My analysis this time will be brief, and not just because this election seems to be a foregone conclusion. This Saturday in Epping we have 6 candidates, being:
- Emma Heyde, Greens
- Greg Smith, Liberal
- John Kingsmill, Christian Democrats
- Victor Waterson, Independent
- John Thomas, Family First
- Amy Smith
I am going to start with the quick eliminations - candidates who in my view simply are not an option, with very brief reasons:
- First eliminated, John Kingsmill, Christian Democrats. The most misnamed party ever, neither Christian nor democratic. Wants to impose their religious values on others even though their omnipotent deity is not prepared to do so.
- John Thomas, Family First. Christian Democrats light. Eliminated for the same reason.
- Victor Waterson. While he is on as an independent, he has run for One Nation before, and still seems to think One Nation policies are pretty good.
- Amy Smith, ALP. Sorry, but a 23 year old simply does not have the life experience to do this job. Not qualified, not an option.
- Emma Heyde, Greens. It is unclear what her qualification for this job is thought to be. While our politicians sometimes behave like children, I do not see "children's book editor" as a good grounding for policy analysis or analysis of legislation.
So after eliminating the ones that are not an option at all, that leaves Greg Smith of the Liberals.
The first difficulty I have there is that Greg Smith has in the past expressed views on legislation that are very much tied to his religious belief. Not to the same degree as Family First or the Christian Democrats, but nevertheless he does allow his religious views to affect his position on laws to restrict the rights of others.
The second difficulty I have is that the Liberal Party has announced its intention to scrap the Epping-Parramatta rail link, and while I have looked, I have been unable to find anything stating that they have withdrawn that policy.
One of the reasons Labor is on the nose is that since Bob Carr retired they have kept chopping and changing infrastructure projects so that nothing ever gets started. Studies are undertaken, preparations made, and then it all gets dropped when the next person's pet project gets the priority. The result is public money being spent on planning and preparation for a never ending stream of new projects, with nothing left to show for it.
Sometimes leadership is about checking your ego at the door, and leaving decisions of the predecessor in place - whether the predecessor was in your own party or somebody else's. A real leader does not need to pull down the work of their predecessor to establish their own position.
If the incoming Liberal government does cancel the Epping-Parramatta link, they will just be continuing the mistakes that Labor have been making. If it is going to be more of the same, why change at all?
I was going to put the number "5" next to Greg Smith, and not number any other box. Ideally that would mean my vote would not be counted. That is to say, there is no candidate on the ballot paper who I think deserves my vote.
Unfortunately, the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act (NSW) s124F(2) is stubbornly resistant to such mechanisms, and provides that "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, a ballot paper shall not, by reason of any mark or writing thereon that is not authorised or required by this Act, be rejected as informal if, in the opinion of the Electoral Commissioner, the voter has, by some mark or writing, clearly indicated his or her intention on the ballot paper". It is arguable that if there is any number in the box for the one candidate, then the vote might be construed as a formal vote for that candidate.
Therefore I will mark that box with the word "NO".