Something for Cate

Continuing in the spirit of Cate Speaks

Page 2 of 9

Failure to Communicate

Our aim here at Something for Cate is to provide voters with information about the preferences, candidates, and policies of those parties and individuals who make the decision to run in elections. We do this by examining websites, social media accounts, news, and video – and sometimes we have to dig for it. When we can’t find that information, especially on Independents who may not have funds or time to create and maintain a web presence, we reach out to them and invite them to comment on a series of questions that concern the major issues being canvassed in the campaign as a whole, and any areas of specific interest to their individual candidacies.

For this election, we contacted the following Independent candidates via Facebook:

  • Fred Ackerman (Western Metro, Group E)
  • Mehdi Sayed (South Eastern Metro)
  • Walter Villagonzalo (Western Metro, Group U)

Unfortunately, only Ackerman responded to our initial inquiry. We sent him our list of questions, but received no further response.

The other candidates did not respond to our first attempt at contact. A fourth Independent, Esther Demian (Western Metro), was unable to be contacted at all.

This is both deeply frustrating and sad. Often there are nuggets of gold hidden in the policies of these Independents. There may also be landmines. The problem is, we can’t inform you, our readers, if we don’t have anything to explore.

As things stand, we can’t provide either positive or negative recommendations. We don’t think anyone should infer anything about these candidates’ motivations or commitment, either. Our reason for this post is to let readers know that we have not overlooked or discounted these Independents, but were just unable to find any details to bring to you all.

It’s possible one or more of these candidates will see this post. To them we’d like to say, drop us a comment. We’d still love to correspond with you.

Laylah Al Saimary, Storm Hellmuth and Colin Mancell, Independents (Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia)

Summary

Website: indigenouspartyofaustralia.com
Social Media: FacebookTwitter
Slogans: Community, Unity, Connection
Themes: Practical solutions to Close the Gap
Electorates: Upper House: Northern Metropolitan Region (Mancell), Western Victoria Region (Hellmuth)
Lower House: Melbourne (Al Saimary)
Preferences: Al Samairy’s How to Vote card does not direct preferences. She encourages voters to choose their own. Mancell and Hellmuth do not seem to have How to Vote cards.
Previous Reviews: none

Continue reading

Freedom Party

Summary

Website: freedomparty.net.au
Social Media: FacebookRumble
Slogans: Protecting Victorian Jobs – Homes – Families
Themes: We are so oppressed, we must jail Dan and Protect The Kiddies
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victorian, North Eastern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan, Northern Victorian, South Eastern Metropolitan, Southern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan, Western Victorian
Lower House: Albert Park, Ashwood, Bass, Bayswater, Bellarine, Bendigo West, Box Hill, Bulleen, Bundoora, Carrum, Clarinda, Cranbourne, Dandenong, Essendon, Eureka, Euroa, Frankston, Gippsland East, Gippsland South, Glen Waverley, Greenvale, Hastings, Laverton, Macedon, Melbourne, Melton, Mildura, Mill Park, Monbulk, Mornington, Morwell, Murray Plains, Narracan, Northcote, Oakley, Ovens Valley, Pakenham, Point Cook, Preston, Ringwood, Rowville, Shepparton, South Barwon, St Albans, Syndenham, Tarneit, Werribee, Williamstown, Yan Yean
Preferences: Across the board, FPV have preferenced, in this order: Family First, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Angry Victorians Party, and the United Australia Party. Which tells you everything you need to know.
Previous Reviews: none

Continue reading

Sustainable Australia Party

Summary

Website: www.sustainableaustralia.org.au
Social Media: FacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagram
Previous Names: Sustainable Population Party, before that the Stable Population Party
Slogans: Redefining Growth
Themes: Protect our environment. Stop over-development. Stop corruption.
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victorian, North Eastern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan, Northern Victorian, South Eastern Metropolitan, Southern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan, Western Victorian
Lower House: none
Preferences: Sustainable Australia is yet another Druery special. They’ve ranked their fellow alliance members together in various orders in the different regions, and given a big thumbs down to everyone else. Labor is the highest preferenced major party on their list, so that’s likely where their preferences will land.
Previous Reviews: 2022201920182013

Continue reading

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party

Summary

Website: vicshootersfishersandfarmers.org.au
Social Media: FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube
Slogans: It’s Your Powerful Voice
Protecting your freedoms, our farmers and the future of outdoor sports
Themes: Victoria? Where’s that?
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victorian, North Eastern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan, Northern Victorian, South Eastern Metropolitan, Southern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan, Western Victorian
Lower House: Gippsland East, Melton, Morwell, Narre Warren North, Ripon, Yan Yean
Preferences: The SFF’s preferences are interesting. They’re a standard Druery mix for the part, with all the usual suspects, but the one major exception to this is the Companions and Pets Party, who are always third preference no matter what. I guess that make sense, the two pro-hunting parties sticking together. After the Druery alliance has finished playing musical chairs, the ticket rounds out in the same order every time: Independents, if any, followed by Freedom, Legalise Cannabis, Reason, the ALP, the Coalition, Vic Socialists, the Greens, and unsurprisingly, Animal Justice at the very bottom.
Previous Reviews: Official Site
Commentaries: 202220192018 (VIC) — 2014 (VIC) — 20132010

