[Pil-pc-oceania] still, they split the green vote! - Re: Climate Change in Election 2007

[Deb Guildner]

The SA Green party split itself last year, and there are now more ex members 
than members. Thats politics.....

Re: Splitting the green vote (or indeed, any other votes), there is no such 
thing as splitting a vote.

One vote = one value, i.e. if your first preference doesnt get in, then one 
of your other preferences does. If you vote below the line in the upper 
house, you direct who gets your vote, in accordance with your order of 
preferences).  Whereas if you vote 1 above the line, then the party you 
nominate first may (or may not) direct who gets it.  Ie, if you vote above 
the line for a candidate or party who has entered a split voting ticket with 
the Australian Electoral Commission, eg Democrats  (or in SA, Nick 
Xenopohon), then anyone could get it!!  Bob Brown would like to see the end 
of above the line voting altogether. Its always interesting to view 
candidates voting tickets on the aec website prior to voting 1 above the 
line.

[ See:

http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/2007/candidates/gvt.htm ]

Vote redistribution adds considerably more complexity to voting in an 
optional preferntial voting system. If you study legal studies in year 11 or 
12 then they spend a term explaining our democratic conventions.  It's worth 
taking the time to learn about more it to dispel misconceptions about the 
mechanics of the system, and become an empowered voter..

Vote splitting is a common misnomer...an electoral myth.  It only detracts 
if people cannot direct their preferences to properly refect their 
intentions.

A healthy democracy reflects diversity and gives voters choices which allows 
them to send a message to politicians about issues that concern them at any 
given election. I'm sure none of us wishes to go back to a time when there 
were only two choices on ballot papers ie Labor and Liberal. One only has to 
go back fifty years to find that was the case.  Boring!




----- Original Message ----- 
From: <petra.kahle at haztech.com.au>
To: "permaculture discussion list" 
<pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 11:19 AM
Subject: [Pil-pc-oceania] still, they split the green vote! - Re: Climate 
Change in Election 2007


