Article: Katter to merge with the Queensland Party

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Katter to merge with the Queensland Party

[O_128]

Im a bit worried, there is a reason that SEQ gets most of the states funding and it is quite possibly because over half the state lives here. IF this party gets in say goodbye to any sort of CRR and rail upgrades and say hello the bruce highway upgrades.

[Stillwater]

Worst still. if the Mad Hatter Katter Party picks up significant blocs of votes in key electorates, it may have the effect of splitting the conservative vote (ie diminish the LNP vote).  Assuming Labor will go at the next state election, the Katter-ists would be sitting on a bloc of seats that Cando Newman might need to form government (in the event of a close election).  What price would Katter extract for his loyalty to the Coalition government in such circumstances?.  It will be like the Libs-Nats all over again.  Or, even worse, the old DLP/ALP days of Vince Gair.  Put a 10-gallon hat on old Vince Gair and you have Bob Katter.

[Mr X]

 :is-And this is why I tell people I don't like the LNP and conservative QLD politics. The "horrible people" in Brisbane steal all "their" funding 

Same mutton, different head.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Katter could be LNP spoiler

[jouzocha]

I just hope either the ALP or LNP can form Government without needing to form a Coalition with the Mad Katter.  As the posters above me have stated, this would spell disaster for infrastructure projects in South-east Queensland in favour of the regional areas (many of which are largely empty and really don't need quad-tracked railway lines or under-river tunnels).

[O_128]

totally agree, and when you work it out people in regional areas get more money spent per person than us SEQ people, in 30 years we will be the size of sydney which is a little scary, At least i know that the ALP will build it even if it takes twice as long as planned and over budget, the LNP have newman who will build it and get it done, Katter lives in his fantasy world and hates brisbane for no reason, he needs to wake up and realise that over half the state live in SEQ and need infrastructure more than whatever he has planned, probably a metro for cairns or something. 

[Mr X]

I think people tend to under appreciate what the ALP has actually done and what their vision is. Sure there is a lot of sh%t stuff they do and I am not denying that, but when you look at where we were in 2005 I think as a whole things are better.

[O_128]

I think people tend to under appreciate what the ALP has actually done and what their vision is. Sure there is a lot of sh%t stuff they do and I am not denying that, but when you look at where we were in 2005 I think as a whole things are better.

Ill admit the ALP are getting stuff done but they have been in power nearly 20 years, the just in time mentality is the biggest issue not to mention we got no real infrastructure until 2007, the inability to sack incompetent workers and a complete disdain for there electorates in favour of protecting there jobs.

[Mr X]

Hmm true, though not sure what we'd get from the LNP but some over-hyped Bruce Highway upgrades.

[Stillwater]

Right now, I am thinking about voting informal.  My vote is too valuable to give to any of the political parties atm. 

[Golliwog]

Right now, I am thinking about voting informal.  My vote is too valuable to give to any of the political parties atm. 

Then vote for an independant, if you have one in your electorate. I'll agree that neither of the parties are a good choice right now, but if you vote informal they can get in anyway.

[Stillwater]

In the referendum for a new dam to be built on the West Coast of Tasmania, people were given a choice for one of two dams -- a dam on the Gordon River above the junction with the Olga River (Gordon above Olga) or a dam on the Gordon River below its junction with the Franklin River (Gordon below Franklin).  There was no 'no dams' option, which people objected to.  On voting day, more than one-third of people wrote 'no dams' on the ballot paper, rendering an informal vote.  The size of the informal vote was so great that the government had no choice but to abandon the hydro-dam proposal.  Neither of the two dams was built.  The movement to save the Franklin River as the last 'free river' on Tasmania's West Coast became the Greens movement (Australian Wilderness Society), then the Greens Party.  Make the bastards work for your vote, don't squander it in some sort of competition to elect the least harmful of the two major political forces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Dam

[mufreight]

Right now, I am thinking about voting informal.  My vote is too valuable to give to any of the political parties atm. 

There is no doubt that the individual vote is valuable but not exercising that vote or voting informal is effectively supporting one of the major parties, neither of which may be worthy of support.
By voting preferably for an independent candidate with preferences then going in order to the candidates that ine finds to be the least objectional ones vote while perhaps not achieving the optimum result delivers a message, with sufficent voters delivering such a message it can not be ignored by the successful candidate