Why only a few seats really matter in an election | Politics Explained

[@Sanguinarius9999]

Your vote still matters in a safe seat, the party you put 1st gets funding from your vote even if they dont win the seat

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

That's only true if they receive at least a predetermined percentage of the primary vote.

[@KingFahtah]

Which is why there is compulsory voting. It's a huge financial rort for the big parties.

[@rawfrags7355]

@@KingFahtah technically you don't have to vote if you don't enroll

[@KingFahtah]

@@rawfrags7355 Unfortunately most people come to that realisation too late

[@ronaldmccallum2111]

@@rawfrags7355 Enrollment, I believe, is compulsory in Australia. Also, it is the Electoral Rolls that the Australian Electoral Commission uses to determine Electoral Division boundaries.

[@g1598]

Libs screwed NBN never ever forget that!

[@Coolsomeone234]

@Voice of Reason that's not the point. The point is that the current copper wire system is super pricey and the original NBN would have saved money

[@therestaurant]

NBN bad. Government good.

[@g1598]

@Voice of Reason what are you going on about? seriously online video gaming is your response to why the libs wrecked the NBN? UNSW came out with a study that calculated the social value of the original ALP NBN model which was $225Bn in around 20 years - TWO HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS! They also calculated the liberal nbn mtm and it did not even achieve half that social value. If your house is connected via FTTN your property price is around $10-15k lower than a fttp connected house. Also what about small businesses how do they communicate everyday? oh yeah via the bloody internet. what services and jobs are there? heaps more requiring the need for computers and oh yeah the bloody internet - ever heard of the cloud? yeah well you need good upload speeds to fully experience the benefits Voice of Reason more like Voice of a Moron

[@g1598]

@@therestaurant ill fix up your post NBN MTM Bad - Current Government Bad

[@Richard-fc3jv]

@Voice of Reason Let's forget about our ability to focus on Australia being able to compete against other countries in e-commerce and IT. By having internet similar to that of developing countries, we are encouraging companies to leave Australia for nations elsewhere.

[@Groaker]

This is why I've always cared about my Senate ticket more. I've spent my life in either a safe Labor or safe Liberal seat, so my Reps vote always felt particularly impotent. Getting a juicy third party or independent into a balance-of-power-having Senate spot is where it's @, m8.

[@The_General_Zubas]

MY MAN! cheers from the state's..

[@fellowcitizen]

Unless you're in Alice or Canberra :(

[@ccg-chatswoodcardgames9212]

Were in the most safe lib seat in Australia

[@Groaker]

@Pejer99 Good. No government should ever have complete control over both houses. There's no law saying that a political party has to abide by their election promises, nor should there be. Someone has to keep the bastards honest, otherwise you're just democratically election a dictatorship for the next 3 and a bit years.

[@themcfunnel]

voting third party in the senate is a good way to spook the major parties but it can lead to legislation gridlock

[@danielsykes7558]

This is why mmp is needed in the lower house. The local seat ballots should work the same, but you also vote for a national party to supplement seats to make it proportional like New Zealand and some aspects of Germany do. Keep the preferential voting, but also have seats for the parties to add to make it proportional.

[@samueljesse2179]

Australia is a Godless socialist country. Liberal and Labor are too similar now, although liberal are marginally better than labour

[@MisterPolitical1]

​@Sami Baaj hare clark is confusing

[@brontewcat]

Don’t think it is needed - the last election showed the two major parties no longer have a monopoly on lower house seats.

[@markr6812]

National Voters would vote for a mop if it were their Candidate.

[@brontewcat]

Good video and explains a lot about how seats work on a two party system. I live in one of the safest Labor seats, but before this election that was deceptive because it is a seat that the Greens have their eye on. For the moment it is the safest Labor seat in the country until the PM resigns his seat. Then my bet is the Greens will win it. It is in my view a good thing that so many independents won so many seats. They do represent a third force that keeps the major parties on their toes.

[@anEyePhil]

We must have optional preferential voting in both Senate and Reps. I HATE being forced to place LibNat or Labor when I do not want to vote for either.

[@MisterPolitical1]

in the Senate you don't have to prefrence any big guns

[@UmbreonShapeshifter]

Simply place them at the bottom of your rank, that way the vote passes to smaller candidates, who receive funding if you rank them high that can help in campaigning or funding projects at least. Preferential voting works best when you place smaller candidates at the top anyway.

[@plskie9527]

In Canada there are several districts that went to a candidate with over 80% of the vote, it is also very common to see candidates win with over 60 or 70% in federal or provincial elections. Marginal constituencies see people get elected with 40 or even less than 30% of the vote

[@646-48]

Australia has compulsory voting, which ensures the race is a lot tighter.

