[Deleted or abuse]

Dear Cherful,

<<You wouldn't mind if people wore the white klux klan robes around the streets, or the nazi German uniform.>>

Oh, I certainly would mind: perhaps it could even make me close all curtains and not leave my home - yet I have no right to demand them to stop it.

In any case, I am not aware of anyone being offended if I ride a bicycle bare-headed - after all, nobody seems to be offended when I do the same when walking the street.

Not offended by your bare-headedness Yuyutsu, but I am offended by your riding your bicycle on the roads we motorists paid for in triplicate.

Dear Hasbeen,

How can you be offended by me riding on the same roads which I as a fellow motorist also pay for... on the bicycle I never had?

Yes, I planned to purchase a bicycle in 1990, I was about to, but then this law came about, so I didn't. I wanted to be fitter, I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to be lighter on the environment - but I was prevented so all this time I've been sitting idly and burning petrol wherever I go. I am not even sure whether I will be able to learn to ride a bicycle again at my age, but I would like to give it a try if I were allowed to.

For most of my adult life I haven't voted.
Recently I did so as the Electoral commission seem to have their hooks into me, always sending letters, and now don't want any fines.
I placed an X next to all candidates and did NOT vote for longer terms.

Truthfully, I don't completely understand how our electoral system works.
But what I do know, is that democracy does not exist at all.
Even if I took away my view that "If they make the rules for us, we should make the rules for them, and that there's no real balance of power between us and them if they are allowed to make their own rules, and not keep election promises"

Even if you took that away and just looked at the 2 party system itself, you have to acknowledge that its just "pass the baton" and lobbyists play both sides.

So I in principle am offended that I am forced to play their stupid corrupt rigged game at all.

A game which exists because all of you believe you have some kind of democracy and foolishly keep playing rather then demanding something better.

I won't ever vote Labor or Liberal again.
Fool me once shame on you.. Fool me twice shame on me.

My issue is that I don't really understand or trust the 'preferences' and I refuse to allow them to claim they had my support when I never actually gave it.

Can anyone tell me how I can vote, avoid fines but ensure the major parties NEVER EVER get my vote?
I might consider voting for an independent, but only if I truly support them, but I also want to make sure that no preference ever goes to the majors.
How do I vote?

Sad but true Armchair critic. But putting an x against every candidate just assists the incumbent or sitting member and just reinforces the view that makes them believe they have a mandate for all the policies you disagree with, or that you're okay with the plethora of broken promises.

And around forty percent of voters now do as you do and just waste their very important power to force change. Simply put if all the voters who vote informal were to place the incumbent last on the ballot paper as their real protest!

And if enough of them did that as a customary (protest vote) exercise, we'd have endless one term governments and folks whose parliamentary careers were just too short to build a reasonable retirement pension! We'd force change, using the only instrument that matters to most politicians, the length of their tenure! currently around 30% of us understand politics, and another 30% understand economics. with elections inevitably decided by the remaining 40% who understand neither.

[We've fought wars that spent the lives of thousands to retain the freedom to vote other folks are dying in their hundreds of thousands in an effort to give them that right and a privilege/civic duty!]

And the folks who vote informal are just assisting that very outcome! Then complain about outcomes! Go figure.
Rhrosty.