> still, they split the green vote!
>
>> In SA, Climate Change Coalition (1,2) has preferenced the Greens (3,4,5),
>> then Australian Democrats (6,7,8), WhatWomenWant (9,10), Socialist
>> Alliance
>> (11,12), Xenophon (13) then Labor Party (14,15,16)....which seems like a
>> reasonable placement of preferences...
>>
>> You can check the Stae by State voting tickets (senate preference flows 
>> on
>> the Aust Election Commission website (www .aec.gov.au)
>>
>> Dont get conned by placing the LDP or Liberty and Democracy Party 
>> anywhere
>> that matters....they are so right wing theyre off the scale, and also
>> preferencing the Libs above other serious contenders....they have Ivan
>> Milats sister in law Lisa as their ACt Senate candidate....seem to be an
>> ACT
>> based mob which claim 2,000 members.....WTF????
>>
>> Fingers crossed,
>>
>> Deb
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 9:34 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] Climate Change in Election 2007
>>
>>
>>> Thanks for that further information, Petra.
>>>
>>> Colin, it's a pity that CCC hasn't been more consistent across states -
>>> and
>>> how Family First and One Nation can have higher climate change
>>> credentials
>>> than the Greens in WA is a little surprising - OK, it's staggering!
>>>
>>> Referring to Petra's comment about the Senate, I would like to point out
>>> that the ALP cannot win control of the Senate this Saturday.  Only 40 of
>>> the 76 Senators stand for re-election at each Federal election.  The 36
>>> not
>>> standing this time include 19 Coalition, 14 ALP, 2 Green and Family
>>> First.
>>> The ALP would need to win 25 Senators at this election, which would mean
>>> getting four in most states and they have NEVER won 4 Senate seats at a
>>> half-Senate election.
>>>
>>> If the Coalition lose government in the lower house, they will be facing
>>> a
>>> level of political oblivion which they haven't experienced for a very
>>> long
>>> time - with no Coalition government at Federal or State level and their
>>> highest political office being the Liberal Lord Mayor of Brisbane.  In
>>> such
>>> a circumstance, control of the Senate (with Family First) would be their
>>> only national political platform and might they be tempted to become an
>>> obstructionist Senate?  perhaps..
>>>
>>> I don't know if the ALP are going to 'surprise' their voters by
>>> preferencing Family First ahead of the Greens*,  but I submit that if
>>> you
>>> would like to avoid a Coalition/Family First controlled Senate fighting
>>> Rudd tooth and nail you might like to consider voting Green in the
>>> Senate
>>> to give the Greens balance of power.   Rudd would still have to gain
>>> Senate
>>> approval for his legislation but I imagine that amendments negotiated
>>> through the Greens might be more constructive than those fought out with
>>> a
>>> Coalition-controlled Senate.
>>>
>>> I know that Permaculture is a broad church and that readers may vote for
>>> many different parties - forgive me if this email is too pointed, but it
>>> seemed relevant to the current 'thread'!
>>>
>>> cheers,
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>> (*as they did at the last Federal election, which resulted in ALP
>>> preferences getting Family First Senator Fielding being elected on under
>>> 2%
>>> of the primary vote when the Greens candidate polled something like 5
>>> times
>>> this!)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>             petra.kahle at hazte
>>>             ch.com.au
>>>             Sent by:
>>> To
>>>             pil-pc-oceania-bo         "permaculture discussion list"
>>>             unces at lists.perma
>>> <pil-pc-oceania at lists.permaculturei
>>>             cultureinternatio         nternational.org>
>>>             nal.org
>>> cc
>>>
>>> 
>>> Subject
>>>             21 Nov 2007 10:37         Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] Climate
>>> Change
>>>             PM                        in Election 2007
>>>
>>>
>>>             Please respond to
>>>                permacultue
>>>              discussion list
>>>             <pil-pc-oceania at l
>>>             ists.permaculture
>>>             international.org
>>>                     >
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Colin,
>>> your preferences (for other parties)look good to me in terms of the
>>> environment,
>>> however, I like to point out to voters in other states that some CCC
>>> candidates have very bad environmental group votings:
>>> for example in WA the Climate Change Coalition has preferenced Family
>>> First and One Nation above the Greens
>>> and in Victoria they have put Labour before the Greens.
>>>
>>> I don't understand why we can't have one green party till that one is in
>>> power and can actually achieve something (rather than nothing) and THEN
>>> worry about details and differences and maybe The Better Green Party.
>>> Now we're just splitting the green vote with these better green parties.
