Over the last four to five weeks, we've seen the politicians doing the rounds in the marginal electorates, meeting & greeting, and generally spending big. It's these marginal electorates where they hope to win the few votes that'll either keep them in parliament, or win them the seat.
Both sides of the campaign are spending large amounts of money to try to win over these electorates. Be it funds to upgrade a road, or throwing money at a football field, it's all wins for folks in marginal electorates.
Canberra's two electorates are classified as "very safe" Labor. Pretty much regardless of what Labor does, they'll probably get seats in parliament from Fraser and Canberra.
It's no surprise that our two electorates have received basically no attention in the lead-up to the election. The Liberals see no point in expending effort, since it would have to win a swing of 13%. And Labor doesn't need to bother paying attention to Fraser or Canberra.
Canberrans stubbornness to consider any alternatives is where we lose out.
This election, consider the ramifications if a Labor government wins. Just ask yourself:
- Are you a public servant, likely to lose your job in the slashing and reshuffle?
- Are you earning more money, thanks to an AWA?
- are you earning more because you're in higher demand, thanks to workplace reforms?
- Do you have more money to spend thanks to the Coalition Government's tax cuts?
Don't just automatically throw your vote at Labor. What have Bob McMullin or Annette Ellis done for you? If we can just close the margin this election, we could see great benefit in three to four years time.