Australian federal election: 7 September

[Kieran McConville]

Pretty grim pickings in the seat of Groom, where the choices were:

Labor
Greens
Katters Party
Rise Up Australia
Citizens Electoral Council (!)
Family First
Palmer United
LNP
(that's the field, not my vote, which is private)

I put the CEC a little above the LNP. But it was so hard to choose, down the lower end of that pole. Realistically, there has never been an election where I could legitimately put the Coalition dead last, as I would prefer. There's always someone worse.

 

[Axver]

A little annoyed Socialist Alliance aren't running here, they at least have some sort of presence (their own paper etc) and come across as more likable than the SEP.

Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't run for the Senate in Victoria - they did at the last two elections. They just had a range of House candidates. Since I live in Brunswick, where our town hall has a big "refugees and asylum seekers are welcome here" banner and there are shops like the Solidarity Salon, it's no surprise that they fielded a candidate in my electorate.

Pretty grim pickings in the seat of Groom, where the choices were:

Labor
Greens
Katters Party
Rise Up Australia
Citizens Electoral Council (!)
Family First
Palmer United
LNP
(that's the field, not my vote, which is private)

I put the CEC a little above the LNP. But it was so hard to choose, down the lower end of that pole. Realistically, there has never been an election where I could legitimately put the Coalition dead last, as I would prefer. There's always someone worse.

Wow, what a dire fucking field. I was looking at my mother's electorate last night and was appalled to see it had a CEC candidate too. She refused to believe me when I first told her what the CEC believe.

In the 2006 Queensland state election, the first time I ever voted, I was able to put the Liberals last because my seat had only three candidates - Green, ALP, Liberal. But every subsequent election, state or federal? Always plenty of completely crazy far-right nutters to prevent me from completely shafting the Liberals.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I find it a bit worrying, although maybe it's just the lay of the land in this part of the country... but that almost all the minor-party lower house contenders seem to be ultra right wing or christianist (a term I choose deliberately; even the ethos of the Catholic mainstream would sit pretty uneasily with some of these outfits), or both. Not even one self-declared independent this time.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Boothby (my electorate) has a grand total of 5 candidates running, being the Greens, ALP, LNP, PUP and Family First.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Family First seem to be pretty determined, considering they've managed to get up a grand total of one elected official in their entire existence. Deep pockets, presumably.

 

[Axver]

Family First seem to be pretty determined, considering they've managed to get up a grand total of one elected official in their entire existence. Deep pockets, presumably.

By the looks of it they're about to triple that figure.

Cannot fathom why the Christianist (good term) right needs so many bloody parties either. Though it does remind me of my days mixed up in the world of religion on the Gold Coast and how the fervency of fundamentalists about their "correct" interpretation leads them into conflict with other fundies over the slightest difference in doctrine.

 

[intedomine]

I thought that Family First might've been in decline since the exit of Fielding, hence the emergence of Rise Up, Australian Christians and the other two.

If they came together and all put their minor Christianist differences aside and focused more on credible family-centric economics, they could be a force to be reckoned with. A genuine right-wing equivalent to the Greens. Horrid thought.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Family First seem to be pretty determined, considering they've managed to get up a grand total of one elected official in their entire existence. Deep pockets, presumably.

They're all white, upper middle/bourgeois people so it doesn't come as much of a surprise.

 

[The Sad Punk]

I had 7 choices in Hindmarsh and all but the Greens were shocking. In addition to the two big losers, we had DLP, PUP, THE FUCKING KATTER PARTY and Family First. Are you fucking serious? I wanted to put in all of the 7s.

Didn't have time to vote below the line (went in this morning in a rush), which was annoying. Gotta be a better way to do that.

 

[Axver]

Clive Palmer's polling fucking 9% in Queensland per exit polls. Christ on a bike.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Aw yeah.

I think I'm ironically fanboying (if that even is a word) Clive to the point that it's becoming sincere ... oh no.

 

[intedomine]

I had 7 choices in Hindmarsh and all but the Greens were shocking. In addition to the two big losers, we had DLP, PUP, THE FUCKING KATTER PARTY and Family First. Are you fucking serious? I wanted to put in all of the 7s.

Could be worse, could be an eighth option, Rise Up Australia. They are registered in most electorates. Just be thankful that they weren't in yours! Scum of the earth.

 

[Axver]

Yeah, it's hard to be worse than Family First but those Rise Up cunts sure are.

"Cunts" is too moderate a word for a TOTAL FUCKING CUNT who says that Black Saturday was god's punishment for Victoria's abortion laws. Fuck you so fucking hard Danny Nalliah.

Aw yeah.

I think I'm ironically fanboying (if that even is a word) Clive to the point that it's becoming sincere ... oh no.

Hahaha. I just keep reminding myself that his sole political purpose is to get enough influence to mine the shit out of everything and destroy the Great Barrier Reef and any other ecosystem that gets in his way. That tones down any ironic lulzy fondness I could potentially feel towards him.

 

[Axver]

Also, can I say just how impressed I am that this thread has cracked 250 posts before the polls are even closed? I hesitated starting this thread, figuring we'd just talk about it in the Superthread or amidst other stuff in the LS Australia thread, and even when I did make it I thought it'd quickly sink without a trace like most Aussie politics threads. Well done folks.

Hope the vitriol and despair has been entertaining for the international FYMers too.

 

[intedomine]

I actually feel quite ill if this exit polling is anything to go by

What to do for this poor poor country?

 

[Axver]

This is going to be a bloodbath.

Can the ALP make this a one-term government? Fuck I hope so, but I worry that the swing will be so strong that it will be hard to claw back in just three years. A double dissolution will make things crazy - all bets will be off. I kind of hope it happens, just for the fun of voting in the Senate.

