Paul1405 - There is little in the way of any philosophical difference, more a divergence of emphases as to the best way to achieve similar outcomes.

Yeah, like lining ones pockets whilst keeping the snout firmly lodged in the feeding trough and at the same time not falling off the gravy-train !!

The desire of those in power in Australia is to maintain the status quo, supporting and respecting the democratic process as defined by our practices and institutions.

It would be far more correct to say 'blatantly manipulating the so-called democratic purpose for personal gain'

Praxidice, you can’t avoid giving one of the two Laborials your preferences…. unless there is actually a third entity which is genuinely in the competition and can win more votes than one or both of these dinosaurs!

You have to number every square or else your vote is voided, even if your intention is perfectly obvious!

The vast majority of the time, the thing that counts the most about your vote is which of the Liblabs you put higher on your ballot paper. Even if you put them last and second last, your vote will in most cases filter down and count for the one you put second last.

We need the optional preferential system to be installed at the federal level. This system accurately represents the wishes of the voters. Qld and NSW use it. It works perfectly well.

The compulsory preferential voting system really does amount to disgusting collusion between the big parties. It works against the smaller parties, against political diversity and evolution…. and totally against democracy!

You people astound me.

What do you expect if you vote for minor parties & independents?

What did voting for minor parties & independents do last time?

Gave us this bl00dy mess in Canberra right now.

I suggest you take a very careful look at your selves, & what you want, before you vote.

If you want to go bankrupt, be over run with gate crashing boat people, & have neither mining or manufacturing to employ the population, voting any way that could possibly end up with the red head still in the lodge is just the way to go.

Yes you won't get much good coming from Canberra, but at least you could try to minimize the damage. So just keep on as you are talking, & total catastrophe is probably just around the corner.

Dear Prax.,

I can't help wondering what's happened to Mr Abbott.
He's not the same man we saw last year. It's as if
someone's done a "make-over." But it's not succeeding
very well. Instead of coming across as a future leader
He's coming across as a bit of a "namby-pamby."
A "wus." Someone who simply does not present well.
Give us the "bared knuckle" fighter. This new image is
not an improvement.

Perhaps he's not well? He certainly is not as self-assured
as he once was. Can't help wondering if there's any internal
strife going on in the Party. Politics is a dirty business.

So um Hazza, who do you suggest we should vote for??

Surely you are not suggesting that we should all vote for Abbott….. are you??!!??

Lexi

Dunno about the RAbbott, judging from his stuff-up with the electoral funding business, one would almost think he's got early alzheimers. I don't believe the bared knuckle stuff was real, maybe just some weird aberration of the lawyer / priest background. As for dirty business, nothing unusual about that in the political circus. I have heard from an impeccable source that he's been seen several times schmoozing with the red-headed witch, could have been just the funding stuff or could be anything, but I get a whiff of something fishy that isn't seafood. I've even tossed around the idea of giving the ALP a slightly higher number on the ballot paper than the LNP. Whilst I don't have any time for either ALP or LNP, I can't abide the thought of the RAbbott getting a General Disaster style majority. Torpedoing One Nation was despicable in itself, but now we have the funding fiasco and the bunch of associated obfuscations. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR