Politics & Government The Politics Thread

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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So federal election day has finally come upon us and the media seem to be tipping a close LNP win.

The LNP currently has a clean sweep over the Gold Coast seats.
 

Metricon

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Mr T. is in for the Collingwood game ... G20 one week, Metricon the next.
 
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what's everyone's thoughts on the Yes/No vote?

how sad that there is a poll about equal human rights.
waste of money, considering the whole thing is non-binding. if the yes vote wins, government can still vote against it i believe (probably won't happen, but imagine the scenes if it did haha). the plebiscite was an election promise from turnbull wasn't it?

i guess if they could wait a year or two until the next federal election they could have just added a yes/no vote onto the voting paper then, may have saved money? there's lots of ways the could have gone about it. not a huge fan of how both sides have turned on anyone with a different opinion to themselves either.
 

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waste of money, considering the whole thing is non-binding. if the yes vote wins, government can still vote against it i believe (probably won't happen, but imagine the scenes if it did haha). the plebiscite was an election promise from turnbull wasn't it?

i guess if they could wait a year or two until the next federal election they could have just added a yes/no vote onto the voting paper then, may have saved money? there's lots of ways the could have gone about it. not a huge fan of how both sides have turned on anyone with a different opinion to themselves either.
yeah fair shout. I guess it's a human rights issue though aye?

a bloke at work is real hot on that point - that it's just a way to get the youth onto the electoral rolls so they vote/they can fine then for not voting. surely there's an element of that in it.
 
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yeah fair shout. I guess it's a human rights issue though aye?

a bloke at work is real hot on that point - that it's just a way to get the youth onto the electoral rolls so they vote/they can fine then for not voting. surely there's an element of that in it.
yep, agreed. personally think it shouldn't even be a discussion.

funny you mention that, I did think of that a while back when they mentioned something like 80000 people had registered in the first week or whatever it was. I'd guess first and foremost they considered the vote the priority, and getting more people on the electoral role just a bonus haha.
 

Dammit

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yep, agreed. personally think it shouldn't even be a discussion.

funny you mention that, I did think of that a while back when they mentioned something like 80000 people had registered in the first week or whatever it was. I'd guess first and foremost they considered the vote the priority, and getting more people on the electoral role just a bonus haha.
you're right though it's still a monumental waste of money.

I could be way off on this (and I've been told I am haha) but I can see Turnbull pushing the Libs further left and using this (SSM support) to hang his hat on.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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you're right though it's still a monumental waste of money.

I could be way off on this (and I've been told I am haha) but I can see Turnbull pushing the Libs further left and using this (SSM support) to hang his hat on.
Back benchers won't stand for it in the long term. He'll get knifed if he continues to compromise fundamental conservative beliefs.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Anyone have an opinion on how the Queensland election is going? At this stage, most media outlets are saying Labor will form a majority government.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Looks like the Currumbin by-election situation is turning into a joke. The long serving MP Jann Stuckey said she was resigning due to bullying and the leader of the QLD LNP claimed that the bullying she was referring to came from the Labor party but Stuckey later confirmed the bullying came from within the LNP. Now the new LNP candidate that is replacing the long serving Stuckey has been parachuted in and supposedly wasn't required to go through the proper selection process, despite the party denying this. I think they also said the new LNP candidate has only lived in her electorate for less than a year so that's questionable, too. Lots of LNP senior members now hold the opinion that they deserve to lose the seat of Currumbin. It's a bizarre situation that will probably result in a long time right wing seat swinging to Labor.

What is the most important state issue for the seat of Currumbin right now? I would say upgrading the M1 from Palm Beach through Elanora, Currumbin, Tugun and all the way to the NSW border. The QLD Labor party currently seems committed to making that a reality so losing the seat to the party in power probably isn't the worst thing for Currumbin right now. Mr Bods as a former resident of the Currumbin seat, do you have an opinion on this?
 

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Looks like the Currumbin by-election situation is turning into a joke. The long serving MP Jann Stuckey said she was resigning due to bullying and the leader of the QLD LNP claimed that the bullying she was referring to came from the Labor party but Stuckey later confirmed the bullying came from within the LNP. Now the new LNP candidate that is replacing the long serving Stuckey has been parachuted in and supposedly wasn't required to go through the proper selection process, despite the party denying this. I think they also said the new LNP candidate has only lived in her electorate for less than a year so that's questionable, too. Lots of LNP senior members now hold the opinion that they deserve to lose the seat of Currumbin. It's a bizarre situation that will probably result in a long time right wing seat swinging to Labor.

What is the most important state issue for the seat of Currumbin right now? I would say upgrading the M1 from Palm Beach through Elanora, Currumbin, Tugun and all the way to the NSW border. The QLD Labor party currently seems committed to making that a reality so losing the seat to the party in power probably isn't the worst thing for Currumbin right now. Mr Bods as a former resident of the Currumbin seat, do you have an opinion on this?