>>> However, in the senate it might make a difference.
>>>
>>> All the best for us and the environment on Saturday, Petra.
>>> below is some info on that from GetUp, who are trying to be somewhat
>>> neutral but green (?)
>>>
>>> ---------------------------- Original Message
>>> ----------------------------
>>> Subject: Your guide to voting [3 days to go]
>>> From:    "GetUp" <info at getup.org.au>
>>> Date:    Wed, November 21, 2007 3:22 pm
>>> To:      Petra.Kahle at haztech.com.au
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear friends,
>>>
>>> Ever wondered how on earth preferences work? Confused about how voting
>>> for
>>> your local MP helps determine the next Government? Not sure what's so
>>> special about the Senate, and how can we ensure it's not just a rubber
>>> stamp for whoever becomes the next Prime Minister? Then read on!
>>>
>>> And for those of you who feel like you've already got a good handle on
>>> the
>>> questions above - ever wanted to find out where your Senate preferences
>>> are actually going when you vote above the line?
>>>
>>> Lately we've been hearing lots of questions like these from GetUp
>>> members
>>> and friends - and because we're not trying to get elected (or back any
>>> particular party), we figure we're in a pretty good position to give you
>>> some straightforward answers. The election is only a few days away, so
>>> check out your friendly GetUp guide to voting:
>>>
>>> http://www.getup.org.au/blogs/view.php?id=590
>>>
>>> Or you can skip directly to our surprising summary of Senate preference
>>> flows to make sure your vote goes where you want it to. Remember,
>>> parties'
>>> names don't necessarily reflect how they preference (eg, in WA the
>>> Climate
>>> Change Coalition has preferenced Family First and One Nation above the
>>> Greens), so don't give your vote to a party above the line in the Senate
>>> without checking where they're sending it!
>>>
>>> If we still haven't answered your burning questions, ask your own in the
>>> comments section of our blog - and answer other people's!
>>>
>>> Happy voting,
>>>
>>> The GetUp team
>>>
>>> PS - The last weeks of the campaign have been full of election promises
>>> -
>>> and it's not over yet. So make sure you log any promises you hear at our
>>> Promise Watch website, to help us keep politicians accountable after the
>>> election!
>>>
>>> PPS - Don't forget to visit GetUp's new site www.howshouldivote.com.au -
>>> in 3 minutes flat you can match your views with the candidates running
>>> in
>>> your electorate. Over 70,000 people have taken the quiz to create their
>>> very own personalised how-to-vote cards!
>>>
>>> WHERE DO PREFERENCES GO - Also from GetUp:
>>> We've gotten a lot of questions about how our electoral system works,
>>> and
>>> in particular about preferential voting - that's why we've written your
>>> friendly GetUp guide to voting.
>>>
>>> One of the hottest topics of conversation is the preference flows the
>>> parties' have lodged in the Senate - and we thought it was worth pulling
>>> out into a separate blog, to make sure that your vote goes where you
>>> want
>>> it to.
>>>
>>> So here are a few notes on the preference flows that we think you might
>>> be
>>> particularly interested in (note: we've limited most of our comments to
>>> the flows among just the parties that currently have Parliamentary
>>> representation - so when we say that Party A has preferenced Party B and
>>> then Party C, more than likely there are a stack of "microparties" in
>>> between):
>>> The Democrats have preferenced the Greens above the two major parties in
>>> every state, but in most states they have "split their ticket" between
>>> the
>>> major parties - meaning that if you vote above the line for the
>>> Democrats
>>> and the race for the last seat in your state comes down to Labor vs the
>>> Coalition, there's a 50% chance your vote will go to the Coalition above
>>> Labor and a 50% chance your vote will go to Labor above the Coalition.
>>> (In
>>> NSW and Queensland, however, they registered a single ticket with Labor
>>> above the Coalition.)
>>>
>>>
>>> A new party called the Climate Change Coalition has preferenced Pauline
>>> Hanson above Labor in Queensland, and One Nation then Family First above
>>> the Greens and Labor in WA.
>>>
>>>
>>> This election, Labor's preferences flow directly to the Greens in every
>>> state. Looking only at parties that currently have Parliamentary
>>> representation, Labor's preferences then go to the Democrats, then
>>> Family
>>> First, then the Coalition.
>>>
>>>
>>> In every state, looking only at parties that currently have
>>> Parliamentary
>>> representation, the Greens' preferences go to the Democrats and then
>>> Labor
>>> before either Family First or the Coalition.
>>>
>>>
>>> In South Australia, independent candidate Nick Xenophon has split his
>>> ticket (meaning that if you vote for him above the line, your vote has a