[@AUmarcus]

The lower percentage votes get candidates elected here too.....after preferences from minor parties are distributed.

[@ronaldmccallum2111]

@@646-48 And with full preferential voting, or Single Transferable Voting, in single member Electoral Divisions, no one wins without an absolute majority of the vote, namely, fifty (50%) percent plus one. Unfortunately, here in Canada, we have First Past The (Moveable) Post or plurality voting which allows the top vote garnering candidate to win the seat with less than an absolute majority. Dreadful

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

@0:51 If a candidate received 56% of the vote then that candidate has a 12% margin on a two party preferred basis. A marginal seat is only one where the candidate ends up with 53% of the vote or less.

[@davidedwards3361]

If we have a 2 party preferred system, why do we even bother having other parties running? All it means is Australia has more politicians per capita than any other country in the world. 26 Million Australians vote and either Shorten or ScoMo will get elected, but once on power, 86 members of the party can have their own vote and change the leader. That doesn't seem like a fair system to me.

[@PBMS123]

@@davidedwards3361 Because you aren't voting for the Prime Minister, you're voting for the party. And whilst the leader does have some say in direction of policy, the party as a whole is a far greater indicator of the policies. We only have a two party preferred system in terms of who forms a government. But that can always mean forming a minority government. Which means even though one party may hold government, it is really the other parties, independents and other secondary parties who hold the balance of power. A minority government however, can lead to issues with actually governing the country, so ideally you don't want to form a minority government, because you may not get legislation through the senate, causing a deadlock of legislation, it could lead to the GG calling a double dissolution where both the House of Reps and the Senate are dissolved and another FULL election is called. This could even cause a change in power, but a lot of the time the party that isn't in government, is the one blocking legislation and Australians tend to dislike that kind of attitude, and so they end up electing the same government but generally into a majority government. However if a double dissolution election doesn't allow the legislation to pass, a joint sitting of the senate and the house of representatives can be called, where they vote on the piece of legislation together. If the legislation passes the joint sitting, then it is considered to have passed both the House of Reps, and the Senate.

[@santaclaws1501]

This response is a bit late, but you are incorrect. the margin is whatever percentage above/below 50% TPP they are on, as it is looking at how many votes are needed to bring the TPP from the result above/below fifty down/up to the party losing/gaining the seat, which is ~1 vote below/above 50% TPP. Given the nature of TPP, in order to bring the % of one party up, you have to take that same % off the other party's total. This means that margin(party (P)1)=P1(%)-P2(%) ____________ 2 The ÷2 is to account for the fact that 1 party gaining 1 vote also means the other lost 1 vote. In simple form, it is what I said at the very beginning. The margin is the percentage above or below 50% as one vote for one party takes one from the other.

[@skinnywizard103]

I hate living in a safe seat. Labor doesn't even bother campaigning in my electorate. I envy those who live in marginal seat or bellwether seats.

[@ADerpyReality]

I live in a so called marginal seat that has been held by Liberals since the 1970s. I don't vote LNP but it seems like a safe seat to me. But people are moving in and out of the area so Idk.

[@GlasgowCelticBhoy]

@@croweater6814 I now live in a safe liberal seat, and this place is a shithole as well. I don't think it's labor or liberal - I think the problem is that it's a safe seat; so bugger all effort is put in by either party.

[@IdeenTVABC]

I'm in Gorton, labor has an 18% swing here. This electorate is mainly the city of Melton and sections of Brimbank. We have 0 hospitals despite a population projected to be the same as the ACT in 10 years. Safe seats are fucked, our political system is broken. I'm voting for an independent, the snake Wrangler... First independent to contest our seat ever

[@JohnJones-gu3rs]

😂 I live in Aston, where Alan Tudge won by about 20% or close to. Only labor campaign we have here is a picture of the guy on one of the suburbs

[@The_General_Zubas]

There has to be a way to increase the idea of voting 3rd partys in the 1st round more. If only there was a way to make every seat unsafe.

[@Lachlan.Wright]

@3:58 No. Not 18% - it requires 9% to change their minds. Does the ABC even maths? E.g 40 votes for "A", 60 votes for "B". "B" has margin of 20 votes, or 20%. "A" only needs 10 voters (10%) to change their mind to close the gap.

[@chrishillman3327]

This, entirely lol. and a marginal seat is actually technically only a 3% swing, not 6% because as you said, if you hold 56%, only 3% downward on a 2 party preferred means the seat in very basic terms is now 50-50.

[@lamo543]

When they say 18% they mean 18% above 50%. Which means 68% of the vote.

