out.
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I love going to the polls. It’s always a great occasion here I think.
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You obviously wore down The War Office
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Actually when we met I was a ‘swinging voter’, it wasn’t until a couple of years after we met that I became a convinced solialist.
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I’m such a swinger that I don’t think I’ll bother next time after the three years Brexit fiasco
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We survived the waterfront lockout. We know what went on behind the scenes. We know how far the government of the day got into bed with business in order to put Australian workers out of their jobs. Even if reform was warranted, that was not the way to go about it. Hawke had already laid the groundwork for waterfront reform, business didn’t want an orderly improvement, they only wanted casualisation. Something that is now rife in Australian workplaces. (Since when was one hour’s work a week considered “employed?”.) We voted a week ago. No contest.
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Always the same Gwen 5 steps forward with the ALP 10 back with the LCP
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“You have to be joking”—must remember that quip for the next time we have an election in Canada. But maybe not. Do I really want to risk a visit from our Royal Canadian Mounted Police? (They don’t actually ride horses anymore!)
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I’m not sure what you mean Diane, I enjoy election day here and I can’t imagine why you’d need to call those horseless members of the constabulary.
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I had, like Gwendoline, wanted to write about the Australian way of voting but you have done it to a T. For most Australians sitting up on Saturday night and watching the vote count is better that watching a major football final. It has everything. And in true Australian fashion it doesn’t matter who you voted for, we don’t go out the next day and riot and throw bombs.
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Well I felt like throwing a few today 😥
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Always thought it was so smart to have polling places /voting in the schools where children could see.
I remember how wonderful I thought it must be to walk in after checking in at the table, strolling to a voting machine, swishing the curtain closed behind you (they had this lovely light swishy curtains on each booth then) and pulling shelvers/pushing the buttons in total secrecy before sweeping the curtain back open and smiling as walking away – duty done.
Pretty different now. Cannot understand why while it has become so very very easy to vote in so many locations or even by mail – and so few vote. And yet the complaining and criticism, Neve stops afterward. So annoying – afraid to take a stand and actually take action and vote? easier to just talk ( and “change ” how you voted depending on who you are with?)
Bah. Cheers for the Aussie who teach and practice you have responsibilities as well as rights ( and the first of those 2 is very important.)
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We do not have machines or curtains, ; everything is out in the open. There are partitions of course at each of the booths. Our system is one of preferential voting. We do not just vote for the one person. We use a pen or pencil (provided) and number each square, if we make a mistake we can go back and get a new ballot paper and start all over again
If there are 10 people standing in the seat , as was the case in my district, you vote 1 to 10 in order of preference, it appears all very complicated, and when it comes to the counting of votes probably is, No first past the post, every vote gets counted until there is a contestant with a clear majority. unless as in the case of my candidate he obtained more than 60% of the primary vote and therefore could not be beaten,
I also feel that it is an obligation for those eligible to vote to get out there and vote, I’m a great believer in our system. I don’t always like the result; my party seldom win,but it’s fair as everybody has to get out there and vote, at least we losers tried, those that don’t try deserve hat they get and cannot complain.
That’s having a shot at our Yankee cousins who complain continuously about trump or Obama but could not be bothered to get out there and vote.
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You system may sound complicated, but it’s really logical and practical – and fair. I also like the paper ballot – honestly, it’s more and more difficult to trust the machines here – and you have a solid piece of evidence of the count/vote. As you say, here it probably wouldn’t work as so many can’t even be bothered to use a touch screen computer, tablet or pull a lever to vote. (sadly the old clanky lever machines with curtain booths are all gone – those were so solemn and official looking to a child – made voting seem that much more important and wonderful. Sometimes imposing and solemn has a place?)
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It certainly does have a place, and a prominent one in my book.
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What I like best is that each voter would actually have to know something about each person in order to rank them…but as I said, so many so lazy here and so many just depend on FaceBook to tell them who to choose. Sad
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I find facebook to be an absolute abomination, how on earth a young man can now have a “worth’ of several BILLIONS of $ is beyond me, it contributes nothing worthwhile to the world and how and why businesses governments all want me to like them on facebook is beyond all comprehension,Why would I or anyone find it important to like such an obscene enterprise? I’m not even given the opportunity to despise it, like it or lump it, thank you I’ll lump it!
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Ditto!!!
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Well, as a faithful Yankee voter (even in the small elections and even though my choices don’t always win), I’m impressed by your way of closing things down for ‘required’ showing up at a voting site.
Also, my current voting station (we’re assigned to them) still uses the old curtained machines. I like them. The thought of anyone looking over my shoulder takes away privacy and the freedom of each vote. I’ll admit these old machines probably won’t be around much longer…. but then, neither will I! 🙂 One more thing: If you don’t vote (over here) and could have voted, don’t start complaining! At least you have the option of complaining, even when you choose (as you’ve sometimes done) not to vote.
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Our system is so well run that I could be in Melbourne on election day and still vote for my bloke in Sydney, I really believe the Yanks could learn a great deal from Australia when it comes to voting.
Ours is all controlled by one independent body that supervises and runs every election in the country, and woe betide any political party that tries to interfere
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Sounds like heaven on earth….especially right now! 👏
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The WHO has placed Australia Number 1 on the “Healthiest Places/Countries to live” this week, and Melbourne Victoria was placed No.1 as the best city in which to live, of course here in Sydney we disagree with that, but I will admit that Melbourne has a lot going for it as johnpoal will confirm.
Australia has also brought many inventions into this world, WiFi for starters, where would we be without that these days, and the Black Boxes on aircraft another of ours, did I mention penicillin? The list s endless, yet we don’t bother to claim or boast of it, it’s not the Australian way
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Well…you’re making up for the Australian habit of not claiming or boasting about it! 🙂 I’ve always wished I could visit Australia–and stay awhile! And I could also say (and it’s absolutely true) that some of my best friends throughout my entire life have been Australians. Definitely an interesting lot! 🙂
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