What governs our decision regarding which party to support? What are the key issues we identify, the economy, social services, social engineering, or any other issue that polarises your party from the opposition? Economic management is identified with the entrenched community sense that Liberals make the best economic stewards. Below are the stats on the quarterly real GDP growth rate by governments.

Liberal....Abbott/Turnbull...0.63%
Labor....Rudd/ Gillard....0.61%
Liberal....Howard....0.89%
Labor....Hawke/Keating....0.90%
Liberal....Fraser....0.61%
Labor....0.72%

These numbers suggest that regardless of which party is in power the market dictates the growth, a market over which our politicians have little or no control. So accordingly we are voting them in on domestic issues.......and the management of our debt. There is no doubt that Rudd/Gillard squandered what we had almost immediately for no ongoing return. Labor had to borrow from their first year in government to fund their ongoing failure prone policies and I believe we would be in for the same if Labor regains government.

But the Turnbull government has just given “corporations” a $48 billion tax cut......that is a $48 billion tax hike for us. We have no friends of the masses in either camp. The Liberals will sell us into tax slavery and Labor will continuously squander anything we can borrow on minority issues that cost the majority of funds.

When combined, Liberal and Labor only represent corporate interests or those of a social sub set of crusaders seeking a moral identity or just to run along with the chosen mob. I have had a look at the candidates for the two houses and I have found an independent and a minority party that purport to have the values I want in a representative, we will see.

What issues are most important to you, does the knowledge that our governments have limited control of the economy change a priority.

Son, there are many issues that need addressing, from immigration, bring tens of thousands in, many of which are illiterate in their own language, to welfare waste, where billions is able to be wasted simply due to the fact welfare is paid in cash, the list goes on, so part of me feels that perhaps we need the recession we have to have again, so we can at least start afresh. Let's face it, if we hit the wall, we would be in a far better position to say no.

I doubt I will be voting for either of the majors, but labor will be my last choice, well second last counting the greens simply because they are to close to job destructing unions and wont come clean on IR issues.

The other issue is labor is once again writing cheques they cant cash. Nothing new there.

Sonofgloin, I still haven't made up my mind. I wouldn't waste my vote on a minor party though.
I have no doubt though, since that crazy ex-priest left the room, that many on this forum will vote for any of the major parties.
They will go with one of the Christian parties, or the equally mad 'Shooter, fishers etc' party....

Suseonline,

One of the beauties of the preferential voting system is that you can't waste your vote, even if you put minor parties and independents as your top preferences. The comic strip at the following website explains why:

http://www.chickennation.com/2013/08/18/you-cant-waste-your-vote

Butch, I agree, immigration and the lifelong cost to the taxpayers is now and was a substantial issue when the electorate gave Abbott a clear mandate to stop illegal immigration. Although the electorate made no call to cut bona fide immigration numbers, the economic and social practicalities of accepting illiterate non English speaking factory fodder into an economy that has just said goodbye to the last mass produced complex product it manufactured, the car, is economically septic.

Personally I do not trust Labor on boarder security, I know it was part of the Green alliance days, but the left are still all “hands across the water” no matter if we sink doing it, and on borrowed money.

Suse, you viewed what AJ put up, it seems any vote away from the big two is a fruitless exercise if the big two are in your selection. But the outcome was never to be wholesale electoral slaughter of the big two; it’s about getting a message that we want re focus along with economic and social reform that will place the interests of Australia first.

What we receive are economic imperatives as directed by the corporation lobby or the impractical dreams of the Marxists who never factor “human nature” into their egalitarian global dreams.

//One of the beauties of the preferential voting system is that you can't waste your vote, even if you put minor parties and independents as your top preferences.//

Just make sure you know where your preferences are going. Straightforward enough in the lower house, but if you vote above the line in the senate then whichever party you vote for decides where your preferences go. And they're often not what you'd think - a lot of minor parties will preference minor parties ahead of the major parties regardless of policies. So a vote above the line for the 'I Love Jesus Party' is likely to have preferences going to the 'Atheist Alliance' ahead of a more obvious choice like the Liberals because the 'Atheist Alliance' are another minor party, even though their platform is diametrically opposed to the 'I Love Jesus Party'.

The simple way to get around this is to vote below the line. Most people don't, but I enjoy exercising my democratic rights. I do feel sorry for the counters though.

sonofgloin,

If that's all you got from the comic I linked to then you may have missed the point. Even if one of the two big parties still win, your preferences can help to send them a message with regards to which direction you want them to go in or what the public's priorities are.

Toni Lavis,

Yes, making sure you know where your preferences are going is an important point that I should have added.

Yes AJ Phillips, I know what you mean. I should have said that I wouldn't waste my vote on one of the 'crazy' minor parties out there, like the Shooters & Fishers etc.

I may not choose either Labor or Liberals yet, as I remain undecided.
I believe that I will choose 'under the line' on my voters card too, just to make absolutely sure that I don't in any way endorse some of those bizarre parties up for election this year....

Dear SOG,

Thanks for this discussion.

I, like Suse am also now unsure of whom I am going to vote
for. I had such high hopes for Malcolm Turnbull, and I
was so unimpressed with Bill Shorten. Now I'm not so sure.

I watched the debate this evening between the two men.
I agree with John Hewson who afterwards when asked which
of the two leaders -
made the biggest impression, stated that neither of the two
really gave us much of any substance. And, therein lies
the problem.

Obedience to the Party line, the cessation of thoughtful
questioning and just the complacent repetition of empty
"truths," just doesn't work any more.

I think that most people would like to see our politicians
think critically about their politics and give the public
decent answers as to what they intend to do and
how they are going to do it. Quoting catch phrases doesn't
say very much.

cont'd ...

I also want to add that I won't be voting for any
minor party either.

Dear Tony,

<<but if you vote above the line in the senate then whichever party you vote for decides where your preferences go.>>

This is HISTORY.

I'm surprised that you are not up to date - the election laws have changed, there are no longer any party preferences: from now on you need to mark your own preferences and only what you mark counts.

I still believe that kicking out the two dinosaurs is very important, so though I'm neither Christian nor atheist, I'll place both 'I Love Jesus Party' and 'Atheist Alliance' ahead of the dinosaurs. The differences between them can be sorted out later or they themselves could agree on some compromise between them once they have between them sufficient numbers to form a coalition that will kick the dinosaurs out for good.

AJ, I did read the entire script, as you mentioned the script suggests that politicians receiving preference votes from another candidate may change their policies........I doubt it.

Dear Foxy......you will not be voting for a minor party?............you should be able to find one that suits given the Senate voting changes have done little to quash the aspirations of micro groups, with the largest number of political parties in the nation’s history preparing to contest the election. The Australian Electoral Commission has approved 56 parties for the July poll and 22 of those have registered for the first time.

I'll be voting below the line, placing at the top anyone opposed to theocracy starting with ALA and anyone else confronting Islamisation and not including either corporate business party - LNP or ALP. In the Reps, Liberals last as they shift resources away from the impecunious to those who acquire wealth without ever creating, personally with their own hands and brains, any of it.

You sound quite pessimistic, sonofgloin. Why would you doubt it?

I don't think even politicians are stupid enough to ignore entirely the ideals of the those candidates that preference them, let alone the voters who voted for those candidates. Doing so could mean the difference between winning or losing an election.

I'd doubt governments, that are so overly focused on getting themselves re-elected, would completely ignore those who are preferencing them. If they are, then they need to sack their political strategists.