Australian Federal Election 2010

[Brian-M]

I hope you've enrolled to vote with the new address.

Did that when I moved. Already voted in a local election. I guess I'll wait until after the 30th (when the nominations are declared) before deciding who to vote for in this one.

 

[lionking]

She certainly sounds like she was born in Australia.

Fountain Lakes to be precise.

 

[Alan]

That's great, Brian.

She certainly sounds like she was born in Australia.

She came to Australia when she was six years old, if I remember correctly.

 

[lionking]

That's great, Brian.

She came to Australia when she was six years old, if I remember correctly.

I'm certain a_u_p knows this. Julia does have the sort of stereotypical aussie accent that could strip wallpaper.

 

[arthwollipot]

I hope you've enrolled to vote with the new address.

Too late now if you didn't.

 

[Alan]

Exactly!

I wonder what effect, if any, the little time after the election date being called unenrolled people have to enroll has on the election result.

 

[Wildy]

Too late now if you didn't.

You have until Thursday to update your details according to the AEC.

 

[EvilSmurf]

This is an observation and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but immigration is an important issue this election - the total number and not their origin I should add.

Bollocks. If they were White Anglo-Saxon Protestants there wouldn't be an issue at all. Notice how people never talk about the absolutely ginormous amounts of visa over-stayers from the UK and other Commonwealth Nations who are in Australia at the moment? No, it's always the (13,000 or so...of whom ~80% are found to be genuine refugees) brown folk who come on boats who are the problem.

I'm certain a_u_p knows this. Julia does have the sort of stereotypical aussie accent that could strip wallpaper.

I believe the proper term is "Bogan".

 

[Damien Evans]

Fair enough. I thought Katter was retiring. He should, he's pretty much an oxygen thief, as was his old man.

In any case, it will be a cold day in hell before he ever votes with Labor over anything substantial.

He'll probably retire about a week before he dies.

 

[Damien Evans]

Bollocks. If they were White Anglo-Saxon Protestants there wouldn't be an issue at all. Notice how people never talk about the absolutely ginormous amounts of visa over-stayers from the UK and other Commonwealth Nations who are in Australia at the moment? No, it's always the (13,000 or so...of whom ~80% are found to be genuine refugees) brown folk who come on boats who are the problem.



I believe the proper term is "Bogan".

I believe the proper term is "The Honourable Bogan".

 

[EvilSmurf]

I believe the proper term is "The Honourable Bogan".

Having spent 24 years in Wagga Wagga, I never thought I'd hear the words "Honourable" and "Bogan" used together. Gillard proved me wrong I guess.

 

[Damien Evans]

Having spent 24 years in Wagga Wagga, I never thought I'd hear the words "Honourable" and "Bogan" used together. Gillard proved me wrong I guess.

Ah, Wagga. Best thing about it is the road out.

 

[Noztradamus]

That was one of the Liberal parties sneakier moves. Younger people tend to vote Labor, by making the registration time so short, it means those who aren't enrolled to vote yet won't be able to register and vote. .

Jules could have chosen the more usual 6-week campaign, which would have allowed an extra week for the slackers to register. If she wants a quick campaign so the truth about her (whatever it is) doesn't leak out, she has to accept the liabilities,

 

[EvilSmurf]

If she wants a quick campaign so the truth about her (whatever it is) doesn't leak out, she has to accept the liabilities,

Yes, I'm sure that someone who has held a Federal seat for 12 years, was a shadow minister for 6 and a Government Front Bencher for 3 has all sorts of scary skeletons lurking in her closet.

Actually, the rolleyes wasn't enough, I think this needs a:

 

[a_unique_person]

Jules could have chosen the more usual 6-week campaign, which would have allowed an extra week for the slackers to register. If she wants a quick campaign so the truth about her (whatever it is) doesn't leak out, she has to accept the liabilities,

The length of the campaign makes no difference.

 

[lionking]

Bollocks. If they were White Anglo-Saxon Protestants there wouldn't be an issue at all. Notice how people never talk about the absolutely ginormous amounts of visa over-stayers from the UK and other Commonwealth Nations who are in Australia at the moment? No, it's always the (13,000 or so...of whom ~80% are found to be genuine refugees) brown folk who come on boats who are the problem.

Of course I know about the visa over-stayers, and I doubt you will find any sympathy for them when they get deported. I'd argue that WASP boat people would be treated the same way, in fact less chartiably. Any claim that they had their passports confiscated would be laughed at and they would be on the next plane back. But I suppose we'll never know.

And as for the number of boat people arriving, although it is a fairly small proportion of the total immigration intake, it makes up a large part of our refugee quota, and there are people (like me) who have greater sympathy for those processed refugees waiting in camps for their turn to come here.

As to the number granted refugee status, the large majority have no papers and, as it can't be proven they are not genuine refugees, they are given the benefit of the doubt. Do you not find it curious that most of the boat people arrive in Indonesia by plane with papers, yet don't have them when they arrive on Christmas Island?

This will remain a big election issue.

 

[bit_pattern]

I believe the proper term is "The Honourable Bogan".

That's The Right Hon. Bogan, thank you very much.

 

[bit_pattern]

As to the number granted refugee status, the large majority have no papers and, as it can't be proven they are not genuine refugees, they are given the benefit of the doubt. Do you not find it curious that most of the boat people arrive in Indonesia by plane with papers, yet don't have them when they arrive on Christmas Island?

That, quite frankly, is a load of absolute codswallop.

Far more asylum seekers arrive by plane than by boat, and by far boat arrivals are more likely to be found to be genuine refugees, and that's not because of some absurd notion that somehow Immigration goes soft on boat arrivals, tell that to the genuine refugees banged up on Christmas Island and who still haven't been released to the community because ASIO hasn't got around to giving them security clearances.

This will remain a big election issue.

It will be as long as falsehoods like the one above persist, and people in the media and in parliament continue to exploit the issue by using it as a dog-whistle to appeal to the baser elements in Australian society.

 

[little grey rabbit]

Tony Abbot doing an Obama-like genuflecting at the Australian-Israel Chamber of Commerce yesterday (it reminded me of Obama and Hilary clinton each competing to outbid the other before AIPAC during the primaries in the USA). According to Tony we shouldn't have protested about the Gaza naval blockade killings nor should be have objected to Mossad using Australian passports to do their assassinations. As someone who got detained for 16 hours in Syria over suspicion about the genuineness of a passport, I can assure you such issues are not merely academic.

At least with the USA the America/Israel relationship is real. In Australia I can't think of a country which is more irrelevant for our trade or our security or our foreign policy. We probably have a large trade with Iran. Yet somehow Australia-Israel lobbyists have their feelers stretching into the higher reaches of both parties.

 

[little grey rabbit]

That, quite frankly, is a load of absolute codswallop.

Far more asylum seekers arrive by plane than by boat, and by far boat arrivals are more likely to be found to be genuine refugees, and that's not because of some absurd notion that somehow Immigration goes soft on boat arrivals, tell that to the genuine refugees banged up on Christmas Island and who still haven't been released to the community because ASIO hasn't got around to giving them security clearances.



It will be as long as falsehoods like the one above persist, and people in the media and in parliament continue to exploit the issue by using it as a dog-whistle to appeal to the baser elements in Australian society.

Ironically, the Coalition is promising to accept more refugees than the Labor party - just not any coming by boat.

I am sure Australia will have no difficulty in filling its quota of 14000 refugees (or 15000 under the Coalition), the only question is whether this quota is filled by the priorities of UNHCR and Australian officials. Or by self-selection of people with enough money to pay people smugglers.