But not me. I just tried to vote in the Aussie elections and got told I’ve been bounced off the electoral roll.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. I haven’t lived in the country since 2004. But that hasn’t stopped them from fining me twice for not voting over those three years though.
So, whatever the result today, it wasn’t my fault!
Postscript:
I just wanted to comment on what Sally calls a ‘Typically Australian’ moment on Election Day.
It happened when the (former) PM John Howard turned up to vote in his electorate of Bennelong. With the media scrum in tow he made his way to the head of the queue only to be told by a punter already in the line to get to the back of the queue like the rest of them.
And he did.
I can’t imagine anyone telling George Bush to wait his turn. Or George Bush listening to them.
That’s what I love about this country!
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Hey Peter,
It sounds like the electoral commission are quite militant when it comes to handing out infringements. I find that rather unsettling as I dozed off late afternoon and missed out on my democratic obligation.
Do you remember the amount of lashes you received or what sort of evidence they require when I tell them I was abroad at the time.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Cheers, K
Hi Peter,
My 8 year old daughter is not to blame for the election result either. She told me to vote for the Greens, but when I was filling out the form, I mentioned that there was The Fishing Party. That got her thinking.
Thanks for the great read “Vroom by the Sea” finished it tonight after an evening of kids dance concert and election fever. I think watching the kids perform on stage out did the election.
Have all your books and enjoy them emensley. I think I’ll go through them again starting with The Wrong Way Home. Love the picture slide shows, makes reading the books even more enjoyable.
You being a Sydney lad, I just have to mention cockroaches. Since Sydney has had a bit of rain, the cockies have come back with a vengence. The reason I am up at 4.00am, is that we had a couple of friendly ones in the bedroom. After the search and destroy, I was just too pumped up to sleep. Went out to the kitchen to make a pot of tea, and there were some more of the buggas. Just hanging around the coffee cups have a cockie chat.
Look forward to your next adventure.
Cheers
Steve
Hey Kieran,
if my experience with them is anything to go by, they’ll be kicking down your door any moment. The first thing I knew about the fines was when the State Debt Recovery Organisation threatened to cancel my Driver’s Licence and the rego on my Vespas for not paying the fines!
And Steve, I’ve noticed the cockies too. I think of them as old friends, a nostalgic reminder of my days as a uni student in inner city sydney. Not sure Sally will consider them so fondly when she arrives on Friday though. When we lived in Sydney she never understood my tolerant attitude towards them. Her view was that they were pests and should be hunted down and killed – every last one of them!
I got grilled at the polling station for not re-enrolling in my new electorate. Turns out that the fact I moved three times in the four months leading up to the election being called was not a good enough excuse. I was told I was legally not allowed to vote in this election. I won’t say what my response was, for fear of young eyes.