In Australia we have a secret ballot. To me that is a great thing. It should be nobody else's business how we voted or how we intend to vote. However, we have polls to show trends in voting, exit polls and other polls to determine how we will or have voted. Parties tailor their strategy to pre-election polls, and knowledge of exit polls can affect voting. The expression of our wishes should be confined to the official polls. I think the proper response to questions about our intended or actual vote should be, "None of your business."

Dear David,

I can't help wondering how many people answer truthfully
in polls? I suspect many don't tell the truth and that's
why polls often are not accurate. Plus there's such a variety
of voters - ranging from age groups, to gender, to political
affiliations, and the list goes on. I imagine that pollsters
have a difficult job to do - and their information should
only be used as a guide, not as a certainty. Predicting things
is risky at the best of times as we found out in past elections
that supposedly were "winnable."

Dear Foxy,

Political parties are collections of special interests. Pre-election polls tell what the voters want. Knowing what the voters want parties can tailor their campaign to what the voters want. However, what the parties actually do when in office is determined by what the special interests want not by the thrust of their campaign if it is based on what the voters want. If parties were honest in their campaigns they would make clear what the special interests want. If what the special interests want appeals to the voters the voters will vote for them. Pre-election polls serve the cause of dishonesty in political parties.

Polls are one of those wastes that need cutting !
What we need more of are referendums !

Hi David,

Some interesting history concerning voting in Australia. I do believe in one colonial election, where men only had the vote, and the voter had to write his preferred choices name on a piece of paper, at another time only one voter at a time was let into the polling room, very slow. Sometimes elections were spread over several day. All sorts of systems have been tried at various times, creating their own problems.

I think only a healthier mentality can ensure better outcomes & to achieve that we need to literally instantly rid ourselves of the present education policies & the implementors.
To achieve that we need a mentality-building culture & to achieve that we need a National Service scheme.
We have to work on developing a mentality that sees drug abuse as what it really is, a very, very poor & destructive mentality !
We need more chooks & fewer tapeworms !