ABC Queensland Votes web site

[ozbob]

http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2012/

ABC Queensland Votes web site

[Stillwater]

Elections are to politicians what Kryptonite is to Superman.  During the period of the campaign, they are vulnerable to public scrutiny.  It is the obligation of voters to dig their neighbourhood for Kryptonite issues that call potential MPs to account, otherwise they enter the lead-lined walls of parliaments and stay there for another three years, immune from criticism.

A little birdie has said that the ALP intends to, in a public issues sense, place a halo around each ALP member and push the line that 'yes, the ALP is on the nose, but your man/woman in your electorate is not one of the nasty ones, so vote for them.'  If people believe that strategy, then the ALP gets up.

We face an extraordinary 60-day election campaign.  That means one major media event announcement every day, from both sides.  The ALP has the advantage here.  It can control the agenda because it has the greater resources of government behind it.  Public servants continue to serve the government of the day up until the declaration of the writs dissolving the parliament.  That will occur on 19 February.
Imagine this.  On any day between now and then, any policy the LNP releases will be tossed to the public service for analysis of flaws.  A cycle will develop – LNP announces a initiative, the ALP uses the public service to pick it to bits, the idea is put down and the LNP is shown to be ill-prepared for government.  At the same time, the ALP can use the public service to fine-tune its policies and announce them.  LNP announces policy/initiative, ALP mows it down and controls the agenda by then putting out its own story of the day.

Sixty announcements for the LNP is a huge ask.  The pressure will be on (including from within this forum) for policies to be revealed.  The LNP's best bet would be to hold back, go with the 'trust us' and 'we will get Queensland back on track' slogans up until caretaker period, and then rush them out.

Meanwhile, the media will be swamped and won't be able to analyse detailed policy.  Each policy will be released in the afternoon for the evening TV news bulletins and some wrap up the following morning in the newspapers, talk-back radio; only to have another shiny policy bauble appear in the afternoon.

In the case of transport initiatives, it will be up to this forum to put the microscope over both parties' announcements (or lack of announcements) and post and pass findings to journalists.
Insofar as the election is concerned, it will be won within SEQ, where the ALP has a stranglehold.  The Kryptonite factor is that city-centric issues will sway the result.  Consequently, transport, congestion and 'liveability' will be matters of substance.

Now to the ABC website.  The most vulnerable ALP seats in SEQ are Chatsworth and Everton, both seats the LNP will need to win.  Fortunately for people reading this, there are major transport issues, or lumps of Kryptonite that can be held against political candidates, among them bus services to and from Carindale and, in Everton, the Trouts Road Corridor.  Make an issue of these things locally.

In the wider scheme of things, governments are not supposed to make major appointments at election time.  During caretaker mode, the government is bound to consult the possible incoming government on major issues.  So where does the appointment of a new Translink CEO sit?

Does the LNP intend to keep Translink in its current form, or could it be replaced by a transport coordination group in the Department of Transport and Main Roads?  Will the department be split into Transport and a separate Main Roads component as has happened in times past?

Lots of questions need to be asked of politicians while holding a slab of Kryptonite in your hand.

[#Metro]

No-one cares about policies (except a few).

They just want their rego freezed (that's been promised- LNP!)

and to "sort out" (what the hell does that mean?) the price of electricity and utilities. (How?!)

Its the usual - vote for me and I'll give you a lollipop!

No point in getting angry, or whatever. Let them get in, whoever that is, and we'll work from there.

[Golliwog]

No-one cares about policies (except a few).

They just want their rego freezed (that's been promised- LNP!)

and to "sort out" (what the hell does that mean?) the price of electricity and utilities. (How?!)

Its the usual - vote for me and I'll give you a lollipop!

No point in getting angry, or whatever. Let them get in, whoever that is, and we'll work from there.

Dislike. With intensity.

How can we expect to have a decent set of politicians if we let them do what they want?

[#Metro]

I was only describing not prescribing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_voter_theorem

[Mr X]

My vote doesn't matter anyway. South Brisbane needs a very significant swing to be lost.

[mufreight]

My vote doesn't matter anyway. South Brisbane needs a very significant swing to be lost.

Sorry to disagree but every vote counts even if only to convey a message.
Vote for an independent as your first preference then work your way down the preferences leaving the candidate or sitting member if that is the person you dislike most last.
Enough people do that it is even possible that an independt candidate might get up.  Either way it reduces the first preference margin of the major party candidates and gives them cause for concern as to the voters perception of their credibility to represent the voters in the electorate.

[aldonius]

Or you could make a deliberate attempt to vote in reverse primary order. 
(I.E. lowest number of primary votes is your 1st preference down to highest number of primary votes is your last preference.)

[HappyTrainGuy]

My vote doesn't matter anyway. South Brisbane needs a very significant swing to be lost.