Kirk Fletcher

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