We went down to vote this morning; it’s a nice walk of about a kilometre along our street and through a park replete with gum trees, wattle trees, casuarinas, magpies, peewees and galahs, as well as a few neighbours who were also going to vote.
We masked up just as we arrived at the polling station (a community hall) but there was no sausage sizzle (Bugger! I was looking forward to a snag and caramelised onion on fresh bread). On a brighter note, the queue outside the venue was only a couple of people long. So, between arrival and putting pencil to paper would have only been about 10 minutes. Covid-19 has changed things in that almost everyone was masked up, and the pencils were handed out at the door, rather than dangling on a string at the booth. After putting the voting papers in the ballot boxes (one for the House of Representatives, and one for the Senate), we handed the pencils back.
Just before we got to the queue, a poor benighted Liberal volunteer tried to hand my partner a Liberal Party How-To-Vote (HTV) card, to which my partner replied “No Way!” very emphatically. Then the poor bugger tried to hand me one and I replied: “No thanks; I could never vote for a criminal enterprise”. At this, a person nearby handing out Greens HTV cards, burst out laughing.
After voting, we walked to the shopping centre and got some curry samosas for lunch. As we were walking back past the polling station we had to run the gauntlet of HTV volunteers again and a young woman was handing out Senate HTV cards for the religious nutter, Liberal senator Zed Seselja1. Fortunately (for her), she didn’t approach us, but tried to give her HTV to a bloke near us. He simply replied “What’s so good about Zed?” We laughed and walked on.
A friend of ours tested positive to Covid-19 earlier in the week and had to isolate. She was initially told that she was too late to apply for a postal vote, and could not vote over the telephone because of various timing rules imposed on the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) by a recently issued government regulation. This disenfranchisement apparently happened to many people. I kicked up a stink on Twitter, on behalf of our friend, and numerous others did the same, presumably on behalf of their relatives and friends.
Dr Monique Ryan, who is running against the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg for the seat of Kooyong, lodged an application in the federal court challenging the legality of a regulation after the AEC conceded that this anomaly meant possibly over 200,000 people who were in isolation may not be able to vote in today’s election. On Thursday evening, Ryan claimed the disenfranchisement of voters “is the result of a decision by the Morrison government” and said the legal action would be brought against government MP Ben Morton, who is responsible for electoral oversight in his capacity as special minister of state2.
This anomaly meant that these people, if they tested positive for Covid-19 at 6.01 pm on Tuesday, would be able to vote by phone, while those who tested positive for Covid-19 two minutes earlier at 5.59pm, would not be able to vote by phone, and would not get to vote at all. Ryan maintained that the solution was clear and that was “the right to vote by phone should be extended to every Australian who is Covid-positive”. She also added: “The Morrison government has had two years to prepare for an election where we knew people would be Covid positive. This is serious ineptitude resulting in the disenfranchisement of up to 1% of the electorate. This could be enough to change the result in many seats”2.
While some were concerned that this was a Morrison government subterfuge to disenfranchise those who have realised that the pandemic is not over, the Morrison government’s propensity to bugger things up monumentally is a more likely explanation, and that proved to be the case. The AEC recommended to the government that the problem be fixed to allow anyone who tested positive after 6pm last Friday to use telephone voting. Morrison confirmed eligibility for telephone voting would be expanded to prevent disenfranchisement3.
Now we just sit with bated breath and wait for the outcome of this election. Tonight will be takeaways and some decent plonk to help us cope.
Sources
- https://blotreport.com/2021/10/04/the-pious-zed-seselja/
- https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/19/aec-anomaly-means-some-people-isolating-with-covid-may-not-be-able-to-vote-in-saturdays-election
- https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/20/telephone-voting-rules-changed-to-allow-australians-with-covid-to-vote-in-federal-election
pleased to have contributed to the near 13% (THIRTEEN PERCENT) swing in Hasluck 🙂
last election about ¾ of the blue clad HTV’ers were about high school vintage (presumably paid) who had nary a clue. This time they were ALL 70 – 80 YO codgers who shared that very same cluelessness.
I had viewed a fb vid of a young fella approaching a blue clad old codger (i’m not far off but i’m ne’er in blue) asking for help (while being filmed from a distance, presumably by a friend) and asking “which ones are the so corrupt they don’t want an ICAC”, and more, sending said blue clad codger into a tizz who then spotted the phone/camera, rushed to camera, put his grimy mitt on it suggesting the sidewalk was private property and he needed permission to film. Twas funny.
I didn’t have a buddy to film but decided if approached I would try a similar approach to which the responce was “don’t believe the media”, the irony of which was not lost on me, and i was tempted to respond with a murdick reference, but I had achieved the desired reaction from everyone around who wasn’t in blue, and didn’t wish to over milk it and moved on until 30 metres later was approached by another blue octogenarian who was quite persistent so i tried the line again with exactly the same responce of “don’t believe the media”, this time I did say “you mean murdoch or peter costello’s nine media?” and he let me go with considerable mumbling, so I could go get my monies worth by numbering the senate ticket from 58 backwards.
And yes ….. no bloody snag. Feeling a little ripped off especially when my niece (an SES vollie) posts a pick of Malaga’s (WORLDS BEST) snag supplied by the Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES) to mob who feed SES & Firey vollies. https://www.facebook.com/urbansausage/ seems ya gotta google the ling manually 🙂
Clive,
I was looking forward to the snag sanger as brunch, but had to settle for a somosa for lunch. It looks like the ACT may lose its only senator Zed Seselja, and could lack a Liberal senator for the first time ever. Even though I was hoping for a WA-like swing against the Liberals, I think the increase in the Greens vote and the Teals taking Liberal moderates’ (an oxymoron if ever there was one) seats, demonstrates that the climate change wars are more or less over, and a federal integrity commission is a certainty. I can hardly wait for the latter to happen. I also hope a Media RC and a Robodebt RC happen sooner rather than later.
needless to say, I’m feeling somewhat chuffed with the result, while not quite the walloping the polls, a week or so, were suggesting, esp as I was considerably apprehensive that the fucking goldfish would do it again.
So chuffed in fact, that I feel empowered enough to venture out with the rest of the great unwashed to mingle with the covid afflicted to watch Freo flog the pies. 😀
Clive,
I have spent much of the last five and a half years and some 900+ essays moaning about the criminality, hypocrisy, bigotry and stupidity of the Liberal National coalition government. Now that is over, a new stage begins. I watch a bit of AFL, and one of the teams I ‘support’ is any team playing Collingwood!
In SA I got my democracy sausage but, frankly I’d have preferred a somosa. I try not taunt the poor buggers handing out how-to-vote cards. As game they are just too easy for entertaining sport. The Lib guys were looking miserable by 11am and the Unhinged Australia bloke had been told to ef-off so often he was sulking.
My only real issue was working out the order for last four in the Senate. In the end I put the Libs 4th ahead of the local evangelical loonies and the antivaxxers.
A mate was in a similar COVID boat. Tested positive the previous week so he requested a postal vote. Trouble is, it requires a witness and he was isolating. We did a ridiculous dance wearing masks and gloves on his front verandah and I posted it for him.
Laurie,
That’s what mates are for. Good on you!