Voting is over in Western Australia and it's back to work
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340019)
Rockingham, Australia
March 13, 2021 4:21pm CST
It’s 6.00am in what will be sunny Western Australia. Vince is snoring gently but he will be up soon. Everyone in our state had to vote yesterday as voting is compulsory. We have two major parties (Labor and Liberal), several smaller ones (Greens, National [formerly Country Party]) and a heap of very minor ones such as the one against mandatory vaccination (which hasn’t been brought in and probably won’t be) and the hunters/shooters/fishers party. Worthy though they may be, you probably wouldn’t want them managing the state’s affairs.
Virtually the whole state is very praiseworthy of the job our premier has done in keeping the state almost free of COVID and his party has romped home (meaning they have won by a lot). Of course, it does mean we don’t have a strong opposition which isn’t a good thing but I guess if Labor get carried away with their importance, they’ll get voted out in four years. The Liberals have completely missed the boat but the Nationals have picked up some country seats which is great.
So today we have a tree to try to pull out from the middle of a heap of grevillea. The top half of the tree has broken off so we’ll try to tidy up the area. We’re going to advertise some of Vince’s coin collection and I plan to put some books to sell on Ebay. Wish us luck.
The dead tree on the left of the photo is the one that has snapped off.
20 people like this
18 responses
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Mar 21
I'm glad somebody's government has been doing a good job of handling the virus.
I can't believe voting is compulsory in Australia. What happens if you don't want to vote? What if you don't like any of the candidates?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Mar 21
@JudyEv I was wondering if you had the ability to write in the name of another candidate if you wanted to? A lot of people here, in protest of the choices we have on the ballot, will write in names like Mickey Mouse or Darth Vader or some other fictional name.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Mar 21
@moffittjc You can put whatever you like on the ballot paper but, if it doesn't follow the rules, it would go straight in the trash pile. People do put funny names sometimes or write something really rude right across the paper.
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
14 Mar 21
i wonder how the US would do with compulsory voting...
2 people like this
@Chellezhere (5738)
• United States
14 Mar 21
Given the amount of people who always complain about politicians and politics, but never vote, perhaps it should be.
You know, the vast majority of of the complaining and protesting NFL players never even registered to vote, let alone voted until this past November.
The NFL and NFL Players Association announced Wednesday that 90 percent of active players are now registered to vote and several teams have reported 100 percent player registrations.
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
14 Mar 21
@JudyEv i suspect they wouldn't win that argument. It is not explicitly stated in the constitution except that every citizen has the right to vote.
2 people like this
@allknowing (136430)
• India
14 Mar 21
Those4 small parties split votes and that happens here as well
2 people like this
@allknowing (136430)
• India
14 Mar 21
@JudyEv They are known to aline with main parties before or after elections.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 21
@allknowing That's true so they do have their uses.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
13 Mar 21
That is interesting... Thank you for sharing.
The two trees in the foreground have leaves similar to our peach trees. May I ask what they are?
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
14 Mar 21
@JudyEv Thank you. I thought they might be but couldn't be sure. (I've only seen eucalyptus leaves when a koala was eating them. 
)
)2 people like this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 21
@DaddyEvil There are a great many species of eucalyptus and they don't all have the same shaped leaves.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (180703)
• United States
14 Mar 21
Good luck with your tasks today, the weather must be cooling off some now there, which I am sure you are glad to see!
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
13 Mar 21
I’m glad covid is gone from Australia pretty much, it gives hope to the rest of the world
2 people like this
@FourWalls (68014)
• United States
14 Mar 21
I just hope your politicians aren't as nasty and corrupt as the ones we have in America are. We have a saying here: how can you tell if a politician is lying? His lips are moving. 
If Vince keeps snoring make a recording of him and play it back for him! 
If Vince keeps snoring make a recording of him and play it back for him! 2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (106271)
• Marion, Ohio
14 Mar 21
Hope you got the tree out. Good luck with the sales
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (102848)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
13 Mar 21
Thank you for sharing the news from your homeland.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (178568)
• United States
14 Mar 21
Good luck with your sales. Have a great week.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340019)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 21
Some years ago, the leader of the National Party held out for Royalties for Regions - grants given to smaller towns for community projects. It was just the best thing. Every small town you went through had something brand new and really nice that lifted the morale and made the residents feel really proud. Labor is talking of cutting out this now but I hope they don't.
1 person likes this