[@tavharling9333]

Did the ABC seriously just advocate for gerrymandering??

[@windwaker0rules]

advocating gerrymandering is fine if its random, gerrymandering is fine if its random its only bad when the politicians decide, which they do... which is bad. So the ABC was wrong to say it was a good thing.

[@thomaswhitelaw504]

@@windwaker0rules The politicians don't have control over redistributions, the AEC does, which is independent of the government, so redistributions that cause a swing to one party or the other are mere coincidence, not gerrymandering.

[@The_General_Zubas]

TL:DR screw gerrymandering, Sincerely, A USA dude.

[@mendel7575]

Immigration itself is democratic ethnic cleansing.

[@mendel7575]

@Brett Mitchell Yeah, I know, but that IS democracy. The people who rule over a democracy (banks, corporations, media, powerful united groups) have always excluded people from the system entirely. In the case of Anning it is just more obvious. I more see immigration as inherent to democracy. In a two party system, one party will always be pro-immigration compared to the other. This party will gain increasing power as they change the Demos of the country. Therefore, democracy tends towards ethnic cleansing. Eventually it will hit a point of no return. By that time though, the democracy is to disorganized and the Demos is too fractured, too disunified to function.

[@nevillereimers6336]

Don’t vote for major parties WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU GOT TO LOOSE there are plenty of choices besides main stream parties

[@shikishinobi]

Well that goes a long way to explain how my electorate (Chilsholm) was the only one to change sides in all of Victoria, because our Labor candidate retired. However it is a marginal seat, and the Liberal candidate was under a lot of fire up until her retirement. It will be very interesting to see what happens at this election. Will her disgracved downfall be enough to change things around again?

[@videogamesTSH]

Ok marginal seats change every election due to the political climate. I live in Wentworth, and after turnbull got out its now a marginal seat between keryn Phelps and dave sharma. This isn't a sign of a bad voting system what it's a sign of is just different values in different electorates. I know they mentioned this in the video but the swing is always going to change

[@geraldinegonsalvez5804]

Thank you. Education is crucial. While voting in the lower house decides the government. Voting in the Senate matters and keeping the Senate Independent as far as possible is important as this can counter politically partisan influence or interference and enable the necessary checks and balances essential to good equitable, balanced democratic governance. Thanks again.

[@ericwangphotography447]

Nice informative vid!

[@IdeenTVABC]

I live in Gorton, located between Ballarat and Melbourne in ViC, super safe for labour. Population in my seat is the same as the ACT. The ACT has countless hospitals, we have 0... Our political system is broken

[@rollerskdude]

Quit complaining spoilt brat.

[@KingFahtah]

What's the ice usage like there?

[@AUmarcus]

The ACT has more per capita than anybody....no surprises there....its the A C T.

[@geometricfro8768]

What are your numbers here? I struggle to believe your electorate has the same no. Of voters as the entire ACT.

[@conn1e]

That might make more sense if the ACT weren't also safe Labor.

[@Murrangurk2]

Please do a doco on how politicians are allowed to lie with impunity, and there's no accountability for spreading misinformation in the media. I really want to know. You'd think the LNP would be up something like perjury. Otherwise, if all it takes is bold lying to get in to power, and this ok, then what's the point of media or journalism or education? (I'm a kiwi, just asking for a friend who was recently badly burned.)

[@no_bull]

The problem is that people have a short memory and are quite gullible and are scared to vote for any other party/candidate apart from the well known traditional... Why aren't we willing to shift elsewhere? Have we been brainwashed and also can't be bothered to look at other party's policies? I'm tired of this Ping pong two party preferred system.

[@sharonkeith601]

KPAracing / Much like America! Not surprising. ❤️

[@PurplePinkRed]

I agree. For real change to happen, start voting independent. That'll definitely get labor and liberal to pull their finger out. The country will not fall apart if you vote differently.

[@sharonkeith601]

I’m American so I can’t vote in Australia, of course! But if I could, I would vote for Eliahi Priest! That’s just me. You know him better than me and it’s YOUR country after all. America is grateful to all Australians for the help and friendly association we have been afforded by you! I truly wish you a good vote. ❤️ Love ⛩ Peace and 💰 Prosperity to you from us! 🇦🇺 🇺🇸

[@neverlostforwords]

Thank you Sharon. :)

[@buddha4tw]

I live in a safe Liberal seat on the Gold Coast, every election day I feel like it's an exercise in self Flagellation but I do it without fail...

[@pavementpounder7502]

My seat of Gellibrand is guaranteed Labor, has always voted ALP for the 100 or so yeara its existed. So yeah, feels more like a chore to just turn up, even if I'll probably vote ALP.