Continue reading

Liberal Democrats

Summary

Website: www.ldp.org.au
Social Media: FacebookTwitterYouTube
Previous Names: none, but sometimes referred to as The Liberal Democratic Party
Slogans: Getting elected to get out of your way.
Themes: Get the government out of your business
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victorian, North Eastern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan, Northern Victorian, South Eastern Metropolitan, Southern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan, Western Victorian
Lower House: Caulfield, Frankston, Hawthorn, Lara, Narre Warren North, Narre Warren South, Ovens Valley
Preferences: The Liberal Democrats were a part of Glenn Druery’s alliance, and it shows in their preferences, which are a jumble of other alliance members – and the Companions and Pets Party, although not always. The only real consistency appears in the lower reaches of the tickets, where Vic Socialists, the Greens, Reason, the ALP and the Coalition are always last. If for some reason you feel that you absolutely must vote for this party, please vote below the line.
Previous Reviews: 202220192018 (VIC) — 2014 (VIC) — 20132010

Continue reading

New Democrats

Summary

Website: newdemocrats.com.au
Social Media: Facebook
Previous Names: none
Slogans: New Democrats. New Choice. New Voice.
Themes: Newness
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victoria Region, North-East Metropolitan Region, Northern Metropolitan Region, Northern Victoria Region, South-East Metropolitan Region, Southern Metropolitan Region, Western Metropolitan Region, Western Victoria Region
Lower House: Kalkallo, Kororoit, Laverton, Melton, Niddrie, Point Cook, St Albans, Tarneit
Preferences: In the light of the recent expose of Glenn Druery’s preference wheeling and dealing, ND’s Group Voting Ticket makes a lot of sense. Almost all their preferences are directed towards some combination of Health Australia, Shooters Fishers and Farmers, Justice, Liberal Democrats, Labour DLP, Sack Dan Andrews and – you guessed it – Animal Justice. For no readily apparent reason, Reason and the Greens get a look-in for Northern Metro and Northern Victoria respectively, but by far they’ve kept to the parties with whom they entered into this preference swap.
Previous Reviews: None. They’re New, remember?

Continue reading

Animal Justice Party

Summary

Website: www.animaljusticeparty.org
Social Media: FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube
Previous Names: none
Slogans: Animals. People. Planet.
Vote With Your Heart.
Themes: A better world for Animals, People & Planet, with emphasis on the first of those three
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victoria Region, North-East Metropolitan Region, Northern Metropolitan Region, Northern Victoria Region, South-East Metropolitan Region, Southern Metropolitan Region, Western Metropolitan Region, Western Victoria Region
Lower House: Albert Park, Ashwood, Bass, Bayswater, Bellarine, Benambra, Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Bentleigh, Berwick, Box Hill, Brighton, Broadmeadows, Brunswick, Bundoora, Carrum, Caulfield, Clarinda, Cranbourne, Croydon, Dandenong, Eildon, Eltham, Essendon, Eureka, Euroa, Evelyn, Footscray, Frankston, Geelong, Gippsland East, Gippsland South, Glen Waverley, Greenvale, Hastings, Hawthorn, Ivanhoe, Kalkallo, Kew, Kororoit, Lara, Laverton, Lowan, Macedon, Malvern, Melbourne, Melton, Mildura, Mill Park, Monbulk, Mordialloc, Mornington, Morwell, Mulgrave, Narracan, Narre Warren North, Nepean, Niddrie, Northcote, Oakleigh, Ovens Valley, Pakenham, Pascoe Vale, Preston, Point Cook, Polwarth, Prahran, Preston, Richmond, Ringwood, Ripon, Rowville, Sandringham, Shepparton, South Barwon, South-West Coast, St Albans, Sunbury, Sydenham, Tarneit, Thomastown, Warrandyte, Wendouree, Werribee, Williamstown
Preferences: AJP’s top preferences all flow to some combination of Legalise Cannabis, Reason, Victorian Socialists, and either Labor or Greens. Without exception, the lowest on the ticket are Labour DLP, Family First, and Freedom Victoria.
Previous Reviews: 20222019201820142013

Continue reading

Giving a Damn

The reason this site exists, and the reason that Cate Speaks existed before it, ultimately comes down to the fact that we’re the kind of people who give a damn about politics. We want to know what the promises are, and what the quality of the promisers is.

And the bare minimum we expect is this: that candidates should at least make an effort to pretend they give a damn too.

I say this because I’ve just found three parties in a row who are courting the votes of Victorians in this election, but without going to the effort of doing anything more than running a few candidates. Now, it’s true that this is a common flaw of the campaigns of independents too, but I’m more forgiving of that – independents have fewer resources, and the one they lack most tends to be time. In addition, many of them are first-timers who have underestimated just how difficult and time-consuming the task of running for election actually is. They get a pass.

The United Australia Party, Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party do not.

For that matter, neither do the New Democrats or Sack Dan Andrews, both of which are led by people who have previously been involved in election campaigns and can reasonably be expected to know better.

We believe that these five parties, irrespective of any other considerations such as policy or integrity, do not deserve your vote. Because if this is how much consideration and effort they’re going to put in at a time when they’re actually courting you – none – how much do you think they’re going to care about you when they no longer need your vote?

They work for you. Make them.

Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party

Summary

Website: www.justiceparty.org.au
Social Media: FacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagram
Previous Names: none
Slogans: It’s Just Common Sense!
Themes: Harsher sentencing for criminals, end animal cruelty and legalise euthanasia
Electorates: Upper House: Eastern Victorian, North Eastern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan, Northern Victorian, South Eastern Metropolitan, Southern Metropolitan, Western Metropolitan, Western Victorian
Lower House: Bellarine, Cranbourne, Melton, Point Cook, Polwarth, Ripon, South Barwon, South West Coast, Werribee, Yan Yean
Preferences: Only one pattern emerges from the rather chaotic preferencing of DHJP: if you’re a major party, they hate you. The Coalition, the Greens and the ALP are placed last – and often jumbled together – in every region. Other than that, they appear to have drawn names from a hat.
Previous Reviews: 202220192018 (VIC) — 2016>

Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2023 Something for Cate

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