I clearly remember being in a library at Western Washington University, and while I should have been studying Statistics, but instead, decided to do some reading on the country of Australia. The very first thing that caught my notice was 'The Green Party', this is an actual party, perhaps not the strongest party, but a party with an actual presence. As the name denotes they have an environment first agenda. This is from their page regarding their history. "The Australian Greens is a confederation of eight state and territory parties which grew out of Australian environment movements in the 1970s and 1980s. The campaign to save Lake Pedder led to the formation of the United Tasmania Group in 1972. This was the first 'green party' in the world."
(A side twist is that Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil, a band that was viewed as having its own environmental leanings, is actually a Labor Party member, which could be regarded as 'working within the system' but so far his track record is weak).
The Liberal (oddly liberal in Australia by analogy would be Republican) and Labor (which historically was created in 1891 by workers who turned to politics) which is analogous to the American Democratic Party. I find as an American a third party intriguing, and from my research, voting outside the two strongest parties, is not a 'throw away' vote, but a vote that could actually make a difference. I found the below article exciting.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/03/16/gay-gunns-and-logging-just-what-nobody-wanted-to-talk-about/
As followers of this blog may know, I now have a vote.
My first election is this Saturday, for state representatives of state parliament, this is called The Lower House or the House of Assembly.
Tasmania as a state is touted as a state of 'unspoilt wilderness', and indeed much of our land is parkland, or protected UNESCO world heritage land. Yet politically that statement should not make the residents complacent. The Green Party of Australia is stronger than the Green Party in other states, and I find hope that environmentally Tasmania can stay on track.
Currently, there is a battle going on regarding a Pulp Mill in the North. The amazing thing is that although short term jobs will be created, the mill is mining a (to take a leaf from Jared Diamond) finite source as if it is an infinite source, WORSE, this source is mined at a loss. The wood chips are sold off at a loss and the products made from the wood chips are then imported back to Australia, increasing the original loss.
Scary but true.
I hope I am not the only person who has read Jared Diamond's 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed', there are twelve lending copies in the state, and when I checked today, half were currently checked out. I hope also the popularity of 'Freakonomics' and 'Superfreakonomics' perhaps has impacted on people the history of unintended consequences of laws and policies.
I could have voted outside my library, in 'pre-voting', which is to add convenience to balance out compulsory voting. Like a looming test, I felt I needed until Saturday, to read up on my candidates. I also want to see what an official polling place is like. Also Zok is home, and due to his gallivanting ways has only voted at a polling place less than ten times in his life!
I hope there are cookies.
(A side twist is that Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil, a band that was viewed as having its own environmental leanings, is actually a Labor Party member, which could be regarded as 'working within the system' but so far his track record is weak).
The Liberal (oddly liberal in Australia by analogy would be Republican) and Labor (which historically was created in 1891 by workers who turned to politics) which is analogous to the American Democratic Party. I find as an American a third party intriguing, and from my research, voting outside the two strongest parties, is not a 'throw away' vote, but a vote that could actually make a difference. I found the below article exciting.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/03/16/gay-gunns-and-logging-just-what-nobody-wanted-to-talk-about/
As followers of this blog may know, I now have a vote.
My first election is this Saturday, for state representatives of state parliament, this is called The Lower House or the House of Assembly.
Tasmania as a state is touted as a state of 'unspoilt wilderness', and indeed much of our land is parkland, or protected UNESCO world heritage land. Yet politically that statement should not make the residents complacent. The Green Party of Australia is stronger than the Green Party in other states, and I find hope that environmentally Tasmania can stay on track.
Currently, there is a battle going on regarding a Pulp Mill in the North. The amazing thing is that although short term jobs will be created, the mill is mining a (to take a leaf from Jared Diamond) finite source as if it is an infinite source, WORSE, this source is mined at a loss. The wood chips are sold off at a loss and the products made from the wood chips are then imported back to Australia, increasing the original loss.
Scary but true.
I hope I am not the only person who has read Jared Diamond's 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed', there are twelve lending copies in the state, and when I checked today, half were currently checked out. I hope also the popularity of 'Freakonomics' and 'Superfreakonomics' perhaps has impacted on people the history of unintended consequences of laws and policies.
I could have voted outside my library, in 'pre-voting', which is to add convenience to balance out compulsory voting. Like a looming test, I felt I needed until Saturday, to read up on my candidates. I also want to see what an official polling place is like. Also Zok is home, and due to his gallivanting ways has only voted at a polling place less than ten times in his life!
I hope there are cookies.
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