election

Well, I am not calling him a beacon if that's what you had in mind.
I suppose I must declare my hand to explain it. There is a site called riot for austerity which I can't access because we block a lot of crap for the kids sake but they have a slogan, "Change more than lightbulbs".
I think yes, very good idea, and then I think 'burned out tungsten steel filament that once had a promise but it broke that 'non core' promise along with the rest of them'. Please don't think I am therefore a Kevin man.
But I have to say, better Rudd than Elma Fudd.
Actually I am green, mainly because as you all may have guessed I am leaning towards the sustainable. Also however , I have followed German politics for a while and notice that the strength of a third faction, a green one that is, in parlimaent is in direct proportion to the enlightenment of the parliment as a whole.
Of all the European parliments, the German one is the most on the ball when it comes to the enviroment and it's economy is strangely the strongest,
I really can't say that I would like a green government mainly because (and this may be my greatest immaturity) my experiance of most hippies is that they are even more selfish than the right wing they so vehemently disparage. (Witness the poor fellow I have had a go at in the enviroment thread).

Even more importantly as far as my vote for the Greens goes however is the fact that politically in all democracies it makes much more sense to have a ruling party in power by a knife edge than it does to have one in power with a thumping majority. Only then do the fringe elements have to shut up and put up with consensus'.
I can't stand it that some jumped up farmer bellyaching about the predujudices of the city or some stiff shirt front frothing about the green conspiricy to ruin his balinese holiday with a carbon offset, has enough of a majority behind him to be able to toss off over the lecturn.

But back to light bulbs.
The Howard govts biggest, or should I say most publicised, 'green' initiative so far has been the phasing out of tungsten steel light bulbs. Well big woop is all I can say to that.
Intrinsicly the premise of the joke is that tomorrow we may shift from one good idea at the time to another good idea at the time. All hail the voting public, but don't expect too much flouresence.

Peter, I was just about to go to bed having spent half an hour around the corner from Belconnen. It
It is remiss of me to neglect the Kiwi parliment but as they get about as much press as the Fijians in the US of A, I feel, well,,, remiss i suppose.

I must bring to your attention that we don't have a first past the post system of parlimentary democracy in Australia. That would be the UK.
Proportional representation means that the preferences that one party gives to another amount almost to a second vote and especially if the recipiant is a minor party. It also means that the votes are counted towards the swing of the electorate and not as if all the parties are beginning from an equal base line footing(as patently they are not). This means that the vote is counted from the number of existing seats to the new number of seats. This is why at the last election Howard was re elected even though he actually had less votes than the then opposition because his previous majority was big enough to leave his remaining 'majority' at that election, still with more seats than 'the losers'' In Australia and New Zealand it is not votes that count but seats in parliment.
This is why this election is going to be a doozy because Howards majority was substantially trimmed last time to the point that even a minor majority of the votes to the opposition is likely to just see the swing tip over to Labour and especially if the greens hand back their preferences.

To my beef about the system and voting green as a first preferance. If as is predicted the Labor party not only sneak over the line with a majority of seats, but romp home with a landslide ( I sooo want to see Howard loose his seat) then they would be in a position to ignore the Greens, which would be a bloody great shame in my book. Hopefully Garret will kick against the pricks but as far as great white hopes go, don't forget he is about four bibles this side of a born again christian, and they only reveal their true colours when they have a captive audience. Just ask Yothu Yindi's Yunupingu who had to share a tour bus with him from Darwin to the Alice. I heard that he didn't stop trying to shove his version of christianity down Yunupingu's throat for 500 kms

Who knows what the future holds but i feel that tomorrow evening there is going to be a gigantic chorus go up across the land "HOWS ZAT!" and Howard will walk from the crease a dejected old shadow of a man, diminished in history and diminished in Bennelong I hope as well.