Happy Voting …

Random observations on the 2014 Tasmanian election

• Clive Palmer’s ads are a hoot – especially the one that pieces together sound bites from a bunch of Liberal and Labor pollies into a ringing endorsement of the PUP leader. A close second is his short grab extolling voters to keep Will Hodgman as opposition leader – it’s true that he must be pretty adept at it by now.

• Paul Harriss resigned from the Legislative Council with moments to spare before nominations closed for the House of Assembly elections. What happens if he doesn’t get elected in Franklin? Thankfully, and conveniently, the Governor determined that there was no need to hold a by-election to fill his LegCo seat straight away, because the election was due, in the normal course of events, in May this year. So, Mr Harriss could re-contest the seat of Huon, and continue his long run in the upper house uninterrupted.

But what about Will’s Uncle Pete? Peter Hodgman has announced he will be a candidate for Huon in 2014 – assuming he wins government, where will young MrHodgman’s loyalties lie if this awkward situation arises? Family, or the self-appointed Svengali of the upper house? I guess Paul could revert to being an ‘independent’ candidate, and let his current boss off the hook. Sadly, that could happen in Tasmania, and very few would question it. Party candidate one day, independent candidate the next – no worries!

• How much of her own cash has Jacquie Petrusma spent on election advertising? Her posters have reached saturation point in Kingston – she looks like a nice lady in the pictures, and could get re-elected on the recognition factor alone.

• Forget about the 50 per cent of voters who are functionally illiterate, why do people who should know better have no interest or engagement with politics in this state. Over the past few weeks, I’ve made a point of asking sensible, educated, professional people about their election choices, and I’ve been frankly dismayed by many of the responses.

Like –

‘I’ve always voted Liberal/Labor’, or

‘I don’t really care, but I’ll probably vote for x, because I know them’. Do you know what party they represent? ‘No’, or

‘I wish I didn’t have to vote. They’re all the same anyway’.

• What’s with Dr Julian Amos’ advertising – ‘With Julian, you can vote Labor’? It’s like an ad for diet cream buns – ‘With No Lard, you can eat pastries’. All those other pastries (Labor candidates) will make you fat (lie and cheat and disappoint you), but No Lard (Julian) is different, and so much better for you.

• Employment, health and education are the big-ticket issues for voters. Unfortunately, the tickets are either blank, or the prices are a bit rubbery. Everyone knows the state is broke, and even with a barely functioning bullshit detector, the average elector knows that the reality won’t match the party’s promises. So, why do so many of us keep falling for their crap?

• With basic services in disarray, why is forestry still a front-line election issue? So what if the Liberals are going to turn the TFA into the world’s most expensive confetti if they’re elected? So what if Ta Ann is doing secret deals with the TFA ENGOs? Who cares about the rabidly self-interested game-playing by Gunns liquidators, and the gullible/unscrupulous/vote chasing activities of our far-less-than-illustrious parliament?

It’s distressing to see democratic principles under a pile of steaming turd, but the fact is that our politicians genuinely don’t get it. They’re a living testament to the pernicious class divisions of Tasmania’s past, and they’re screwing the state’s future. For fuck’s sake, people, half of us adults are functionally illiterate, and they’re just sitting on their bums doing shit all about it.

• On a lighter note, I’m pleased to have the option, under the inscrutable partial preferential Hare-Clarke voting protocol, to both comply with the electoral office requirements and NOT vote for any of the three major parties. Hodgman and Giddings are warning us off another minority government. Will says that only the Liberals can offer a majority government – this is patent nonsense. Any party could theoretically win a majority of seats. What he means is that only the Liberals will refuse to co-operate with another party in order to govern (maybe young Mr H could have a chat with Ray Groom about how that might work out if they don’t win a majority on Saturday. With Mr Gutwein getting daily more impatient with the constraints of opposition, there might be a polite ‘resignation’ request.)

And, as others have noted on this forum, what’s so great about majority government anyway? The ALP had more than a fair run at it before 2010, and how well did they set the state up for a ‘bright’ future?

• There are over 120 candidates, many of whom are unashamedly laying on the saccharine ‘care and concern’ for the voters and for Tasmania. Your mission, and the law says you must accept it, is to sift through the crud and find five candidates in your electorate who might give us a fighting chance over the next four years.

Happy voting.

*The Subversive Voter is known to the Editor

• Debra Thurley State Candidate for Franklin Palmer United Party: Is there a need for the introduction of Anti-Bullying Legislation in Tasmania? Many of us have experienced bullying … my daughter was bullied – taunted, stalked, assaulted, threatened with stabbing, on-line slating … all because she changed friends. I had to take her to school each day knowing she was facing her tormentors but I would tell her to be strong that they were weak, to face her fears head on and to not let them win. That was nine years ago.

• Debra Thurley: Employers embrace the aged worker!

• The Drum, ABC: Tasmania: where electoral scrutiny is silenced