Opus Volume 49 Edition 4 Election Special

Volume 49 Edition 4 September 2013 Election Special

VOTE

1 SAUS AGE IN THE SENA TE

On the w one tha hite paper (t he t isn’t y ou put a n umber r napkin) 1 in t under t he lette he box rs BBQ BBQ

1

WORK ING TO EN WITH BOTH MA JO SAUCE SURE A FAI R R BOTTL SHAKE PARTIES E FOR OF TH ALL A USTRA E LIANS

BBQ SIZZLE

NO N Sausage EE IN TH D TO FIL L IS PA RT WURST

Brad

or

Opus respectfully acknowledges the Pambalong clan of the Awabakal people, traditional custodians of the land on which the Callaghan campus of The University of Newcastle is situated.

s t n a w s u op ors

Illustrat

. s u p o , s u n i jo

Writers

rs

Designe

aphers

Photogr

Ideas

Opus is published by NUSA, your student association.

NUSA also provides: Cheap weekly fruit and veggie packs Free breakfast all day Free BBQ lunches Tuesday and Thursday Grievance Service to help you when things go wrong 2

First Aid Courses Collectives Support and facilities for clubs Representation and campaigns to improve your education

Quick Voting Tips Your vote is never wasted.

Preferential voting is compulsory fo the House of Representatives In the elections lower house of the NSW state parliament, you may leave boxes blank. Not so in the federal lower house election. Make sure to number all boxes on the green ballot or your vote will be decleared informal (invalid).

Beware above the line preference deals On the Senate ballot (the white table cloth), you can choose to vote above the line by marking only a ‘1’ on your first choice. You don’t number any other boxes because your preferences are then determined by the party. This can lead to your preferences flowing to unexpected places (such as One Nation). You can find the party’s preferences online, but the only way to have control of your preference is to number at least 90% of the 109 boxes below the line.

3

Under the preferential voting system, if your first preference doesn’t get enough votes, your vote goes to each preference in turn. Even if you number Labor and Liberal as your last two preferences, if it comes down to a competition between the two (as it does in most electorates) your vote will still count for the candidate you preferenced higher.

Helpful websites for voting below the line Obviously with so many candidates below the line it’s very hard to be informed on all of them, let alone remember the order you want to put them in. There’s some websites that can help. www.clueyvoter.com This website will actually generate a printable ballot order on the basis of your answers to a quiz. Of course you still need to be informed to make a decision. http://senate.io/ http://www.belowtheline.org.au/ Both these sites allow you to put parties in order then print a ballot order for reference at the booth.

3

Opinion

Vote Better, Idiots!

by Brodie Fogg

I

n the lead up to the federal election the phrase negative campaigning has been thrown around a lot. You know the commercials:

We see an unfortunately timed photo of a red-faced MP slowly fade in.

Accompanied by the Jaws theme, a man with a gravelly voice informs us how much of a royal fuck-up this candidate is.

Accusations have been thrown around from party to party over who’s the biggest meanie. Who could blame them for using this tactic though? Negative campaigning has proven to be an effective strategy. Not only does it have a particular pull on the polls but sometimes it highlights some genuine flaws amongst the contenders.

So who is to blame for this finger pointing?

Is it you, second-year engineer with gravy dripping from your chin?

How about you, first-year visual communication guy? Yes you, nice beard.

Or is it you, Average Joe, working nine to five, just trying to make a living?

If you pointed to yourself and mumbled a dumbfounded “Me?” Then

4

ten points, you are correct. Too often we arrive at our local public school full of searing rage for an electoral candidate. This is partly due to the hype that is conjured up on the telly or the World Wide Web. This is understandable. It’s far too easy to “share” a smear campaign on Facebook or to rattle off a handful of quotes you witnessed during the ad-breaks of Underbelly.

If a prospective PM represents something you truly resent, keep that in mind. However, don’t allow it to be the sole reason that one party gets your vote over another. I too have been a part of the “don’t care” camp in the past. In those times it’s easy to elect the least annoying face but if you’re voting for someone who’s going to deprive another group of some basic, runo-the-mill human rights, at least have an adequate reason to do so.

“I’m sorry pal, but John Citizen promises to lower the cost of living and I can’t live another day without a more impressive jet ski,” you will say as you zip off on your vastly, inferior jet ski and into the sunset.

Do some research that goes past reading a flyer or two next to the big yellow bin. Sure, a lot of us don’t have time for

Opinion

extracurricular study but find that moment in your day and take it like a well-lubricated enema of knowledge, quickly and effectively.

It’s a fleeting inconvenience and you’ll thank yourself for the outcome. The popularity of ABC’s Vote Compass gives hope that this is already happening, and if you haven’t checked it out I would recommend it as a good starting point.

Find a party that not only caters to your immediate comforts but one that is propelled towards bettering the lives of others less fortunate than you, people who’ve never experienced the sweet purr of a Yamaha Waverunner (we will not be silenced). Grasp that spark of positivity that exists somewhere deep, down inside of your callous exterior and moonwalk your way down to the free sausage sizzle. Ignore the three-word slogans they push in your face and start a conga line that leads all the way into that cramped little booth.

When you vote, do so with a sense of enlightenment and you will feel better for it. Because let’s face it, your pitchforks are far too impractical for those tiny, little sausages anyway. http://www.abc.net.au/votecompass/

5

Opinion

Compassion vs. Cruelty

by Chris Thompson

S

o apparently we’re under attack.

Millions – actually make that BILLIONS - of unforgiving, relentless little people are now converging on our great shores, ready and willing to take away all that we’ve ever known and loved! Under the cover of darkness, they continue to mercilessly move in on us one after the other. Their stateof-the-art vessels move at the speed of light (but only when we’re not looking), and they care for nothing but the destruction of our beloved country. They’ll abolish everything that says Australia - Vegemite, gone. Koalas, gone. Shane Warne, gone. It’s the end as we know it. There’s nothing left for us to do now except to wait, and hope that they at least take Pauline first...

Well actually, it’s not really all that bad, and for those of us that aren’t particularly afraid of a little bit of perspective, this shouldn’t hurt too much There are well over 10 million refugees in the world; last year Australia received around about 30,000 – that’s about 0.3%![1] Approximately 23,000 people around the world leave their homes due to conflict or persecution every day; last year around 17,000 people arrived in Australia by boat.[2]

6

Australia has an ageing population that is predicted to have about 25% of its population over the age of 65 within the next century; we need immigration to help sustain our economy while we’re spending our twilight years on the battlegrounds of the local bingo tables![3]

So what’s all the fuss about? Why can’t our mates in parliament call it like it is? Why can’t our uncle Tony answer a question without using those now-famous three words? More than a quarter of our population was born overseas, while another fifth of us have a parent born overseas, yet armageddon has somehow failed to arrive.[4]

The chances are we all know someone that has, at one point, had a reason to leave their country for a better life, and they didn’t make claim to your mother, sister, or job once they got here either!

So many people see, feel, and live through things we, as Australians, will never experience. Most of us couldn’t even imagine how bad a life could be, if risking their life by getting on a small fishing boat with sometimes hundreds of other people, is the best - or only - option they have.

We have it great. Most people don’t.

Compassion shouldn’t be feared.

find us.

OPUS.ORG.AU @OPUSMAGAZINE FACEBOOK.COM/OPUSMAGAZINE

reach us.

SUBMIT@OPUS.ORG.AU EDITOR@OPUS.ORG.AU HATEMAIL@OPUS.ORG.AU

7