>>> 50-50 chance of ending up in either pile) in the following way among
>>> parties that currently have Parliamentary representation:
>>>
>>> 50% of preferences will go to Family First, then the Greens, then the
>>> Nationals, then the Liberals, then Labor
>>>
>>> 50% of preferences will go to the Greens, then Family First, then the
>>> Nationals, then Labor, then the Liberals
>>>
>>>
>>> Among parties that currently have Parliamentary representation, the
>>> Liberals' preferences generally flow first to Family First, then to the
>>> Democrats, then to the Greens, then to Labor.
>>>
>>>
>>> In many (but not all) states, Family First sends its preferences to the
>>> CDP (Fred Nile), One Nation, and/or Pauline before any of the 'major'
>>> parties. Among major parties, they always flow to the Coalition before
>>> Labor, the Democrats or the Greens.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> And remember, you can see the full preference flows lodged by every
>>> party
>>> in every state at the AEC's website here.
>>>
>>> Over to you - anything else you found interesting or noteworthy in the
>>> preference flows?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> The GetUp team
>>>
>>> ---------------------------- Original Message
>>> ----------------------------
>>> Subject: [Pil-pc-oceania] Climate Change in Election 2007
>>> From:    "Colin Endean" <kunmanara at mpx.com.au>
>>> Date:    Wed, November 21, 2007 9:54 am
>>> To:      pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Hi all on the Oceania permaculture list,
>>> As there was such a strong and lengthy discussion earlier in the year
>>> about the idea of a PPP - Permaculture Peoples Party, I'm informing
>>> everyone that there's at least one permie with many years of
>>> experience and dedication standing for election in 3 days time.
>>>
>>> Colin Endean is the CCC - Climate Change Coalition candidate for the
>>> Senate in SA.
>>> Look for CCC in your state and here's some links below to explore
>>> what we're offering.
>>> Colin
>>>
>>> Hi from Colin Endean of the Climate Change Coalition.
>>>
>>> To save paper, trees and GHG emissions this is an email
>>> â?~how-to-voteâ?T
>>> card to give you an opportunity to find out what we are about and to
>>> invite you to look further into the issues, policies and concerns
>>> before you cast your vote on November 24th.
>>>
>>> Our Policies are strong and clear about necessary and urgent Climate
>>> Action. We have the strongest emissions target of 40% by 2020 and
>>> mandatory renewable energy target of 30% by 2020. Our Campaign Launch
>>> speech declares our sincerity and determination. Inaction on Climate
>>> Change is an act of abuse against future generations
>>>
>>> We have an opportunity at this 2007 Senate election to make a clear
>>> statement that we believe that Climate Change is the most important
>>> single issue facing our nation. I am excited to be standing for
>>> election on this issue and hope that with your support weâ?Tll create
>>> the tipping point from which the Climate Crisis becomes our
>>> opportunity and hope.
>>>
>>> Visit the Australiaâ?Ts National Forum if you want to see about me or
>>> any other candidate in this election. Also my Media release to the
>>> local media in the Mid North SA.
>>>
>>> Why Vote for such a new political Party as the Climate Change
>>> Coalition? Why not the Greens or Democrats?
>>>
>>> Firstly we have the chance to name our outright concern about Climate
>>> Change and declare that we want action.
>>>
>>> Secondly our intent and our reason for being is as a Coalition. The
>>> Climate Change Coalition. We know that success can only happen when
>>> we all work together, gain support and focus on the enormity of the
>>> tasks with collaboration and acknowledgement for all those whoâ?Tve
>>> been working, active and contributing to the cause for many years.
>>>
>>> Finally, the Climate Change Coalition in SA is pleased to be giving
>>> preferences to those other parties with good Climate Change Policy
>>> and record. Weâ?Tre preferencing the Greens and then Democrats before
>>> Labor. If you want the full official preference list from the AEC
>>> itâ?Ts here.
>>>
>>> A few things that I have written for our campaign on a 5 Star Rating
>>> for negotiating a global agreement on emissions targets and what does
>>> the $100 per barrel oil price have to do with climate change?
>>>
>>> Please consider this election as crucial for climate change action.
>>> Vote 1 for the Climate Change Coalition in the Senate from SA.
>>>
>>> Written and Authorised by Colin Endean 1A Ware St Burra, 5417
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Pil-pc-oceania mailing list
>>> Pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org
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>>>
>>>
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>>
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