Voluntary Voting
Rugby League star Jarryd Hayne made an interesting admission in this morning’s Daily Telegraph. Not only has the 22-year-old never voted, he did not know Kevin Rudd represented the Labor Party.
Hayne was spruiking a new campaign by the Australian Electoral Commission to get young people to enrol to vote, but he may have just done a big favour for the voluntary-voting brigade.
There were immediate suggestions on radio this morning that Hayne’s ignorance was simply indicative of his generation, and people who know and care so little don’t add much to our democracy by their forced participation. But that’s a cop out.
Continue reading "Even people who have no idea should be made to vote" »
Last year I had the honour of being elected to the Australian Parliament by the people of Mayo in South Australia. I was elected at a by-election following the retirement of Alexander Downer who had represented Mayo since its inception in 1984.
The by-election was hard fought with ten other candidates representing all political parties and a range of independent (with the exception being the Labor Party who chose not to run a candidate presumably because it is so ashamed of how it has treated the Lower Lakes, but that is another story…)
Something struck me during and following the campaign that I did not expect and that was the genuine lack of interest in participating in the election.
Latest 2 of 24 comments
View all comments-
Bec says:
No one forces you to vote. You can simply hand in a blank form, no one will ever know. Alternativly, you can suck it up and take the fine. I believe that voting is a duty, not just a right. If you want to live in a society, I believe… Read more »
-
Michael of Williamstown says:
Jamie is correct “trust the people”. I saw the worried faces of the people who did not vote that day. Caught out by footy finals many guilty faces late in the day questioned those of us handing how to vote cards, “what of those who are at the ground still”? … Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
In light of today's news, I eagerly await the empassioned calls for polygaymarriage
Marc Glasby says he's the 'meat in the sandwich' - he loves two women. And they're identical twins... http://t.co/kL2jL1RK via @sharethis
RT @ThePunchHQ: COMING SOON to a suburb near you: A controversial #NT intervention policy. @drpiotrowski explains http://t.co/MYjvaAy6#auspol
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
On a hiding to tweet nothing over mining jobs
You know you’re in strife as a political leader when you must rely on the almost uniformly vacuous…
An NT intervention policy coming to a suburb near you
A controversial policy from the Northern Territory intervention has managed to get through the atrocious…
An insight into a particularly tricky relationship
Marc Glasby has been married to his wife Belle for over thirty years. Three years ago, Belle was reunited…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 129 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment