Why Do I Bother?

Bugger!

The polls are not looking good for Labor. The marginals are holding for the government. The Greens’ vote seems to have increased at the expense of the opposition. On the face of it, the parties are close on a two party preferred basis, but the government has the edge.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother.

My lower house vote usually doesn't mean much as I live in the Prime Minister’s electorate. Although his seat has steadily moved west into hostile territory due to redistributions over the past 20 years or so, he normally has a five to ten percent buffer that allows him to concentrate on other things. Thanks to John Valder's 'Not Happy, John' campaign, this margin is likely to be eroded, but not to the extent that will lose him his seat.

In the spirit of cooperation with the NHJ movement, I will be numbering our furry friend last on the ballot paper, after Fred Nile’s Christian Democrat Party. (Normally I put One Nation and the God Botherers last.)

At least my vote counts in the Senate. Be sure that I'm planning to annoy the electoral officials by numbering every square.

I can only hope we are going to have some surprises this election. Are all the usually solid Liberal seats going to hold? Commentators have noted the 'Doctors’ Wives' phenomenon where the better informed and well off voters will register a protest on the back of issues largely ignored by the rest of the population. Could there be some new marginals created this election?

One lives in hope!

Liberals defecting in safe seats may mean that the margin to win government this time will be more like 50/50, instead of the 49/51 that the coallition has enjoyed previously. It won't make any difference to the result, but will make the process seem slightly fairer.