[@sectokia1909]

I am also in a 100% labor seat. Its actually sad. Liberals don't spend a dollar her, because they know the swing needed is too great. Labor don't spend a dollar here, because... there is no reason to.

[@prizecowproductions]

Explain what happened in Indi 3 elections back. The sitting Mirrabella failed to understand that sitting on your hands in a relatively safe electorate would backfire. So since we have had a independent that leans to the left but has farming background it's balanced. I for 1 will never vote for the 2 major parties ever again as party line thinking doesn't help us in a Westminster Parliamentary system.

[@MisterPolitical1]

Kingsford Smith was a safe alp seat since 1969 but it's going to be more labor since the 2007 race

[@XtotheK]

Regardless of what side of the fence you are on, Electoral boundary changes are the equivalent of hating the game so much you refuse to play until the rules change enough to enable you to win.

[@jordanb722]

It's more a matter of matching populations. Places change and populations grow, so they need to adjust boundaries to make sure seats have relatively equivalent populations. Regardless, this isn't America, where the government of the day gets to redraw the boundaries as suits them, it's the job of the electoral comission to do that.

[@erin9377]

Unlike in America, the electoral commission is non-partisan and not controlled by the government of the day. They do redistributions to keep electorate populations roughly equal (the legal limit is within 10% of the state or territory average) and to avoid unfair boundaries developing. I'm not sure if it's strictly illegal for parties to interfere with the process, but there would be massive backlash if they tried. For perspective, in 1978, a cabinet member was dismissed because he suggested to another minister that the name of an electorate should be changed.

[@ronaldmccallum2111]

@@jordanb722 "Regardless, this isn't America, where the government of the day gets to redraw the boundaries as suits them, it's the job of the electoral comission to do that." Two points: First: It is the State Legislatures (and Governors) that are ultimately responsible for readjusting Congressional District boundaries in the United States of America, unless the State's voters voted in a non-partisan Redistricting Commission which has happened in a few States. Naturally, in the States where the State Legislature has full control is when there is a lot of "gerrymandering" to suit a political party's fortunes. Second: The Australian Electoral Commission's processes in redistributing or redistricting Commonwealth Electoral Divisions is prescribed and governed by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, Chapter I --- The Parliament, Part II --- The House of Representatives, Section 24: Constitution of the House of Representatives, and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 As Amended. Kudos from this Canadian for Australia's most efficient non-partisan reapportionment and redistricting (redistribution) procedures.

[@shanesydney127]

Like the USA elections usually need to win or swing 3 states, Florida, I forget the other 2 mid west states.

[@sirphoenixknight3567]

and this is the reason why Labor want to help immigrants move to more regional areas rather then metro suburbs so they can win the Country Votes that either Vote Liberal or for a National or Conservative Party.

[@dancepro67]

Uh... no they want immigrants to move to regional areas to reduce the strain on our roads and public transport. Upgrading infrastructure is expensive and time consuming.

[@sirphoenixknight3567]

@@dancepro67 that too.. but to mainly keep the power they want..its why they virtue signal so much and the 1% minority of the care and wants of the Majority.

[@sirphoenixknight3567]

@No Name to many to start with nearly 7 million Migrants in Australia at the moment. some where near 30% of the Countries Population wasn't Born here. and yet 70% of Australians want no more Migration for now till we can help the ones that are here already. www.news.com.au/national/politics/seven-in-10-aussies-dont-want-more-migrants-anu-survey-reveals/news-story/8d6e45de83aea4fc04e6765bc6d8a7c6

[@atlennysworld]

Not really. Immigrants often come from socially conservative countries. Add to this the proven fact that immigrants are more likely to set up a business than locals and therefore be likely to be economically conservative. This means many immigrants vote Coalition. Just look what's happened to voting trends in western Sydney.

[@sirphoenixknight3567]

@@atlennysworld the Migrants that use to come here came on a Merit system those that were looking to work and and refused to be on welfare. when the Greeks, Italians and the British came to Australia in large migrations they didnt take welfare they started businesses even the Chinese that came over in the early 80s were the same opening shops and businesses. but the Sudanese and Muslim population are still claiming welfare at 90%. i have heard that at the moment cause that survey was 2015 its at 93% currently.

[@chchsjendbd2024]

No more votes for coalition labor and greens

[@samueljesse2179]

Boundary change should never be allowed.

[@Potenti4lz]

Is there a site to check how much of a swing your electorate has? I've seen both Liberal and labor MPs going hard in Hurstville (Banks electorate) at pre-polling.

