Australians head to the polls in tight election contest

[rooster59]

Australians head to the polls in tight election contest

ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press


CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — After years of political turmoil, Australians headed to the polls on Saturday with leaders of the nation's major parties each promising to bring stability to a government that has long been mired in chaos.

The election, which pits the conservative coalition government against the center-left Labor Party, caps off an extraordinarily volatile period in the nation's politics. Australian political parties can change their leaders under certain conditions and have done so in recent years with unprecedented frequency. Should Labor win, its leader, Bill Shorten, will become Australia's fifth prime minister in three years.

The so-called revolving-door prime ministership, coupled with current global instability wrought by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, prompted promises by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that sticking with the status quo was the safer choice.

"In an uncertain world, Labor offers only greater uncertainty," Turnbull warned in one of his final pitches to voters this week. "They have nothing to say about jobs, growth or our economic future."

Labor, meanwhile, has sought throughout the eight-week campaign to cast the government as deeply divided, with Shorten saying: "You cannot have stability without unity."

Selling stability is a tough job for either party, both of which have been marred by infighting in recent years. Shorten played a key role in ousting two of the Labor Party's own prime ministers in the space of three years, and Turnbull himself ousted Tony Abbott as prime minister in an internal party showdown less than a year ago.

Though the race is tight, polls suggest that Labor won't be able to gain the 21 seats it needs to form a majority government in the 150-seat House of Representatives. Labor currently holds 55 seats, the conservative coalition has 90, and minor parties and independents have five.

Results of Sydney-based market researcher's Newspoll that were published in The Australian newspaper on Saturday showed the coalition leading by 50.5 percent to Labor's 49.5 percent. The Newspoll was based on interviews with 4,135 people conducted between Tuesday and Friday, and has a 3 percentage point margin of error.

The government has focused much of its campaign on a promise to generate jobs and economic growth through tax cuts to big businesses. Economic growth is a key issue for many Australians, who have seen thousands of jobs vanish from the country's once-booming resources sector amid China's industrial slowdown.

Labor has said it will keep the higher tax rates and use the revenue to better fund schools and hospitals.

Same-sex marriage has also emerged as a campaign issue. Turnbull, who personally supports gay marriage despite his party's opposition to it, has promised to hold a national poll known as a plebiscite this year that would ask voters whether the nation should allow same-sex marriage. But governments are not bound by the results of plebiscites, and some conservative lawmakers have said they would vote down a gay marriage bill even if most Australians supported marriage equality.

Labor, which dubbed the plebiscite a waste of taxpayers' money, promises that the first legislation the party will introduce to parliament will be a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-07-02

[DoctorG]

Happy to have done my democratic duty this morning.

[oxo1947]

Happy to have done my democratic duty this morning.

How is it democratic ---if you can be jailed for not voting..............

.

**You were talking about voting Doc.....not something else you do in the morning......

[senor123]

Happy to have done my democratic duty this morning.

How is it democratic ---if you can be jailed for not voting..............

.

**You were talking about voting Doc.....not something else you do in the morning......

There you go: Just pay the 20 bucks out of your dole/pension money.

Voting at federal elections has been compulsory since 1924 for all citizens on the Commonwealth electoral roll. Anyone who is unable to provide a valid and sufficient reason to the Divisional Returning Officer for failure to vote at a federal election and who does not wish to have the matter dealt with by a Magistrates Court may pay a penalty of $20 (section 245).

If an elector who has failed to vote refuses to pay the $20 penalty, then the matter may be referred to a Magistrates Court, where a fine of up to 1 penalty unit plus costs may be ordered on conviction. Anyone who chooses not to pay the court-ordered fine will be dealt with by the Court accordingly, and this may involve community service orders, seizure of goods, or other court imposed sanctions. The penalty in such circumstances will be a decision for the local Magistrates Court and not the Australian Electoral Commission.

[neverdie]

The world stops and waits with baited breath to see who this weeks Australian Prime Minister will be.

[Pepper1959]

I never mind compulsory voting. Since coming in, in 1924, voting has never fallen below 90%. Hence you get a better representation of the true preferred party. It is better than 40% turn out and the party or leader with the most votes getting the office, as 30% of the popn could determine the result. Yes, I know it is someone's democratic right to vote or not to vote. However, the systems used by countries to determine their governments are far from democratic. I don't think I have read of one country where you could say there is one fair system, including mine, Australia. Compulsory voting in Australia exists in Federal and State elections and there is now talk of making Local elections compulsory as well because the one level of government where it is voluntary, the percentage can fall below 20%. Australians are not great lovers of their pollies, maybe the reason why for the compulsion!

[oxo1947]

The reason for it being compulsory pepper is that they get paid $3.48 for each vote......therefore why not force people to go to the polls. I think even Pauline hanson was reported as saying----she didn't think she stood a chance.....but she should pick up a few hundred thousand in vote money.

funding for parties of an extra $1 for every first preference vote. This was to be in addition to the present $2.48 they receive per vote (the new rate from July). Then they pushed it further with a cheeky provision to backdate payments. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/australian-politics-101-take-the-money-and-run-20130604-2noci.html

Also you have this golden egg--

Australian MPs now among the highest paid in the world Federal backbenchers take home $195,130 - almost double that earned by British MP's and nearly three times the national average full-time wage.---This was the third pay rise for Federal MPs in the past 16 months, delivering a salary boost of $54,220 or more than $1000 a week since March last year.

[Kiwiken]

And once elected the New Zealand Dictator will phone to congratulate his Australian counterpart. whichever bucket of poo is elected. People will toast having their civic duty and then the sheep will go back to grazing as directed. Business as usual Keep the refo's out and control the Trans tasman Mexicans Ole Australia ole. Ariba riba

[Cats4ever]

Attending the polling place is compulsory to have your name crossed off; you do not have to vote. The votes are worth closer to $2.70 to the candidates who achieve at least 4% of votes. Pauline Hanson has done well out of it in the past.