Election Mythbusters

Australia is a democratic country. But democracy is all about inclusion of the people, about giving the public the right to be informed to make a decision. So it annoys me a little bit when politicians sit us on the sidelines while they do their work, then expect us to believe them when they tell us what’s going on.

It’s the backroom, behind closed doors deals which are done and then we’re all spun some line on went on.

Gillard and Abbott are playing their games right now, trying to woo these independents who’ve suddenly become rather powerful. The Prime Minister said that transparency is going to be important, despite the fact that negotiations are going to be held in private, with “regular updates to the public”.

The Independents keep telling us a hung parliament is good for democracy. That will change the way politics is conducted because it will be more open, transparent and with more checks and balances.

So what is the first thing they do? They go in to secret, behind closed doors negotiations with the major parties to determine who they will make King (or queen).

Well I don’t think that’s good enough to be honest. If they want transparency, why not conduct these secret meetings and negotiations out in the open for all to see? Why not take on a Senate Committee hearing-style meeting where the public can be witness to what is happening. After all, the parties are theoretically supposed to be representing us, working for us. If you were the boss of a big company, wouldn’t you want to be in the meeting where your employees are deciding the fate of your organisation?

In Tony Abbott’s celebration speech to end Saturday night, he said that this was “a win for Australia”. Well, I’m not so sure about that. The only people that have won are the idiots that left their ballot blank.

Who would have thought a national election could come down to the wire like this, where every vote literally does count. There’s still roughly 80 000 pre-poll and postal votes to tally, but at the moment both Labor and Liberal have won 71 seats. There are four still up for grabs, which is why every last vote is being taken into account. So much for the “I’m just one person, my vote won’t make a difference” mentality.

It sure was an incredible weekend. I know lots of people were getting sick of the election and were pretty excited to see it come to an end. If we went much longer with the barrage of ads telling us who’s “stopping the boats” or who’s “unqualified to manage an economy” I think there’d be some hefty check-in numbers at the nation’s mental institutions.

But you have to admit, for an election that has been branded as boring and uneventful, it was a cracker of a night. We’ve witnessed history, and the most exciting election night we’ve ever seen. We have our first hung parliament since the Second World War. And for the few who have been enjoying it, well it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

One of the great things about having the Twitter going all night was being able to get your responses to what was going on, and to answer your questions. The overwhelming question was simply, what the hell is a hung parliament? And what happens now?

So, let’s put it out in layman’s terms.

There are 150 seats up for grabs in government. Naturally, for a party to win power in its own right it has to win 76 seats, giving it a majority. When seats are won by independents or members of other parties it makes it complicated because it takes away those seats from the two major parties. When neither party gets to 76, that’s when a hung government is called.

The independents have the power to side with either party. Since neither Liberal or Labor can possibly reach a majority with 76 seats, they have to start courting these independents, convincing them to come over to their side to get them over the line. That’s what’s happening now. Gillard and Abbott are going to do everything they can to win their support.

Experts are saying it is possible that Labor could win the last 4 seats, if everything was to fall the right way for them, which would take the ALP up to 75 seats. That means they only need one more on their side. Adam Bandt of the Greens is the ace up Gillard’s sleeve, as he’s pretty much guaranteed to side with Labor (although it’s not concrete yet).

So that’s a hung government. It’s messy, but occasionally it can work out. The UK has had a hung government for four months now and it’s actually working out quite well. In general though, this type of government can be fragile. You end up with a coalition of forces who all have differing political agendas and ideas, making it very hard for anything to get done.

The last thing we want is a country run by committee.

One of my concerns at the moment is the possibility of a second wave of financial crisis. How is a government going to handle something so potentially crippling as a recession when it can’t agree on anything?

Whether you agree with some of the decisions from the last stimulus package or not, you have to agree one of the secrets to Australia successfully fighting the GFC was that the Reserve Bank and the Government moved quickly and decisively.

Also uncertainty is never a good thing in the finance world. Local investors have never dealt with a hung parliament before, although overseas investors will be less fazed because it happens quite often in Europe.

These five pollies, the independents (and Adam Brandt) have suddenly become the most powerful people in the country. They have the power to choose who is going to be the new government, the new Prime Minister.

Nope, a hung gov is not something which instills a lot of faith or confidence. Thoughts around the bar on Saturday night were that we’ll be back in the polling booths before too long.

Which means more bloody ads.

- Courtesy of Rick Driver

While walking down the street one day a "Member of Parliament" is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'

'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

At the start of this election I didn’t think Abbott had a chance. I thought it would be a one-sided affair, I think I said “it’s Gillard’s to lose, and Abbott’s to win”. Well it turns out it’s a lot closer than I, or any other media commentators, thought it would be. Abbott has campaigned magnificently and now the parties are split evenly, 50/50. Tomorrow night will be neck and neck to the finish.

Yesterday research showed 30% of voters still hadn’t made up their mind. More than ever voters are perplexed, voters are disenchanted and without a clue what to do. The Greens are going to win a lot of support with protest votes from people who just can’t bring themselves to choose Liberal or Labor.

One thing is for sure, there’s been a lot of rubbish fed to us throughout the campaign. A lot of spin, a lot of criticising, and no monumental, inspirational policy announcements. All the while I’ve been trying to use this site as a place for telling it how it is, explaining the policies minus the BS. So on Election Eve, here’s a complete wrap up of everything you need to know. A guide to helping you make a decision, plus some answers to common questions I’ve been getting.

Health

Education

Economy

Immigration and border control

Environment

Parents and Workplace

Young People

The controversials – gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia

There you have it. Now go and enjoy exercising your democratic right. Don’t forget that in the end, whichever side gets in is going to do a good job. Yes they have little differences and we vote based on the policies that affect us as individuals. Both as a nation, in the big picture, we should feel pretty lucky that the two parties running for government are both sensible, stable and looking out for us. Either way, we’re in pretty good hands.

Just think about the way we vote. No guns, no vote rigging, decent parties and fundamentally good politicians.

How lucky are we.