[@quietcow9169]

the AEC. type 'banks electorate' into google and it'll come up with an electorate profile. at the bottom you can see 2016 results (and other previous years) and you can see the swing! you live in a very marginal seat. (ive heard that links get marked as spam so thats why i didnt just copy paste)

[@Potenti4lz]

@@quietcow9169 thanks for that! Yeah it seems like it, no wonder I bumped into the former Premiere few days ago when I voted. Keneally. :) From history though it has been very ALP driven. instagram.com/p/BxbNkUbhN3a/?igshid=85ncpc21gqnv

[@Potenti4lz]

@@quietcow9169 I found this in Mascot electorate. The Labor poster looks Liberal. Must be Liberal Electorate (Kingsford Smith). instagram.com/p/BxgygdzBElk/?igshid=896mjjixrrr

[@jacktowers7533]

Probably should’ve had a bit more, or a whole video about Gerrymandering

[@earthone4939]

Gerrymandering doesn’t exist in Australia.

[@jacktowers7533]

@@earthone4939 Ummm W H A T ? !

[@鱼人-v8y]

@@jacktowers7533 Luckily for us in Australia, both state and federal electorates are drawn and adjusted by an independent body of public officials. Electorates generally only change based on changes in population. However, due to Australia having many parties, sometimes the winner of electorates do not necessarily have more than 50% of the vote. Also since we have preferential voting, parties often give you pamphlets on choices that will benefit them the most, which I guess is the closest thing we have to gerrymandering.

[@pebblepod30]

So voters should try to make their seats marginal, unless perhaps not held by a major party.

[@lukedavies2406]

Remember to vote not-liberal!

[@parkertl]

If Wentworth was held by 18% margin then only 9% of voters needed to change their vote.

[@frankendudi3s608]

So weird seeing how much Australians change their minds, compare to Americans who generally only vote for one party.

[@harrysmith8515]

I heard Labor will win easily this time. It seems the economy slow down quite a bit in the last few years under Liberal. Money is tight and a lot of people find it difficult to get a permanent job.

[@MrFranz-vj7yn]

Yeah I do believe underemployment has increase a bit... even though unemployment is around its goal of 5%. In my opinion the libs provide a bit of stability, such as returning to surplus. Labor in the other hand create a lot of ‘bad debt’ which I see as bad for our future... but as you said yeah labor will probably destroy the libs. Like look at the commercials of the two parties, It must be 80% labor and 20% lib.

[@hondasarefaster5914]

@@MrFranz-vj7yn liberal dont provide stability, they are a terrible government who only look out for the wealthy. I dont believe they are back in surplus i think its liberal lies and even if they were it would be at the expense of our schools and hospitals they have cut money to. Labor may create some debt but at least they put money where its needed. And the last time liberal tried to use Labor's debt as a scare campaign to try and win government finance expert David Koch said Labor's debt wasnt that bad and it was being hyped up by liberal. But that doesnt surprise me with these dodgy liberals. And i dont know where you live but at my workplace on the radio theres is lying liberals adds on all day, i cant wait until the elections over so i dont have to listen to their bullshit anymore

[@jamesbaconstaken]

@@MrFranz-vj7yn surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus surplus.

[@MrFranz-vj7yn]

@@hondasarefaster5914 "at least they put money where its needed"- Labor promised 2 billion dollars into dental care for seniors. As for education, money is spent and spent by both parties, and what do you know? There have been no improvements that have been cited. A heap of input... But very little return... I would say I see a heap of bs advertising from Labor and liberals. But I think we can all agree that we are sick of Clive Palmer hahaha.

[@MrFranz-vj7yn]

@@jamesbaconstaken deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficitdeficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit deficit

[@chrizzle6222]

whoever thought naming a seat in the western suburbs of melbourne after a liberal pm should be fired makes me sick voting in the " division of Frasier" we are Labour through and through always will be so why not name it after a Labour pm

[@MisterPolitical1]

The Australian electoral commission decides it appropriately in their respective states

[@leooostveen4435]

Don't worry ABC, those marginal seats were sorted.

[@Ifyouarehurtnointentwasapplied]

The answer make as many seat's marginal as possible

[@MAC_ABC]

Listening about Australian politics from Britain is really confusing! Labour vs Liberals... the two main parties? Umm aren’t Labour traditionally left & Liberals traditionally centre-left?? I thought it’ll be Labour vs Conservatives or Liberals vs Conservatives. Can someone explain this?

