Ballot paper making me angry
COUNCIL ELECTIONS
I AM angry. I just wasted a half of a pencil, an eraser and two hours trying to complete the ballots for the Hobart City Council elections. And most likely my effort will be invalid. Seriously the system is so complex to the point of being undemocratic. I took a straw poll among my family, friends and neighbours. Of the 13, five gave up after an attempt, three ignored it once seeing its complexity and three were concerned their efforts would be invalid. Only two were confident they had completed the ballots correctly. The large number of candidates is no excuse. A simple crossreferencing and redundancy organisation of the ballot sheets would make the system easier and democratic. We should ask the Tasmanian Electoral Commission not only to publish the proportion of the citizens who voted, but the number of invalid votes cast and analysis of the factors behind the number of invalid votes. And the council has a responsibility to find ways to make itself a more democratic authority. Come on, this is not rocket science stuff! Last Christmas could be nominated as the biggest non-event of the year in Hobart. Any candidate willing to bring Christmas back to the heart of Hobart will get my vote. Could we please elect councillors who are sufficiently fond of this city to bring a large joyous group of inhabitants together to enjoy this formerly festive Christmas celebration, instead of splitting us up in sad, invisible little bunches? We would love a stupendously large family Christian Christmas carols festival
Cable car poll
IT would seem the HCC elections have provided a poll for or against the cable car project. The candidates have indicated in the flyers put in our letterboxes (legally by Australia Post), if they will or will not support the proposal. My bet is all those in favour of the proposal will be elected. Unaddressed mail that is political in nature is permitted to be put in all letterboxes by Australia Post and not deemed to be junk mail (Letters, October 10).
Independent?
THE idea that independent candidates keep politics out of local government is false. You only have to look at the cronycapitalism that plagues too many councils to know keeping politics out really means keeping business-as-usual, developmentat-any-costs locked in and residents locked out of decision making. Independent typically means conservative, good ol’ boys who block-vote, caucus together, Community care the key for our health As a patient at HVH, I can attest to the benefits of implementation of Bastian’s (and the HVH team’s) approach to patient care. Wishing you a speedy recovery Bastian. espouse the views of the two main parties and stand for them in other elections. What could be more duplicitous than calling yourself an independent local candidate but running for Labor or the Liberals in other elections? It patronises voters.
Mountain temple
INNER city and South Hobart residents should unite and pressure candidates to not only oppose the cable car but commit to removing all infrastructure from the sacred mountain. We didn’t oppose the TV tower when we needed a signal but now we all have high-speed broadband that can go. The road can be made into a track for electric and mountain bikes only. Perhaps just a small temple can be built on the summit to allow respects to be paid to the original inhabitants who most appreciated the land, Bob Brown and Christine Milne.
Voting instructions
COULD the Tasmanian Electoral Commission please explain why, when it is the intent to increase the voting rate, that (Clarence) ballot papers display in large letters “Vote from 1 to 25 …”. It is a daunting task that would tempt many to throw it in the bin. At the bottom, in smaller letters, is the statement that you need to vote for at least 12 candidates for a valid vote. Surely the statement at the top should read “please vote for up to 25 candidates, but at least 12, in the order of your choice”.
Gambling evil
THE AFL and NRL have attempted to take the moral high ground by requesting no advertising of alcohol during games. They just don’t get it. The greatest evil is the gambling issue actively supported by both the leagues in betting on results of games. I understand the AFL requires money to keep subsidising AFL in Queensland with over $10 million a year for a bad decision of expansion in Queensland.
Footy gods
NOW that the dust has settled and I’ve had a little rethink, in hindsight maybe the footy gods just weren’t prepared to allow a Collingwood premiership without a Brown, a Moore or a Daicos in the team! Beware the 2019 Magpie!
True beliefs
I RARELY disagree with Paul Keating’s political observations. However, his comment that you would need a microscope to find what Malcolm Turnbull truly believes in ( Mercury, October 4) is not correct. Sorry Paul, but it was obvious to me that Malcolm Turnbull believed in marriage equality — and he got the job done. The legacy is now etched as an Australian social benchmark.
Superior shore
IN reply to Vincent Ryan about poor clean-up services, may I say this (Letters, October 3). I guess he is probably familiar with the Eastern Shore area, so suggest he might consider moving over here. Our council services and developments are acknowledged as far superior to some of our western shore suburbs.