 

[Axver]

Antony Green has pretty much called it already, even though he says he hasn't.

FUCKING FUCK this is just excruciating.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

As ridiculous as it sounds I wouldn't be that surprised to see Abbott forcibly removed after he manages to set fire to all the decent things in this country.

 

[Axver]

Clive Palmer's polling so fucking well WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU AUSTRALIA WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU HE'S A MINING MAGNATE WHO JUST WANTS MORE MONEY FOR HIM FUCK ME.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

"We're talking about a revolution!"

 

[intedomine]

Yeah I honestly wonder how long Abbott will last. Such a divisive and incompetent politician. If he isn't ousted as PM (by Turnbull?) during his first term, then surely he won't be allowed to lead the Liberals for a second term?

I suppose the only reason they persevered with him for this year's election is because that would have nullified the Liberals' main weapon against Labor - leadership change. Otherwise, he is a shocking politician and certainly not Prime minister material.

 

[Axver]

Clive Palmer is looking like he is a good chance to win the seat of Fairfax. Fuck me sideways.

Oh god this is so horrible. I've seen enough Aussie and Kiwi elections go the wrong way in my life but none have felt as wretchedly terrible as this.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I suppose it's far too soon to have any news on the senate.

As for the lower house, could be worse, could be better I suppose. If Labors ends up with more than fifty, fifty-five seats... that's something.

Palmer? A lunatic, but his actual impact is neither here nor there I guess... presumably he'll vote with the Coalition most of the time, whatever. Now if Rise Up Australia had got a candidate up... same outcome, but far more depressing.

 

[LJT]

My general impression is that Australia is a lot more socially conservative than I initially thought.

You can tell me if i'm getting this wrong but basically, the Labour party obviously with it fractious self destruction over the years (Rudd-Gillard-Rudd) and whatever internal battles went over that became nearly as right wing as the Liberal party in their effort to claw back in the polls, with rhetoric against asylum seekers and dropping a lot of the environmental policies they came to power with. So you have on party being a complete shambles and you would struggle to differentiate it from it's main rival, but the main rival is led by someone who appears to be worse (at least as far as I can tell) than many of the Republicans in the States.

 

[dan_smee]

Tips for leader of the opposition?

I want Jason Clare to put his hands up. I think he is young, bright, fresh, intelligent, unencumbered by any Rudd/Gillard baggage, and is a strong local member. Who else is there worth considering? Discuss.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Abbott is not too far from an Australian Reagan of sorts.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Aw yeah.

I think I'm ironically fanboying (if that even is a word) Clive to the point that it's becoming sincere ... oh no.

My family have gone Clive too. It's fucking nuts! I said to my sister today that he's Australia's version of Boris Johnson. Ie, a lunatic that says the craziest things to distract everyone temporarily from the fact that he's just said some totally batshit crazy thing. I think people find his Hawke-esque honesty a little refreshing.

2013 aside, Bob Carr is setting the groundwork for an election in the future, is the prediction in this house. I think I've forgotten how bad he was at the end of his NSW stint, but I think he will rise up. God knows, the ALP need unity. Desperately.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Tips for leader of the opposition?

I want Jason Clare to put his hands up. I think he is young, bright, fresh, intelligent, unencumbered by any Rudd/Gillard baggage, and is a strong local member. Who else is there worth considering? Discuss.

Give Bob Carr some time. He's a crafty bugger. He knows well how to play this game. He knows when a ship is sinking, he knows when to jump on board. He is painfully rigid. He is difficult to beat.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Bob Carr is about 65. Nope.

Everyone says Bill Shorten, and maybe as placeholder, but he ain't nothing special.

Maybe 'Albo'.

 

[Axver]

ALP leadership is pretty much Albanese vs Shorten if you ask me. I don't see anybody else even in the frame at this point. At least Rudd fucking quit. I can't believe he spent three years fucking white-anting the party to lead them to such an insipid fucking result. And he KEPT GODDAMN SMILING THROUGH HIS CONCESSION SPEECH AS IF HE'D WON. Those awful fucking Queenslanders who kept chanting his name and cheering at every mention of Queensland reminded me why I moved the fuck out of that state too.

My general impression is that Australia is a lot more socially conservative than I initially thought.

You can tell me if i'm getting this wrong but basically, the Labour party obviously with it fractious self destruction over the years (Rudd-Gillard-Rudd) and whatever internal battles went over that became nearly as right wing as the Liberal party in their effort to claw back in the polls, with rhetoric against asylum seekers and dropping a lot of the environmental policies they came to power with. So you have on party being a complete shambles and you would struggle to differentiate it from it's main rival, but the main rival is led by someone who appears to be worse (at least as far as I can tell) than many of the Republicans in the States.

You're pretty spot on. Australia has an incredibly nasty streak of racism and sexism - I don't know why people look upon this as a friendly, open country when this streak of fearful conservatism runs through its politics so vehemently that we hounded out an incredibly capable Prime Minister because she dared to have a vagina.

I keep trying to tell the Labour acolytes I know that the biggest problem with the party right now is that it fails to offer an alternative vision for the future, a left-wing vision, something clearly opposed to the Liberals. The problem is that the ALP is really in a transition phase as what it means to be left-wing evolves. Part of their base is your traditional working class that is very socially conservative, and they don't know how to balance that with social progressives. Likewise you have a battle between ideologues who think social issues don't even matter and ideologues who don't even understand economics. This will be an interesting time for the ALP. I'm very interested to see how they endure the next few years in opposition and whether or not they bounce back quickly. The last time they were ousted from government, in 1996, they bounced back so strongly in 1998 that they won the nationwide two-party-preferred vote while still losing the election (John Howard could have been a one-term footnote rather than an eleven-year PM). I can only hope that the ALP is even more resurgent this time.