[@646-48]

The liberals in australia are the "centre"-right party.It tends to promote economic liberalism which is why it gets away with it's name, but make no mistake, they are our version of the tories

[@jaydenharris940]

So yeah there are kinda two main entities within Australia, So when people talk about Australian Liberal they mainly mean the N/Lib Collision to make maters worse (two parties, the nationals who are generally right wing and Liberal party who are right of center. Labor who are slightly left of center (mostly centralist with a few left wing ideas mainly on health care, welfare and kinda does stuff on climate change but not by much) but most people think they are leftist for what ever reason... (Probably their alliance with the Greens, left wing semi climate group, they can get a bit odd) There is a little more with the complication of minor parties due to preferential voting but that is the main gist of the political parties here, I would be happy to explain all minor parties influence too? But it can get a bit tedious.

[@MAC_ABC]

Oh. Thanks. So it’s mostly like the crap fest in America. Where Democrats are centre right liberals & Republicans are far far faaaaaar RightWing Conservative reactionaries. So no real left progressive national party.

[@Awseswa]

@@MAC_ABC well I mean in comparison with America, the liberals here are basically far left. Labour campaigns on mostly leftwing issues (increasing welfare, taxing corporations ect) and liberals campaign on mostly rightwing policies(trickle down "supply side" economics, privatising ect). I definitely wouldn't compare it with America, our conservative politicians would be considered far left socialists there considering how far right they are atm.

[@mendel7575]

How is Northern Pakistan doing these days?

[@robertalker652]

Georgina Downer... an appalling woman how has an appalling father, both with appalling born to rule mentalities.

[@utareangara5529]

I have the misfortune of living in Glady's electorate -_- but what is weird for state i am in Willoughby but the Federal i am in North Sydney. Why does that change? (Artarmon)

[@erin9377]

There are 93 seats in the NSW Legislative Assembly, but only 47 for NSW in the federal House of Reps. So the federal electorates have to be larger, and don't correspond to the state electorates.

[@RangaTurk]

That sounds like the old state seat of Northcote. Ryde was the next one west then Eastwood.

[@davidedwards3361]

Don't vote. It only encourages them. There is only 1 reason people get into politics...$$$$. Drop politicians pay to the same as a factory worker, and see how many want to do the job. Here's political equality. What someone on unemployment gets in 2 MONTHS, the prime minister gets in 1 DAY. Told you, $$$$.

[@drewestification]

but then we'll get factory workers in government, and factory workers can't even stack boxes right.

[@metametodo]

Holy shit and this is considered a democracy?

[@Adam-kt7yx]

ScoMo making Australia great again

[@greymouser8659]

The cuts to the ABC are beginning to show......what do you get after a pigeon craps on your jacket? Nothing.

[@MisterPolitical1]

safe seats are making voters more negativity

[@the19trier]

I always vote for the minority!

[@daveray5655]

Here is an idea. Ban political parties.

[@scott72able]

All seats matter. The ABC should know better than to produce this insulting nonsense.

[@Pepperoniman776]

@Goughs Bastard All seats matter, and while often not making an impact on the election they matter for decision making when bills pass through the senate and lower house.

[@RangaTurk]

That's right, but some are of more strategic importance than others due to differing demographics. For example, going by the demographics of about fifteen years ago if the southern boundary of the electorate of Fadden in Queensland extended to Slatyer Ave and Heeb Street it would probably be classified as more marginal than it ever has been before. The same could almost be said if as compensation the neighboring Queensland electorate of Moncrief had its western boundary pushed further back into the hinterland but I still wouldn't count on it falling to Labor.

[@SpectreOZ]

The problem with Politician's obsession with popularity polls is we tend to get more "vanilla" candidates, lackluster behaviour for fear of rocking the boat, no clear cut opinions etc. Identity Politics manipulated by the "perpetually offended"

[@NxDoyle]

Any time I see a piece with bellwethers and marginals at the core, I can't help but wonder if people take away the idea that voting makes no difference.

[@KingFahtah]

I was going to say something about safe seats and lesbians then I thought better.

[@jared4walsh]

what if there is a tie on May 18 50% 50% and as well for seats.

[@ffroghnourm7990]

There are 151 seats, so a deadlock would be impossible, but hypothetically if there was a deadlock they'd probably just call another election

[@matthewbaker9176]

Ffroghnourm7 yeah but say only one independent gets in, then it would be 75-75 for Labor and the Coalition

[@ffroghnourm7990]

@@matthewbaker9176 That independent would them form a minority government with one side

[@jamesquaine6264]

Is it first past the post in Australia?

[@CH-bd6jg]

no, it's single transferable vote. you order your preferences 1, 2, 3, and so on, and when votes are counted they're grouped by the first preferences. if no-one gets above 50% of the vote, then the smallest portion of votes is then redistributed, based on who those people voted as number 2(their second choice), and when that's done, the process repeats. is there someone with a simple majority? if not, remove the smallest pool, and redistribute based on the next preference. repeat until there's a simple majority.

