isteach sa teach
BY LLOYD GORMAN
DON’T BELIEVE BALLOT BOX BLUSTER There has been much huffing and puffing by certain political and media pundits about some of the more unpredictable aspects of the outcome of the March state election. The fact there is now very little in the way of an opposition to keep a very powerful government in check should be what commentators are worried about. Instead, the success of the Daylight Savings Party (DSP) and Legalise Cannabis Party in securing one and two members respectively to a $150,000 a year position for four years in the upper house of parliament on the back of a handful of votes has been called an undemocratic cheat and evidence that the electoral system is broken and in dire need of reform. That may or may not be true or it could just be a question of how you look at the political system we have – warts and all. Much of the fuss so far has focused on the unlikely story of Geraldton born DSP candidate Wilson Tucker (below), who with just 98 first preference votes and against the odds is now an elected representative for the Mining and Pastoral electorate in the northern and eastern regions of the state. He is one of six people to become a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) for the mind bogglingly big district stretching over 2,205,281 km2 and nearly 70,000 voters. Given the region’s strong agricultural bent and its persistent rejection in previous referenda to the introduction of Daylight Savings, Tucker’s election is probably nothing short of miraculous. He will have to win over many of his constituents but he is there for their sake. The fact he got over the line with a smattering of first preferences but able to reach a quota by negotiating 46 | THE IRISH SCENE
smart preference deals with other micro-parties and independents is not trickery or treachery. In Mining and Pastoral there were 21 political parties and independents, all of who would have made deals with others about where they wanted their votes to go if and when they got knocked out of the electoral race. Coincidentally the biggest political clout in the district is wielded by Irishman Stephen Dawson, who has represented it since the 2013 election. In March, the Dublin born member of the McGowan Cabinet was the electorate’s biggest vote getter on the ballot paper, gathering an impressive 27,890 first preference votes out of a total of about 50,000 votes. These numbers meant he was the first to get across the line for the electorate but they also meant that his surplus votes were predominately distributed to Stephen Dawson with ‘deadly dancers’ fellow Labor Party running mates. The end result was that another three Labor candidates – who each got just 32, 18 and 23 first preference votes under their own steam – were in second, third and fourth place to get elected. Even if you combine the first preferences of all three they still are still shy of Tucker’s tally of 98. The DSP man was the fifth candidate to get across the line while the sixth and final place went to Liberal Neil Thomson with 5,220 first preference votes. Nicholas Fardell with The Nationals WA – which normally polls well in rural and remote districts – with 4956 first preferences was the next best performer in the area,
