ex_exile

So the election is upon us and the country is split 52-48, well 39-42-13-6 technically but anyway...

What are the issues that will decide which party you vote for?

Are there any issues that will influence you to vote against a party?

What are your views on immigration *not* boat people

Who will win?

As a bonus question, is it possible to conduct a civil political conversation on BE

Sherlock Holmes

It has remained civil for 50 mins so far.......

Coalition to win I reckon as the Aussies aren't quite as stupid as Brits and won't vote for Labour twice in a row.

Hutch

Neither of the main parties for me as they're both in favour of the Internet filter - which I consider to be abhorrent and little more than censorship. I'll be voting for the greens.

Deancm_MKII

Abbott stated this week on the news that he wouldn't be supporting the internet filter.

Deancm_MKII

Wanna bet?

ABCDiamond

That does mean a vote for Labor though.

16/5/10
22/6/10

bcworld

Did he say whether we could consider that as a 'carefully prepared & scripted' response...or was it just something he said because it sounded good at the time?

Deancm_MKII

Well at least you know where you stand with Abbott unlike Gillard, the smiling assassin.

ABCDiamond

He said it because it is true. And if read properly, it related to all politicians not just him. It is just that he had the guts, or stupidity, to actually say it.
I feel that many of us do that, although I prefer the calm, considered, prepared, scripted response myself

PS: 'Sometimes' mean not all the time.

Coryate

Abbotts history is not that great either, just recently he said his Catholic religion doesn't get in the way of policy. This is a complete lie as his record has Health minister shows that would repeatedly sprout bollocks about the RU486 drug, and the ability of Doctors to perscribe it.

Abbotts got an imaginary friend, and you can never know what this imaginary friend will tell him to do next.

Every Government since 1999 has been trying to figure out how to filter the Internet. I used to run an ISP and this was even a hot topic back then.

ex_exile

I do worry about Abbotts imaginary friend but the internet filter is a red line issue for me as well [censorship, impracticality, dumb idea, the idea that child pron is rife on the publicly searchable internet is a nonsense] so I'm in a bind.

I do think that Gillard will win though for reasons that opinion polls wont detect; Howard won multiple elections through the seniors vote, Rudd got the Queensland parochial vote, Gillard will get the votes of the undecideds and middle aged and senior women as they identify with her on a level that has little to do with policy.

Swerv-o

I agree with you on the matter of censorship. For me it's fundamental - If the government have the ability to control [irrespective of how minor] what information we can and can't access, then I don't see how we can develop informed opinions about other policy areas in the future.

They have already earmarked sites relating to drug use, euthanasia, crimes, terrorism etc as ripe for filtering, so how can we have an informed debate on these issues if some/all of the information is going to be witheld from us? This article on government filtering in http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/07/wh...-a-good-thing/ serves to demonstrate that this will be the thin end of an ever widening wedge of censorship made in the name of the 'greater good'.

We will end up like mushrooms in the dark, only ever able to access what the government see fit to let us read. This threatens the very basis of our allegedly democratic society and should be receiving a lot more attention than it is doing.

As for voting intention, I am in a bind too. I have no love Gillard and the union mysterons in the background pulling her strings. However, Abbot, invisible friend in tow, is also not terribly palatable. Greens? May as well just vote Labor and be done with it.

I think that I would be more willing to back the Libs if they actually came out fighting against the net filter, instead of just quietly mentioning it in an interview. Joe Hockey has had the guts to do so, so why can't the rest? For fear of upsetting the baby boomers who don't understand it all I guess.


S

Centurion

The internet filter is a red card straight away for me. Would never consider any party who supports it.

Also the NBN I consider to be ill planned and will cost taxpayers dearly once the costs spiral out of control.

In fact, if Gillard beheaded Conroy and stuck his head outside parliament I might then consider the ALP but until then, with the Green preferences to Labor, it leaves the Liberals.

ABCDiamond

I actually like Abbott's point on this, he said he would be in favour of it, if it was workable. But it isn't.

I think that many people would be in favour if it, if it was workable in the way that it should be.

There are sites that should be blocked, stopped or something, but it just does not appear to be workable in a sensible fashion.

DeadVim

And it isn't all about blocking 'sites', it's the other methods of distribution that mean the whole filter idea as it is proposed is pointless.

The problem being is if you are seen to oppose it you'll be painted as someone who condones the distribution of this material.

Who am I voting for? Not Abbott's mob but I'm not convinced by anyone else either ... I shall leave my pendulum a-swinging ...