[@charlieinsingapore]

And this is precisely why Australia needs to ditch the current garbage system and use NZ's Mixed Member Proportional system.

[@MisterPolitical1]

safe seats don't get political bucks aka funds because marginals get more

[@camcorp]

Vote the freedom friendly seats 1st. Vote against ALP greens ..put them last below all others including LIB

[@nodakamakadon]

Bizarrely the video stopped short before getting into gerrymandering.

[@asneakychicken322]

Well none of the political parties are responsible for drawing the electorates up, unlike in the US where gerrymandering is a serious issue, it's done by the AEC

[@samueljesse2179]

SA can win and lose elections too

[@jenny8296]

I have always voted Labour except in 2013 when I voted for the LNP because I thought they will bring a stable government.

[@santaclaws1501]

I hope another Victoria happens this federal election.

[@jackgray3267]

LOL great move to get rid of that carbon tax! ...NOT

[@PowerPAOK]

Oof. That didn't work out so great. Also, Labor* - the party's name has global origins (union movement related).

[@Joe13313]

Vote Labor so We Could Unseat Sarah Henderson!

[@coopsnz1]

@@jackgray3267 new performance cars are 10k cheaper under liberals . So abbolishing carbon tax did help . But liberals also abbolish tariffs on asian and American cars + lifted luxury car tax theshold up to $67000

[@bobbellamy253]

debate pays kids

[@BEEZYBRAH685]

The Liberals, The Nationals, One Nation, Fraser Anning, Clive palmer & Guns, Fishing & farming about to take over 💯🇦🇺

[@JJSPARROW1978]

Maybe we need to elect the Governor General too. It's the Governor General who appoints the executive. By us electing the GG, we hold that appointment and the Executive Council to account. That way, the GG can dismiss them if they are not acting in the best interests of the whole of the Commonwealth of Australia..............Hope the GG does the vetting early, let's see who isn't qualified this round.

[@geoffgersbach1416]

JJ Blake - Aaaaggghhh! Electing the GG would in effect give us a President & he’d choose his buddy’s and not members of the Parliament, and dismiss a Minister who who was elected by the populace & hadn’t lost the confidence of the majority of Parliament (also elected by the populace). Not a better solution....

[@JJSPARROW1978]

@@geoffgersbach1416 ??How so. GG has not powers to create a bill. Also Ministers are not elected, they are appointed. How does a GG elect his or her buddies, when we do the electing? I dismiss your answer because it is all based on false premises.

[@boobtube2142]

rooting for fraser anning

[@danielfarrugia3884]

Good onya. Anning is horrendous in every way.

[@allandaly2573]

You are mad what about Hannibal Lecter or Hitler.

[@AussieVet]

One Nation, the silent surge......

[@awilliams379]

Oh RLY

[@maverickhurst7621]

Freedom first party for Australia

[@deanervik]

You still talk in jargon to explain other jargon. Put another way, you’re not being as clear as you think you are.

[@Pepperoniman776]

You'll generally find the Australian media will purposefully use jargon and boring speech to explain politics because it keeps you from being interested. If you're interested you do researched. If you do research you realize how much of the Australian people are disadvantaged by our current government.

[@Ash-bp9gj]

What don't you understand..?

[@treefarm3288]

Kennedy electorate. Will it ever change?

[@santaclaws1501]

@SPAM THE BAND katter also seems to genuinely care about the people. I may not agree on his policies, but like Jacqui lambie, I can respect him.

[@Patrick-ki6nq]

What people in Qld know that @qldLabor have no money to support these projects, Labor is now saying if they win a seat that was held by anyone other the Labor they would cancel all approved projects.

[@paulieplayspoorly]

And yet here in New South, we're being told "Vote for the Liberal candidate, we're already in govt so the money's guaranteed if we get up".

[@paulieplayspoorly]

@Goughs Bastard Don't 'old ya breff.

[@20quid]

Swap IRV for STV and you've got a proper election.

[@jimpikoulis6726]

Swingers O Meter

[@sangeetasharma3905]

Seats majority sabhi plz samjhays

[@peterlarry5790]

Hi warm greetings. Hope you're doing great over there?.. , I saw your comment in the video.. I'd like to be a friend with an amazing person just like you if don't mind. I'm a trader in Cryptos I live in Toronto, but El Salvador is where I reside for business.

[@fpvvsford]

All i heard was vote Labor. Yes! Will do

[@sectokia1909]

"Q: What makes a seat safe" - A: The media assuming peoples vote.

