Prime Minister Kevin Rudd November 25, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Election.Tags: Kevin Rudd, Kevin07, Politics
2 comments
Well, the election is over and as expected, the LDP got no seats – but we made a pretty good show of it for a first election. One bit of good news is that Greens senator Kerry Nettle was not re-elected.
It seems that with all the hype in what became a very presidential-style campaign between Howard and Rudd, that votes were more “polarised” than usual – meaning that minor parties/independents attracted an even lower percentage of the votes than usual. The result was, of course, a landslide win for Labor and Kevin Rudd, who will become our new prime minister. Outgoing PM, John Howard was gracious in defeat. Is it just me, or are politician’s best speeches always when they’re conceding?
What sort of PM might Rudd be? Helen (aka skepticlawyer) has an excellent (but long) post over at catallaxy suggesting he’d be a Blair-like ‘trendy vicar’. I hope she’s wrong. Here’s an excerpt:
He reminds me – with his relentless ‘on-message’ rhetoric and carefully scripted ‘socially conscious’ Christian conservatism – of Tony Blair in his prime, a type that some of my Oxford friends deride as a ‘trendy vicar’.
One of Blair’s enduring political legacies was his nanny-statist determination to ‘make people behave’. This found expression in the creation of some 3000 new offences since New Labour took office in 1997 – more than the sum total of offences in UK law until that point. However, more than simply rushing to lock more people up for more stuff, Blair began to intervene in his citizens’ lives in ways that are spookily Orwellian. The most meretricious of these interventions is undoubtedly the ‘anti-social behaviour order’, or ASBO for short – although talking CCTV runs a close second.
ASBOs are civil orders, not a criminal penalty. This means they don’t appear on an individual’s criminal record – at least initially. However, breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison. Crucially, their civil status means there is no objection to the use of hearsay (the UK abolished the rule against hearsay in civil proceedings in 1995). Oh, and then there’s the definition, under section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Anti-social behaviour is ‘behaviour which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more people who are not in the same household as the perpetrator’. As you’ll appreciate, it’s entirely subjective.
How to annoy a politician (and save $4.20 doing it) November 21, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Campaign, Election, Parties, Tax.add a comment
I sent this email around to a few people today (with the above subject)… please feel free to forward it to anyone you think might be interested:
Hi all,
Well, there’s only days to the Aussie election, and no matter who gets in, we’ll have a politician! Not only that, but the major parties (including the Greens) will receive millions of dollars in taxpayer funded “electoral funding”.
That’s right – any candidate in any ballot (including the senate) – gets $2.10 of YOUR money for EVERY vote they receive, provided they get over 4% of the primary vote.
They get this money for each and every vote – even if they lose! No wonder we still have compulsory voting… This is a scam that most people aren’t aware of, but it’s true. There is, however, one way to stop them getting your money…
Like I said, to be eligible for this funding, the party has to get at least 4% of the primary vote. The only parties that are likely to achieve this are: ALP; Liberals; Nationals; Greens; and Family First. The solution is simple: vote for either an independent or a “micro-party” (such as LDP) as your first preference.
Don’t worry – your vote won’t be wasted… you can still direct your preferences to your preferred candidate – they just won’t get paid for your vote – they only get paid when you list them at number 1. As long as the candidate you selected as your first preference gets less than 4% of the primary vote, they won’t get any money – saving $2.10.
You can save a further $2.10 by doing the same thing in the senate. I recommend you vote “LDP” in the senate for this reason… not only are they unlikely to get above 4% of the primary vote in the senate, but they are opposed to both public electoral funding and compulsory voting – making them the natural choice for sending a message to the major parties…
Finally – make sure you forward this email on to your family and friends… the more people are aware of this, the better.
Cheers,
Kirk Fletcher
2500 to 1 November 17, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Election, Gambling.4 comments
Want to get rich? Online betting site, Centrebet, is offering odds of 2500:1 against me for the seat of Macquarie. That means if you bet $400 on me winning, you could become a millionaire! Provided I won the seat of course 
Where do you stand? November 17, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Parties, Quiz.4 comments
The Australian Political Quiz has been updated, and also works as a good guide to where the Australian political parties stand on issues of social and economic freedom. The quiz asks 10 simple questions, and shows you where you fit on a 2 dimensional political compass. We have also plotted various Australian political parties so that you can see which party most closely aligns with your philosophy.
Give it a try – and don’t forget to tell your friends about it.
Election Day Approaches… November 16, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Campaign.add a comment
I had planned to update this blog daily, but so far, the time factor has got in the way – it’s been a busy week, and work hasn’t stopped just because I’m running for a seat. Frustratingly, I’ve also been hit with a cold 
For those that are interested, the Meet the Candidates forum I mentioned in my previous entry went by without any drama… I was a little nervous, but think I did OK. The ACL is running two more forums, but sadly am unable to make either of them.
I will be doing a radio interview on Monday with 2MCE community radio. The package is primarily candidate grabs and statements to be used in the station’s election night coverage, which may also be played in the lead up to the election.
Meeting the Voters November 6, 2007
Posted by Fleeced in Campaign, Religion.1 comment so far
I’ll be attending a “Meet the Candidates” event in Springwood tonight. The event is being hosted by the Springwood Churches Association and moderated by the Australian Christian Lobby.
The LDP does not attempt to offer special deals to any specific constituency, including religious groups. However, it is my belief that our philosophy is in the best interest of religious groups, and I will be attempting to convey that message.
If anybody is interested in attending, here are the details:
Date: 6th November, 2007
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Anglican Church Ministry Centre, 28 Lawson Road, Springwood (opposite S.A.D Club)
The Ballot Draw November 3, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Campaign.5 comments
Yesterday (Friday) saw the ballot draws take place. This is where candidate positions on the ballot paper are determined by way of random draw.
The good news is that I will appear first on the ballot for the seat of Macquarie, which some pundits suggest could be worth around 0.5% of the total vote. This won’t make any difference to my own prospects of winning, but in a seat with a notional TPP margin of just – you guessed it – 0.5%, it may well affect the outcome.
The ballot for the seat of Macquarie will look something like this:
Kirk Fletcher for Macquarie 2007 November 2, 2007
Posted by Kirk Fletcher in Campaign.add a comment
I will be standing as a candidate in the upcoming Australian federal election for the seat of Macquarie for the Liberty and Democracy Party.
The LDP is a moderate libertarian party which was founded in 2001. The party adheres to the principles of free trade, small government, individual freedom and personal responsibility.
I believe the Government interferes too much in our daily lives – and spends too much of our money doing it. If you feel the same way, then the LDP might be the party for you.
We are a big supporter of property rights, and low taxation. Central to the LDP’s policies is the adoption of the “30/30 tax system” [pdf] as outlined by the Centre for Independent Studies.
This place will be my official campaign blog, where I will include details of my campaign, media releases and general discussion. Readers are invited to comment on my posts.
