http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/voting/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-knock-compulsory-voting-its-fine-as-is/ Lined up at the voting booths before the last federal election, a guy in front of me loudly announced to his mate: “I’m just going to draw a gigantic cock on the paper.” Opponents of compulsory voting tend to argue that’s not the only way people makes dicks of themselves with their ballot papers. You often hear people argue that compulsory voting forces people uninterested in politics to donkey vote or vote for who they like the most, rather than a party’s policies. People like Anders Holmdahl, a South Australian resident who took his quibble with compulsory voting to the SA Supreme Court yesterday, have a problem with the fact that voting is defined as both a right and a duty in different parts of Australian law. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-knock-compulsory-voting-its-fine-as-is/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-knock-compulsory-voting-its-fine-as-is/#item8166 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/constitutional-recognition-is-about-all-our-identities/ Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/constitutional-recognition-is-about-all-our-identities/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/constitutional-recognition-is-about-all-our-identities/#item4427 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-punch-answers-questions-of-confused-mps/ The new paradigm has begun to play mind games with our federal MPs. Yesterday nobody was quite sure what was expected of them. At times it was a little embarrassing to watch, like some awkward kid consistently dancing out of time at the Rock Eisteddfod Manager of Opposition Business and chief prosecutor in the case of Gillard v the BER Christopher Pyne copped the worst of it. Pyne didn’t ask for a division on a vote that would have forced a judicial inquiry into the Government’s BER spending. A vote the Coalition lost. Awkward. No matter, Pyne plans to introduce his bill into the Senate after a session with the choreographer on Thursday afternoon. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-punch-answers-questions-of-confused-mps/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-punch-answers-questions-of-confused-mps/#item4358 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-election-was-not-the-ranga-revolution-predicted/ When the political history of 2010 is written, every element of the closest election in a generation will be rightly scrutinized. The winning side will get home by a hair’s breadth ­ but could it be hair that determines the result? Because there is a minority group whose natural connection with their chief advocate did not translate into votes on August 22 ­ Australia’s rangas turned on Julia Gillard at the moment she needed their support most. Exclusive hair-based research from the Punch shows that redheads turned their locks away from Gillard, being the least likely hair coloured group to support the ALP. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-election-was-not-the-ranga-revolution-predicted/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-election-was-not-the-ranga-revolution-predicted/#item3933 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-to-vote-in-the-electorate-of-melbourne/ I don’t mind admitting, I was excited when I rocked up to the polling booth. I was voting in Melbourne and Greens candidate Adam Bandt was favourite to win with the bookies. There was no incumbent, this wasn’t a safe Liberal or Labor seat. No matter who I voted for, I felt like my vote could really make a difference. I got my first How To Vote card from the kindly old Democrat volunteer and couldn’t help but notice they’d given their 3rd preference to the candidate from the Australian Sex Party. Way to go Democrats. I had no idea you guys were into that kind of Party! penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-to-vote-in-the-electorate-of-melbourne/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-to-vote-in-the-electorate-of-melbourne/#item3878 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/not-worth-voting-for/ This year’s election campaign has cast a cloud of sadness and disillusionment over Australian politics and therefore Australian society. With the final countdown well and truly under way we are left hoping for the best in dire circumstances. A lot of the events over the last few weeks have looked like crass politics, but why are we so surprised? Has election time in Australia really always been this dismal? This election will be the first where I will be able to vote officially in Australia. I was in London for the 2007 election and voted at the Australian embassy. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/not-worth-voting-for/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/not-worth-voting-for/#item3850 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/embittered-latham-takes-our-democracy-for-granted/ There are some things that can’t be measured. Like one vote one value; a government of the people, by the people, for the people. And the audacity, idiocy and hypocrisy of Mark Latham. The former Labor Leader should face charges for using his platform on 60 Minutes to incite Australians to forgo their democratic right. In Burma, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, fighting for her people to have a say in their future. In Iran, Neda Agha-Soltan died protesting against the fraudulent election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The ongoing struggle for democracy across Africa – from Nigeria to Zimbabwe – has claimed millions of lives.  Aside from the Eureka Stockade, which some historians consider the birthplace of Australian democracy, we’ve never had to risk our lives for freedom. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/embittered-latham-takes-our-democracy-for-granted/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/embittered-latham-takes-our-democracy-for-granted/#item3815 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-the-election-has-got-nothing-to-do-with-you/ If you are a political junkie like me, chances are you found Sunday night’s debate a little like watching a nil-nil draw without even the climax of the penalty shoot-out. About the only thing more boring than the debate is the pundits who say the debate was boring. It’s the curse of Australian elections, if you are engaged in politics and have a defined set of ideological values, then the campaign has very little to do with you. Put another way, if you are reading The Punch the parties don’t really care what you think. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-the-election-has-got-nothing-to-do-with-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-the-election-has-got-nothing-to-do-with-you/#item3643 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/women-really-do-react-to-politics-differently-to-men/ They had the decency to give them a turn, but after thousands of years of patriarchy working so well they should have known better. They brought home the bacon; we cooked it. They fought off the lions and tigers so we could raise our offspring in safety. But a little while ago, following years of nagging by those insufferable suffragettes, they caved – men finally gave women the vote. After watching the gendered worm on Nine’s coverage of the debate however, I have to say: what the hell were men thinking? It looks like giving the ladies a few democratic rights was a mistake on par with offering an honest answer to the question, “Does my bum look big in this?” penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/women-really-do-react-to-politics-differently-to-men/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/women-really-do-react-to-politics-differently-to-men/#item3631 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-election-campaign/ IF you happened to be walking through the Eastland shopping centre in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs on Friday morning, you might have witnessed a bit of old school political campaigning. Eastland is at the heart of Ringwood and Ringwood is at the heart of Deakin, the second most marginal seat in Victoria, currently held by a sharpish young bloke from the Labor party, Mike Symon. Friday was a big day for Mike. He opened his new campaign digs, inflated several hundred balloons bearing his name and handed out ham and cheese sandwiches with a grin. And for just a short while, he got to bask in the tanning salon kissed glow of a Labor big gun, on loan to kick things along in a seat looking a bit shaky. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-election-campaign/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-election-campaign/#item3633 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Self-identity - who you are, what your values are and what you believe - is critical to success in any society, whether it is cultural, sporting, professional or political. Without a firm understanding of who you are, it is very difficult to present a point of view or know where you stand on a particular topic.  Not knowing or recognising your cultural heritage will suppress your purpose throughout life.