Issue No 119 | 16 November 2001 | |
Letters to the EditorPrevented from Voting
Dear Editor, I'm a 19 year old student from La Trobe University in Wodonga. This would have been the first time I voted in a federal election, only I was visiting my parents in the small town of Tottenham NSW. I am enrolled for the Indi electorate, and as that is interstate I could not vote at the local polling booth. It seems you have to vote at an AEC office if you are from interstate, and the nearest one of those is around 2 hrs away, and I cannot get there. I was under the impression that you could vote for any electorate at any polling booth anywhere in Australia, however it seems I was mistaken. Me and around a dozen other people from interstate, not to mention anyone I have mentioned this to. This is a small town of around 400 people, I can only imagine that this is going on in every other polling booth across the country which is not at an AEC office, and believe that this is not good enough. They should either make it possible to vote for any electorate from any polling booth anywhere in the country (as seems to be the popular belief), or they should launch a major advertising campaign all over the country - something I didn't see a whisper of even though I live in a border region. As things stand at the moment, the idea of every voice in Australia being heard is an absolute farce, and I am furious and hurt that my opinion doesn't matter, but am determined to make sure my voice is heard. Yours Sincerely, Linda Ayton
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Interview: Out of the Rubble Michael Costa argues that Saturday's election result could have been much, much worse. Unions: Sixty-Forty Are Good Odds! John Robertson argues that while there may be many problems with the ALP, union power is not one of them. Politics: Wrong Way, Go Back Labor's failure in the federal election is the result of more than bad luck. It is the result of a shift to populism that has left the Party bereft of core principles. Campaign Diary: Week Five: All Washed Up If you can stand it, relive the fatefull final week of a most remarkable election campaign. International: Trade Piracy Unmasked As the trade barons met in Qatar to chart out their agenda, George Monbiot looks at the machinations behind the scenes. Factions: The Party's Over Chris Christodoulou renews his call for a breakdown of the factional system to bring new life into the ALP History: The Fall-Out Neale Towart looks back to Labor's reaction to its loss in the 1954 'Petrov election' and finds warnings for today's post mortem. Media: Elite Defeat Rowan Cahill looks at the intellectual paucity in the PM's ongoing attacks on 'elite opinion'. Satire: Crean 'Listens To Australian People': Will Sink Refugee Boats Simon Crean, the most likely candidate to replace Kim Beazley as Labor's leader, says he will take heed of the message sent to the ALP by Australian voters at the Federal Election.
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