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?

Voting Tony out - a visit to Ground Zero

Your correspondent loves his election campaigns. The colour, the passion, the drama. The endings aren't always happy ones though. And in just seven days time we should know how this one ends up.

What better place to visit then than the pre-poll booth at Brookvale, in the Northern Beaches electorate of Warringah, where the sitting member is one Tony Abbott. He's a former PM, a climate denier extraordinaire and an experienced fighter and survivor.




Passions are running high around here. They're traditionally rusted-on Liberal voters, but they may well be ready for a progressive change. The leading contender for liberating them from the incumbent is independent Zali Steggall, Olympic ski champion and barrister. She has impeccable conservative credentials, but is running strongly on climate action and other progressive causes.













I met Zali's proud dad. He's a former local rugby league hero.

Early polls indicate she might just do it. Stay tuned.

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!