http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/28723

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/27283

Voting is arguably the most prominent cornerstone of democracy – the means by which we each get to participate in the democratic process. Your vote is supposed to represent ‘your say’, and collectively the outcome of the voting process should represent ‘our say’ in how this country is run – the will of the Australian people as it were.

But what is your vote worth?  When you trot along to the polling booths later this year, run the gauntlet of ‘How to vote pamphlet’ pushers, enjoy your democracy sausage and cast your vote – what exactly are you getting a say in?

The following are some common expectations people have about the power of their vote:

1. Elections are about picking which party you want to vote for
2. The election outcome represents the will of the Australian people 
3. All votes are equal
4. We determine which policies will be used to guide the direction of the country
5. The Australian people elect a Prime Minister
6. Your vote determines who will represent your individual electorate

Let’s take a look at each of these, and see exactly how well our expectations about what our vote is worth match up with reality…

Read more:

https://theaimn.com/your-vote-whats-it-really-worth/

The Liberal Party has struck a deal to exchange preferences with Clive Palmer.

• The Liberal Party will preference the United Australia Party second or ahead of Labor
• Clive Palmer is running for a Senate spot, after catapulting ex-rugby league star Greg Dowling into the seat of Herbert
• The PM has repeatedly said the issue of preferences is one for the party organisation to deal with, but left the door open to a deal

The deal will see the Liberals place the United Australia Party second, or above Labor, on its how-to-vote cards in Lower and Upper House seats.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said deciding preferences is an issue for the party organisation to deal with.

That is despite the fact he directed his party to preference Pauline Hanson's One Nation below Labor in the wake of revelations the minor party had solicited donations from the National Rifle Association in the US.

Political strategists have spent the past 48 hours locking in crucial preference deals ahead of pre-polling, which opens on Monday.

Mr Palmer is attempting a return to politics, throwing himself into the running for a seat in the Senate.

The billionaire businessman was tipped to run in the north Queensland seat of Herbert, but catapulted ex-rugby league star Greg Dowling into the contest instead.

His party is experiencing a resurgence in the polls, with the latest Newspoll showing it had a primary vote between 5 and 14 per cent in four marginal seats in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-25/federal-election-liberals-strike-...

Read from top...

Scummo prefers to align himself with cheats rather than decent human beings...

Clive Palmer’s $100m foundation to benefit Aboriginal people launched 10 years ago only has $109 in it, despite never having disbursed a grant or allocation, according to financial records published by the Australian charity commission.

The Western Australian government said it intends to investigate the situation.

“We are currently investigating any avenues which might be available to compel Mr Palmer to make good on his promise,” WA’s Aboriginal affairs minister, Ben Wyatt, told Guardian Australia.

“Any candidates standing for Mr Palmer’s reheated political party should explain how they themselves reconcile standing for a party whose central figure has behaved in such a disgraceful and untrustworthy manner towards Aboriginal people.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/03/clive-palmers-100...

Read from top.

Western Australia has been dealt a blow in its legal battle with Clive Palmer after the Commonwealth stopped short of backing a new trial.

The latest twist came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann urged Mr Palmer to drop his challenge of WA’s border closures.

The matter returned to the Federal Court on Friday for a case management hearing sought by the WA government.

WA is arguing the case should be vacated and a new trial of the issues convened after the federal government withdrew its support for Mr Palmer’s position.

But the Commonwealth has declined to submit whether its evidence should be struck out on the basis that it is no longer involved in the matter.

Health Minister Roger Cook said West Australians would be “bitterly disappointed” with the Commonwealth’s stance.

“We believe it does not go far enough,” Mr Cook said.

“We can’t understand why they would not support us in what we believe is a very reasonable submission.”

The Prime Minister said he had an “outstanding relationship” with WA Premier Mark McGowan and backed calls for Mr Palmer to abandon the proceedings.

Read more:

Read from top.

Scott Morrison owes big to Clive Palmer without whose yellow campaign attacking Labor every minutes, ScoMo would have bitten the dust of his sports rorts... That Scummo's government was working against the WA government is disgusting. 

At this stage one wonders if Scumdog was trying to return a favour to Clivus Palmerus, the dinosaur of Aussie politics, for his yellow banners... One wonders, also how much rigmarole went under the table between Scumcrap and Palmy, like there possibly was a deal made between Turdy Abbott and Cliviola to kill off the carbon trading scheme...

The high court has rejected Clive Palmer’s challenge against Western Australia’s border ban.

In orders pronounced on Friday, at least a majority of five justices of the court held that the state’s quarantine directions and the emergency management law authorising them do not breach the constitution.

The mining tycoon had argued the border directions infringed the guarantee that interstate trade, commerce and intercourse shall be “absolutely free”.

The chief justice, Susan Kiefel, said the court had found the emergency laws – insofar as they deal with a “plague or epidemic” – comply with the constitution and the border closure “does not raise” constitutional questions.

Kiefel also noted that Palmer’s case did not argue that the border directions were not validly authorised by the emergency laws. The court ordered Palmer to pay costs.

The Western Australian, Mark McGowan, welcomed the result as a “significant victory”. “I will always fight to protect the health of Western Australians,” he said in a statement.

Although no date has been set for the court to provide its reasons, the result demonstrates that the justices accepted that the directions were intended to prevent the spread of Covid-19 rather than discriminating against interstate movement.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/06/clive-palmers-challenge-against-western-australias-border-ban-rejected-by-high-court

Read from top.