Quote:
Originally Posted by casstony
Voting isn't compulsory. Attending a polling booth (or posting a letter) is compulsory, but you can write "no dams" or "I love coal" or draw genitals on the ballot paper if you wish. On balance I think it's better to compel people to be involved in the democratic process.
Australia and the US are worlds apart; life is so much easier here.
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Yes, that is correct. I draw the same lines between being forced to vote, and being forced to attend the voting booth. What I said in my prior post still stands - Australia is one of the few Western countries in the world that forces people to attend a voting booth. Is that better? One would call us almost uncivilised and bullied by our government. I'll draw an example of how bad our government is:
the same sex marriage vote.
Said current LNP pushed it via an ABS survey, rather than a referendum, which I personally believe is actually illegal. The marriage act is defined in our constitution, and any constitutional changes require a public referendum. An ABS survey is NOT a referendum - there is no compulsion for people to even fill out the vote form! In fact, probably 40% of the eligible voting population hasn't done so. When it's convenient for the government, they don't want us voting. They need to make up their minds *wink wink*. We don't have a real democracy anyway. It would be perfectly "legal" (well, not really) for the politicians to still vote no on a conscious vote, even if the majority of Australia's public voted yes. I say not really, because every MP takes an oath to serve their electorate that voted them in. If a particular electorate overwhelmingly votes yes for SSM, and said MP votes no in a conscious vote, how are they serving their electorate? More importantly, why isn't the GG sacking them? Oh wait, cos the GG is nothing but a dressed up lamb that does what the PM says (Fraser made sure that that was changed after he ousted Whitlam).
So many things broken in our political arena and it's a total joke. If only the average Australian was bright enough to realise how borked it is.
Why should I vote when there's no real democracy?
Why should I vote when at the last election, more people voted for the ALP party, but our system denotes electorates, not total votes as the winning method? Why should a singular independent hold an entire government to sway? That's just blackmail, plain and simple. I mean, the majority of Australia didn't vote for said independent *wink wink* - only that independent's electorate did.
What about these buggers with dual or foreign citizenship under clause 44(1) of our constitution? It is THEIR responsibility PRIOR to sitting for parliament to ensure that they are not a citizen of a foreign power or eligible for dual citizenship. None of these buggers did their job right. What's worse, these buggers have voted on bills in parliament, and those votes are ILLEGAL. None of their votes should count, and any legislation passed with their aid, should be immediately rescinded and re-voted on. You don't hear the media making that point, do you? Oh wait, cos they're the lackeys of our crappy government(s), that's why.
As I said earlier, one law for the rich, one law for the powerful, one law for business, and a screw you law for the rest of us ordinary folk. That's how I feel, and that's how a growing number of people who have a brain actually feel.
No, I am not happy with our current political system.