@hingehead,
Quote:Some issues are obvious conscience votes (abortion for example - I can't imagine any party short of small extreme groups having a strictly anti stance). Others aren't so obvious. I'm with dad, in an ideal world (and I think I posted this a few pages back) every vote should be a conscience vote. Sadly I don't think it's all that practical. And I think in that situation lobbyists would run amok, American stylee..
Yes, I understand what you're saying about practicality, hinge.
(Thinking a bit more about this ..) Perhaps my concerns are more to do with my "party of choice" not adhering to its espoused principles when it comes to policies in government? You just can't be sure you'll get what you voted for.
Agreed on conscience votes, though it would certainly help to know where your local candidates stand on such "conscience issues"
before you vote for them.
But I guess, more than anything else, my real gripe is more to do with being in an eternally "safe" Labor seat. (Even though we have a perfectly OK local representative in federal parliament. At the
state level we get Labor duds & hacks, rewarded for past services to the party, I guess?
)
What I'd be most interested in is for my seat (& other safe seats, too) to actually
count when it comes to budget spending by both the federal & state governments. I am sick & tired of us being ignored & neglected by both the 2 major parties,
because we are so safe Labor. I'm sick & tired of our local parliamentary representatives having no impact at all,
locally . Whether freeing up how they are able to vote would make any difference, I don't know. I kinda doubt it. Some of the most neglected electorates in my state (in the west & the north of Melbourne, especially) are "safe" Labor seats. Interestingly, some of them are "turning Green". Perhaps that's the answer? Inject a bit of real competition?