[@ViralHub1]

this is why u should always vote against the safe seat so ur region becomes marginal

[@porrii]

Humans aren't cooperative enough to pull something like that off.

[@amyasseektruth8246]

FRASER ANNING FOR THE WIN!!!

[@อาคมมากบุญ-ภ7ฐ]

แล้วแต่น้อง

[@อาคมมากบุญ-ภ7ฐ]

แผนการมากน่ะ

[@tamphex]

L A B O R

[@genewakeham7779]

HACK BY NAME

[@andrewmc679]

Hopefully who ever wins cuts ABC budget by half

[@อาคมมากบุญ-ภ7ฐ]

มาจัดการเอง

[@petereiso5415]

No no no, if your margin is 18% the swing needed id 9% . as in the Turnbull example Turnbull had a margin of 18%. If 9% of voters no longer vote for Turbull and they all go to the leading alternative, that is then a swing of 9%. The turnbull replacement would lose the seat.

[@kashiproductions8461]

The margin is 18% he had it on 68%. So no it’s a 18% swing

[@petereiso5415]

@@kashiproductions8461 Thanks Rick, I did not know how big it was, I was going off the presenter's figures.

[@jared4walsh]

Bill Shorten wants to bring back a New Carbon tax 2.0

[@p93668643]

What was wrong with the carbon tax?

[@m0rthaus]

Sounds good to me Jared, let's vote for Labor!

[@jared4walsh]

@@m0rthaus Then why ppl was mad at Julia Gillard when she bring the carbon tax it's the same thing that he's bring in the carbon tax from her's

[@jamesbaconstaken]

@@jared4walsh People got mad because of the scare campaign the Liberals launched. INCREASED PETROL PRICES INCREASED GOODS PRICES The Carbon Tax is a good thing and should differently come back.

[@marcheradiuju9328]

“Democracy has nothing to do with freedom. Democracy is a soft variant of communism, and rarely in the history of ideas has it been taken for anything else.” - Hans-Herman Hoppe, Reflections on State and War

[@freakylocz14]

You Aussies still have a better electoral system than the US, the UK, or Canada.

[@อาคมมากบุญ-ภ7ฐ]

ยอมคร้านบ้าแล้ว

[@Auxodium]

LOL ok ABC...

[@intomusic7074]

18 19 Marker set 🐸

[@haopygay9579]

I can't believe Australian party spent $60 million on adds to support Lib but they lost

[@Nick-lw9cq]

1000th like gonna unlike now

[@seaworldsocialartslecturer4160]

Raise the voting age, when it was made 18 to vote we had left home, were married , had been conscripted, been paying taxes. Now their in there 30s before Leaving home, starting families, getting jobs. They don't deserve to vote. 🙄

[@jaydenharris940]

Eh, its more about developmental ability to reason than being actually competent human being... Cause there are plenty of no life 30 year olds...

[@seaworldsocialartslecturer4160]

@@jaydenharris940 if ya ask 18 year olds how's to make bread. Most refer to Minecraft 🙄 . Their being taught what to think and not how to think by their 25 year old University lecturers. I see more activists then intellectuals coming from our universities. You should at least have to make a life for yourself before you get to vote on how other's live theirs.

[@seaworldsocialartslecturer4160]

@@jaydenharris940 but totally agree , if you're 30 on the dole,, have never worked then they don't deserve a vote either

[@jaydenharris940]

@@seaworldsocialartslecturer4160 I would argue a lot of that is societal, every generation complains about the last... I remember my folks complaining about my generation as getting stupider, so does my parents and did my grandparents. People also tend to follow not lead and with more people than ever going into university it could be a factor? I'm just spit balling though and have no actual idea. Making a life for your self is also A LOT harder in modern Australia, with job permanence a real issue and house ownership has its own issues. Society is changing rapidly and what is considered "making a life for your self" and what is possible is very different in our current world. Its very interesting to see where we go from here!

[@seaworldsocialartslecturer4160]

@@jaydenharris940 it is very interesting. We are still just, in the most free and prosperous times the western world has know. But we are slipping back into tribalism at a ever quickening pace. Nasty times ahead I Think. People are so weak now because of having it so good, will make it hurt even more. Let's just hope we can find some middle ground somewhere and steady things a bit.

[@Soyabuti]

Labor must stop negative adds on tv, on liberal party. We all refresh our memory when they been in government.

[@mattgroves8642]

Another win for the top end of town. Thank god we fended off socialism once again. Now we can proceed with making a dollar.

[@ttomred4000]

Fraser Anning for PM

[@Ryanlexz]

ABC a left wing media😂😂😂😂

[@SF-ow5ru]

Vote labor greens last!

[@f.7838]

Ok puppet