Delayed count helps no one
TEN days or longer to finalise counting in any election is not on in this modern world.
All postal and early voting needs to be in by close of business on the day before Election Day, then all of these early votes can be counted at the start of voting on the day. By the end of Election Day all votes will have been cast and a higher percentage counted and a better result known. If there isn’t enough time on Election Day, all counting can be finalise and checked on the following day. This change will give a quicker result and needs to be a priority of the new government and even the federal government in the interest of good governance and efficiency.
Bob Taylor
Trevallyn
TEST OF THE PEOPLE
PETER McGlone states how he believes the government is making planning “less democratic”. I can’t help but reflect that at the ultimate arbitration of what is democratic and what isn’t — elections — it is the government that has been chosen by the people to lead and set the direction, only just last week.
And every time Peter and his crew run for democratically elected office on their platforms of resisting change, the people don’t vote for them. Because the majority actually don’t support their minority interest group causes and are tired of their completely disproportionate influence in planning matters and vexatious appeals that waste thousands to defend. There’s democracy.
Tony Donaghy
Ellendale
OUT OF BOUNDS
READER Ian Batchelor notes correctly that voters can vote only in their seat of enrolment (Letters, May 7). The problem is, this rule does not apply to candidates or politicians, who can stand for any seat.
For example, Franklin MP David O’Byrne lives in New Town, in the seat of Clark. Franklin voters cannot vote in the seat of Clark. Therefore, voters enrolled in the seat of Clark should not be allowed to stand for the seat of Franklin.
No wonder Mr O’Byrne wasn’t available for comment on his leadership ambitions (“The fire still burns, says Bec”, May 7); he can’t even vote for himself. The days of the absentee MP are surely numbered.
Michael Watts
Cradoc
SAME OLD, SAME OLD
THE Tasmanian electorate deserves far better each election. All we get are the same old seat warmers and a failure to act on critical issues. The Liberal government is hopeful of a majority. However, it’s trying to rely on several hopefuls, all with baggage. One still hasn’t convinced the public of her political allegiances (third time), one has police matters to deal with and the other has had local council code-ofconduct matters to deal with. The community deserves far better decisive and quality candidates each election.
Raymond Harvey
Claremont
STRATEGIC PICKS
PETER Gutwein is a great Tasmanian and we are lucky to have him. After months of pondering I have worked out why a great, outstanding citizen like himself would want outgoing members of the Clarence City Council like Dean Ewington or James Walker on his team – to stop his candidates stealing votes from Jacquie Petrusma MP. Roll on CCC elections.
John Turner
Rosny
WHERE IS THE CHANGE?
ANOTHER state election comes to an end. So, what is the takeaway? The same predictable promises from the same party people. Also the message of “stable majority government” has been pushed heavily. Voters have headed to the polls and as a result, either Liberal or Labor will rise to govern the state, but what changes? The two-party system is broken. Both parties have been in government for extended periods of time over the years, yet this state still suffers the same problems, an underfunded health system being the most predominant. I believe we as Australians are fortunate to have free and democratic elections; unfortunately the outcomes rarely live up to expectations.
Stuart Cox
Howrah
THE GUTWEIN GAMBLE
LISTENING to Peter Gutwein recently tell Fran Kelly on Radio National that his government was “plunged” into minority government, hence the need to call the snap election, was confusing. He plunged his own government into minority by telling Sue Hickey she was no longer required in the party, effectively forcing her resignation. He then called the election on the pretext of being in minority, but then announced that Madeleine Ogilvie had switched parties (again) and joined the Liberals. From the sidelines it looks like a political gamble – hoping for a landslide win on the back of COVID. It backfired. He has landed up with possibly the same fragile one-seat majority. The best result would be for both independents in Clark to get in – and get some democracy back into Tasmania.
Yvonne Stark
Battery Point
SHADES OF GREEN
Don’t worry, Cassy. There will be three Lower House Greens soon. Just wait for Madeleine to flip again.
Craig Hills
Bellerive
BACK TO THE FUTURE
The Gutwein circus rolls on saying he has a majority. Elect a speaker and we are back to what we were after wasting millions.
Tony Geeves
Rosetta
POLLS APART
A new poll says one in three Australians thinks the PM should allow Australians in India to return, fair enough. That also means two in three Australians think they should not be allowed to return until the pandemic is under control. I am firmly in that group.
Miles C Pitman
Dover
BANK CHECK
It is interesting to note that the “bank of mum and dad” is the ninth-biggest lender in Australia (either as guarantor or non-refundable loan), but has three times the default level over the subsequent five-year period!
Kenneth Gregson
Swansea
CLARENCE QUERY
So the Burnie council is to close key art attractions with 15 jobs set to go. Can we expect the same from Clarence council, which I have been reliably informed has taken no action to recover outstanding rates payments for at least the last two years, apparently blaming it on a computer glitch.
Karen Clarkson
Sandy Bay
LABOR LOVE LOST
The Labor Party did not deserve to form government in Tasmania. It did nothing about commercialisation of Airbnb and supports so many people affected by this curse, has abandoned its policy on pokies and then has the impertinence to stand a 19year-old for election.
A total waste of space in Tasmania
Peter Aris
St Helens