Democracy sausages, cakes, books, & plants - the funny big sausage that's Australian democracy!

It's federal election day today. It's finally arrived. Some of us take our politics seriously, while others couldn't give a stuff, and regard voting as an unwelcome chore.

There's something for everyone at the polling booth though. The 'democracy sausage' is a big deal these days. It's often run by the relevant school's parents' fundraising group, as here at Normanhurst West Public School today.

As well as the sausage sizzle, there's a fabulous looking democracy cake stall, a democracy book stall, and a democracy plant stall.

Outside it's a very friendly atmosphere, with convivial helpers from the incumbent Liberals, the opposition Labor Party, the Greens, the Sustainable Australia, and the Australian Conservative Parties. On the Senate ballot paper there are over 30 parties listed, and 106 individual candidates. You don't have to vote for them all, but the more preferences you mark, the more likely is your vote to count fully. For the House of Representatives it's a little simpler, though you have to mark every square. Nobody understands the rules fully, even many of the party workers, I've noticed.

Somehow Australian democracy will deliver a verdict, though it could take a few days (or weeks) to assess it. Hopefully it will be a sensible verdict, involving our liberation from the current regime. Hopefully we'll have lots of Greens in the Senate supporting and guiding a new Labor Government, and keeping it on track.

The very confident Labor worker below was giving me her (hopefully not premature) victory salute.



























Next day's postscript:
I'm afraid it was indeed premature. The election went disastrously for Labor, and for all of us really. Even the exit polls were wrong, maybe implying that a disproportionate number of the victorious Coalition's voters were embarrassed to admit how they'd just voted?

Coal vs renewables? A Valentine's verdict!

In Federal Parliament, our wise and far-sighted Government ministers, totally uncorrupted by any donations they've received from fossil fuel industries, joyfully pass around a lump of coal. They've rebranded it as 'clean coal', and they tell us it's wonderful, harmless stuff. Of course we've got to burn the stuff to provide our electricity! Forget this pesky Paris agreement thing we signed up to!










I understand it got as far as the heavily pregnant Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, who refused to handle it!

Meanwhile, the local Greens were out on the streets, gauging  public opinion about fossil fuels, and about the need to drastically increase the renewable energy target. They spent a couple of hours at two northern Sydney train stations on Valentine's Day, organising a Valentine's Day card for local MPs from their constituents. 'We love Renewables' was the message.

And so many people wanted to sign! I've never seen a political action as popular as this.







The cards were subsequently delivered to the relevant State and Federal members. I think they're actually well aware they're on the losing side of history. But maybe not quite aware of  just how far behind public opinion they are. As Greens candidate Emma Heyde put it, if MPs are not thinking of our (clean) energy future, then they should start thinking about their own futures.



 

(Parliament pictures stolen from The Australian and Australian Financial Revue.)

Biodiversity bunfight

I attended a colourful and impassioned gathering in Martin Place yesterday, within earshot of NSW's Parliament House. It was organised by the Nature Conservation Council, and it was to protest the Government's proposed 'Biodiversity' legislation.

In fact, far from protecting biodiversity or endangered species, it's really all about allowing open slather land clearing in rural areas, and open slather tree removal in urban areas too. Huge areas of now-protected habitat would be removed, and several more native species could become extinct. So-called 'offsets' would be made, whereby allegedly similar areas would be found and 'improved' in return for destroying the land you want to develop. That would preserve overall environmental value. Yeah, sure.

Speakers included the state Labor leader, Luke Foley. The Labor Party is always an environmentally wonderful party while it's in opposition.










I thought I saw Premier Mike Baird there for a moment, but no, it was a fake. The real one wisely kept well away.






The Greens' Mehreen Faruqi did a good job, as ever.









The Animal Justice Party's Mark Pearson gave an excellent and constructive speech about possible legal challenges to the legislation, along the lines of excessive and unnecessary animal cruelty due to vegetation clearing.








Among the colourful props on hand were several life-size koalas. But I was rather taken too by some (endangered) red-tailed black cockatoos, fashioned out of old umbrellas.

Hornsby's election anarchy!

The election's only a week away, and everyone is a bit bored after a very long campaign.

I'd been noticing how few election posters were on show around the streets. Apparently the electricity companies are taking them down quickly from their poles, and charging the parties for the work.

At the pre-polling booth at Hornsby TAFE it's the usual carnival of colour and relatively civilised democracy out the front. But look at some of the other posters I stumbled on around the streets the other day! Not nearly so restrained or civilised! One had an A for Anarchist symbol. None of the required authorisations unsurprisingly. The good old anarchists don't field candidates of course, but seem to do a good line in eye-catching posters. And they don't seem to be very fond of the three main party leaders!

"No ifs. No buts. No Medicare cuts......"

I really enjoy a good protest rally. Not only do I usually find I support the cause and happily add my presence to boost the numbers, but the colour and carnival atmosphere make it a good day out anyway! In fact, today's was so colourful that I'm going to relax my editing standards, and post far more pictures than usual. (I'm never that good at editing things out anyway.)

There were politicians from the Greens and the Labour Party. ("You might have heard of him, the leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten", was the introduction.) There were groups from several socialist left organisations, unions, including especially the Health Services Union I think. There were odd and not so odd individuals. There was even a researcher from Sydney University, handing out surveys to assist his research into democracy and protests! ("I love niche academic research", I told him.)
 
When I filled out my survey, I answered the question about how well democracy was working in Australia, with a 2 out of 10. My initial reaction was to go with a zero, but on reflection, we do get to have our protest rallies at least, and more important, we wouldn't go to them if we thought they achieved nothing at all.

There was an attempt by a very vocal group of asylum seeker supporters to hijack the event, by chanting "Let them stay, let them stay" very loudly at crucial moments, like when Opposition Leader Bill took to the stage. He was actually in a spirited and feisty mood, and refused to go off message. Handled it all rather well. One lady near me got very stroppy with one of the hijackers, and I thought they were about to deck each other.



Eventually the colourful assembly disassembled, and marched down to Belmore Park.