Andrew,

My apologies for an error in my previous post. The NSW State Electoral District referred to was Wallsend, not Cardiff. Cardiff is a suburb of Newcastle that lay at that time within the State Electoral District of Wallsend.

I should add that two other Commonwealth electoral Divisions, those of Shortland and Newcastle also had sub-Divisions that comprised parts of the State Electoral District of Wallsend at the time of that 1988 by-election. What the situation was with respect to the availability of the roll in those Divisional offices for scrutiny at roll close is not known to me.

I cannot say what understanding parliamentary members of the JSCEM, and before that committee's inception, the JSCER, may have had as to the overall performance of centralised electronic roll-keeping as compared to that of the previous tried and proven compartmentalised Divisional office manual roll-keeping. My suspicion is that the changes were actually introduced before it was explained or evident to members what the changes actually entailed.

Had committee members been told that the change meant that whereas a roll could be closed (and closed under scrutiny of interested parties) at 6:00 PM on any given working day under the old manual system, but be effectively unable to be closed within the same time frame in a scrutinisable fashion under the electronic regime, would the system we now have ever have been approved? I suspect not.

What will be the situation at the upcoming Federal elections if interested members of the public make themselves known to their respective DROs and arrange to be present in the Divisional office at 6:00 PM on the day writs are issued, and take note of certain roll particulars from the mandatory record, particulars which subsequently may be shown to have changed by the time certified lists are printed for the conduct of those elections?

It seems everything about elections is being made opaque, rather than transparent. Have you seen the Diebold Variations? See: http://homepage.mac.com/rcareaga/diebold/adworks.htm Coming soon to an electoral Division near you?

Read with cynicism Andrews comments :

"...what matters long term is that the precedent and process for the formal direct expression of popular will has arrived in Australia."

Constitution s. 128 provides EITHER Senate OR House of Representatives, despite lack of support, despite opposition, from other House the authority to present a Bill for Governor-General to present for voters decision:

Section 128
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/chapter8.htm

Australian Democrats refused, or failed, exercise their swinging votes in Senate to force issues onto ballot, eg Telstra, Iraq, Nuclear Power, no grog sales on Sunday, or other issues.

Democrats failed dismally to present their opposition, their solutions, through bills seeking use s.128 to resolve the questions.

Democrat reluctance to present such bills really questions their committment to accountability, to keeping the bastards honest.

Resolution by the People is essential IF you believe Sovereign Power truly belongs to the people.

Andrew asks people support the Australian Democrats from their purported "decades-long initiatives to introduce Citizen Initiated Referenda (CIR) in defined circumstances"

I say purported, for when did the Democrats introduce and campaign for Bills using s.128 so significant issues would be presented to the people for the people to decide ?

Democrats failed their "keep the bastards honest" philosophy, failing to actively campaign for presentation of contentious issues to the people for decisions using s.128

Such Democrats failure IMHO is largely responsible for diminishing support for the Democrats.

Whilst Democrats failed, refused, to act politicaly to seek use of our Constitutions s.128 - a basic structural policy direction tool, how were they keeping to their proclaimed responsible government principals ?

With such absence in their political actions why bother voting for them ?

.

HI ILLUVATOR,
to contact the group HER email blessallways@hotmail.com

thanks shift.