Australian Federal Election 2007

Discussion in 'Politics' started by James R, Oct 10, 2007.

  1. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

    Messages:
    39,397
    news.com.au has put

    Vote-a-matic

    online for the upcoming Australian Federal Election.

    It's like all those American sites where you answer questions about your political views and it tells you which party you're most closely aligned with. In this case, it tells you which of the Australian parties you ought to vote for, based on your answers (Liberals, Labor, Democrat, Greens or Family First).

    If you're Australian, or non-Australian and interested, check it out.

    ----

    Further discussion of the Australian election for those who are interested below.
     
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  3. vslayer Registered Senior Member

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    well it certainly doesn't work. it picked me as voting for howard.
     
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  5. superstring01 Moderator

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    I don't know who I would vote for, but I DO know that I'd throw that Aussie a bone! (not the PM, that bloke who is narrating the Vote-A-Matic page).

    ~String
     
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  7. Bells Staff Member

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    Labor and Democrats as runner up.

    At least it wasn't Family First.

    *Shudders*..
     
  8. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    Lib/Nat Coalition. I'm a liberal!

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    Does liberal mean something else in Australia, James? My opinions definitely favored one party over the others. The little bar graph on party "E" was off the scale before I even finished the quiz.

    PS Which party did it select for you, James? Did it select the right one?
     
  9. superstring01 Moderator

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    12,110
    Whoever wins, I just wish you Aussies would start popping out some babies. 18 million just aren't enough to fill that continent. Aim for 50 million.

    ~String
     
  10. Bells Staff Member

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    The Liberal/National Coalition are the conservatives in Australia. Think John Howard (PM and leader of the Liberal Party).
     
  11. mountainhare Banned Banned

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    I got the Labor Party.
     
  12. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    43,184
    Lib/Nat Coalition, Labor Party as runner up. I'm confused as to what that means in Australia though..
     
  13. mountainhare Banned Banned

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    3,287
    Liberal = Moderate right wingers. Think Republican lite.

    Labour = Mild left wingers.
     
  14. Count Sudoku Banned Banned

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    1,229
    Considering they have water shortages, probably not a good idea. Anyway, James R. would rather import non-white muslims that already boast in public about taking over the country and gang raping white women.
     
  15. vslayer Registered Senior Member

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    the only reason they have water shortages is because they decided to build cities on the coast where all the rain is and leave their farmers trying to make food out of a dustbowl. although i must admit the same thing will be happening here in 20 years with the way all of these shortsighted capitalists are acting.
     
  16. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    43,184
    Hmm so I'm center-right according to this test..
     
  17. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    Did you ever see the show Flight of the Concords? It's about a band from New Zealand. Pretty funny show.
     
  18. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    The Liberal Party in Australia is a conglomoration of right-wing conservatives and more centrist but right-leaning people. They are "liberal" mostly in the economic sense. A fraction are socially liberal, but most are socially conservative. John Howard (the current Prime Minister) is leader of the Liberal Party.

    The National Party has traditionally consisted of farmers and other people who live in rural areas of Australia. They share a lot of the Liberal Party's views, though with a particular focus on rural issues.

    The Liberal and National parties have formed coalition governments for many years when they have been in power. There are generally more Liberals than Nationals, but the Nationals still wield a certain amount of influence since their votes are usually needed to pass legislation.

    The Labor party is similar to the Liberal Party on economic issues, although they generally see a larger role for government. They were traditionally the workers' and unions' party, although that influence has perhaps diminished somewhat in recent times. They tend to take a softer stance on "social" issues, being more likely to be socially liberal.

    Neither the Lib/Nat coalition nor the Labor party are direct analogues for the US Republicans and Democrats, but they roughly share some of those features. They are the major parties in Australia, and one or other normally forms the executive government. The Liberals are not as conservative as the Republicans, and Labor is not as "liberal" as the Democrats. Both are more closer to the centre, and hence close to each other on many issues.

    For the coming election, there are, however, quite stark differences in policy on matters such as industrial relations, Australia's participation in the Iraq war and on some environmental matters, along with a few other areas.

    The other parties in the poll are:

    The Australian Democrats: This is a minor party which normally only wins seats in the Senate. It was formed to "keep the bastards honest", providing a third voice in the Senate which in some ways is above the party politics of Liberal and Labor. The Democrats tend to be socially progressive rather than conservative, but since they seldom gain seats in the lower house they cannot determine policy. Sometimes (though not at present) they hold the balance of power in the Senate, and so can effectively veto the government's legislation. Right now, the coalition controls both houses of Parliament.

    The Greens: Another minor party, whose main platform is environmental. They are socially progressive, probably moreso even than the Democrats.

    Family First: This is a socially conservative party with few well-formed policies. It is new party, only about 5 years old. Currently it has only one member of parliament (in the Senate), and that only because of a preference deal struck between the major parties at the last election. Most members are evangelical Christians. It is probably fair to say that the religious right in Australia might be attracted to voting for FF.

    It said Labor for me, with the Greens and Democrats close behind. In the sense of it not saying the Lib/Nat coalition, it is correct, but my voting may well be more complex (and even different) than what it says.

    In the last election, for example, I did not vote for the same party as my first preference in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, because I do not believe that any single party should have total free reign to do whatever it likes in terms of passing laws. I like checks and balances.
     
  19. Mr. G reality.sys Valued Senior Member

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    Our Aussie friends are renowned lethal warriors.

    I'm surprised to learn that alarming numbers of non-warrior Aussies are under-achieving reproducers.

    Well, surprise isn't really the actionable word.
     
  20. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    We still have some room left, but there are problems. Climate change is threatening to cause water shortages across the nation. Much of the Australian land mass is already desert, which is why all our major cities are crowded around the coast.

    Although Australia has about the same land area as the United States, it will never support a population equivalent to the US.
     
  21. vslayer Registered Senior Member

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    4,969
    why waste energy breeding their own when there are plenty of people in overcrowded countries that would love to get in should the government stand down and allow free immigration.
     
  22. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Update: The election has now officially been called (finally). It will be on 24 November.
     
  23. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    HAHAHAHAH, i only just found this thread and i should say well done Kevin, i just hope he changes some of his election policies back towards the left now that he has one

    i am really disapointed that the democrates lost although at least the greens hold the balance of power rather than FF

    on that thing i found it to be quite acurate, it told me to vote democrate, green labor which is how i was intending to vote anyway
     

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