:: One People, Many Cultures ::



::Living Together in Respect and Friendship::

Port Macquarie was apparently the fourth colony of whites in Australia, established in 1821. Some features of those early times remain and while they might be recent compared to the history of some cultures, there is little to compete with their age in Australia. I went to visit my parents there over the weekend and was very sad to see that vandals have demolished a number of the gravestones in the cemetery dating as far back as 1846. What drives a person to destroy history?

Australia was the first country to make voting compulsory by law, with a fine for those who don’t show up. I often hear people from other countries saying that it’s a good thing, but I’m not so sure. The usual reasoning is that it forces people to take an interest in what goes on in their own country and to have a say. ‘You can’t complain about the results if you don’t vote,’ they say.

I’ve never worked out how most people stay informed even if they want to. I used to donkey vote – get my name marked off, put an unmarked form in the box and walk out. That wastes my time and the time of the counters, but at least my ignorance doesn’t impact the vote.

My flatmate decides who to vote for by counting the number of leaflets each party hands him on the walk to the centre and choosing the one who wastes least paper.

I was forced to vote for the local council on Saturday and I was determined to make a more informed decision. It seems to me that my choice should be for someone who I believe stands for the right things and has the experience to deliver them. I could find nothing on the web to indicate who was running or what they stood for, so it came down to the papers I got on the day. Of the five parties running, three were at lunch when I arrived and one gave me a leaflet showing how to vote for them, but didn’t say why I should. I chose the last one because they stood for the environment and had a plan to provide affordable rainwater tanks for residents.

My vote will count in this election, but I have been swayed by marketing and have no confidence in the ability of my elected representative to follow through. It would probably have been better if I’d left the voting to those who are informed.