The main reason I moved from Currumbin to Broadbeach was so my wife wasn’t losing about two hours of her life (often longer) every day on the M1 going to and from work, so she came home feeling better and not frustrated and so we had more time together. I often emailed Stuckey and Andrews over this issue.
100% it is the biggest issue in the State Seat of Currumbin.
I think with a Stuckey backlash and with the way the LNP take Currumbin for granted that a Labor win is possible.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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The main reason I moved from Currumbin to Broadbeach was so my wife wasn’t losing about two hours of her life (often longer) every day on the M1 going to and from work, so she came home feeling better and not frustrated and so we had more time together. I often emailed Stuckey and Andrews over this issue.
100% it is the biggest issue in the State Seat of Currumbin.
I think with a Stuckey backlash and with the way the LNP take Currumbin for granted that a Labor win is possible.
It's a huge problem for virtually anyone who lives south of Mudgeeraba right now. Although the Mudgeeraba-Burleigh stretch is about to be completed and is going to make it a whole lot worse for those in Palm Beach and further south. Just get it done already so we can push that traffic into NSW.

It's interesting that Labor look like they are going to increase their presence on the Gold Coast. They seem to have performed very poorly on the Gold Coast (historically) outside of the Beattie era. Not entirely sure why but it would seem the Gold Coast is politically conservative, which is interesting for a city known for its tourism industry and party scene.
 

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m1 is a problem from Brisbane down to tweed 3 weeks in a row this year we had an accident that closed the motorway completely. I'm fortunate enough to only have to use it maybe once a week but if that road gets closed gold coast literally stops. it's a far bigger issue then a local council.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Anyone here live in the Currumbin electorate? Feeling for you today since you are getting hit with a double whammy of local election and state by-election.
 
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Anyone here live in the Currumbin electorate? Feeling for you today since you are getting hit with a double whammy of local election and state by-election.
Not a Currumbin resident but I actually wouldn't mind this, Get both out of the way at once.

I prepolled about this time last week, Kind of dumb to keep it going considering the demographic of 90% of the AEC volunteers (aka they old) make them liable to keeling over from The Rona.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Not a Currumbin resident but I actually wouldn't mind this, Get both out of the way at once.

I prepolled about this time last week, Kind of dumb to keep it going considering the demographic of 90% of the AEC volunteers (aka they old) make them liable to keeling over from The Rona.
I believe residents of Currumbin will have to vote again later this year when the state election is held.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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So what was the point of having a by-election?
Former Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey abruptly quit politics in January (apparently due to bullying within the LNP) and there was too long of a period between then and the state election later this year for the residents of Currumbin to not have a representative in Parliament. The media had speculated that the LNP would suffer at the polls due to the way it all played out but were able to retain the seat of Currumbin. In the end, there was only a minor swing away from the LNP (2.4%).

By-elections are standard practice when an MP stands down well before his/her respective election.
 

Johnny Bananas

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I was disappointed to see Tom Tate get re-elected, because of his attempts to destroy Black Swan Lake in Bundall to put a parking lot in its place. I'm glad his plan was eventually foiled, but it proved to me that he will always choose corporate interests over the environment. I know that Bods and a number of others here will probably not agree with my view, however.
 

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Not entirely sure why but it would seem the Gold Coast is politically conservative, which is interesting for a city known for its tourism industry and party scene.
It is curious. I put it down to a number of factors. Firstly, the Gold Coast was always a conservative area, stretching back to at least the early 1900s. Secondly, a lot of the present prosperity is accredited to Bjelke-Petersen and his low regulations, and corruption doesn't seem to have affected people's views of him or other business-friendly politicians. Thirdly, the Gold Coast has plenty of retirees and people with a high school education only, both groups that tend to be more conservative.

The media had speculated that the LNP would suffer at the polls due to the way it all played out but were able to retain the seat of Currumbin. In the end, there was only a minor swing away from the LNP (2.4%).
I read somewhere that Palaszczuk shutting the border due to coronavirus may have been what curtailed the swing to Labor. I'd imagine many people weren't happy about that move.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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I was disappointed to see Tom Tate get re-elected, because of his attempts to destroy Black Swan Lake in Bundall to put a parking lot in its place. I'm glad his plan was eventually foiled, but it proved to me that he will always choose corporate interests over the environment. I know that Bods and a number of others here will probably not agree with my view, however.
I don't think any of the other mayoral candidates did a particularly great job of promoting themselves in the lead up to this election. Multiple people I spoke to said that they voted for Tate purely because it was the one name they recognised on the ballot paper. The fact that they all ran as independents also shows the difference between local elections on the Gold Coast and Brisbane where the Lord Mayor ran as an LNP candidate. Having said that, Tom Tate is a life member of the LNP so running as an 'independent' seems more of a tactical decision to gain mass support.

It is curious. I put it down to a number of factors. Firstly, the Gold Coast was always a conservative area, stretching back to at least the early 1900s. Secondly, a lot of the present prosperity is accredited to Bjelke-Petersen and his low regulations, and corruption doesn't seem to have affected people's views of him or other business-friendly politicians. Thirdly, the Gold Coast has plenty of retirees and people with a high school education only, both groups that tend to be more conservative.
Interesting theories. I suppose you really can't underestimate the conservative mentality that the Bjelke-Peterson government instilled in its residents at the time. It seems to have had longstanding outcomes.

I read somewhere that Palaszczuk shutting the border due to coronavirus may have been what curtailed the swing to Labor. I'd imagine many people weren't happy about that move.
Stands to reason. I suppose the Labor party will have another shot at securing Currumbin later this year so that could be intriguing to follow. Something I find really interesting about the Currumbin seat is that over 10% of the people voted for the Greens but that didn't translate into second preference votes for the Labor party. It seems logical that the majority of Greens supporters would vote for the Labor party before they vote LNP but the recent election results indicate it was actually the opposite situation that played out. The majority of those who voted Greens at this recent election put the LNP candidate down as their second preference.
 
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