Chris Bourke gets the nod to take Stanhope's seat

johnboy said :

emd said :

I do like that we can get a replacement MLA in without all having to go out and vote again. Very cost-effective.

Yeah that democracy and voting thing is totally over rated.

Even more cost effective would a a remote control humanoid robot to fill the seat left vacant, and controlled from back in the reptoid party headquarters.

Felix the Cat said :

The Frots said :

I know nothing about him – but congratulations to him and let’s hope that he looks after us all.

He used to be my dentist!

Was he the ACT’s first indigenous dentist too?

Another nobody gets the nod – let’s just hope he doesn’t turn out to be another useless nobody!

Does he know much about public art, political grandstanding on issues outside of the ACT and creating memorials to himself at great expense to the ACT taxpayers?

I do like that we can get a replacement MLA in without all having to go out and vote again. Very cost-effective.

I must admit I find it a bit strange that someone who may have received 1% of the vote can be sworn in to the LA. (okay, I have no idea what percentage it actually is, but you get the idea)

Having said that, congratulations to him and I wish him every success.

It’s a funny system we have here.

I was scruitineering many years ago and saw a vote go to Michael Moore, who had been placed 36 out of 45 candidates on the particular ballot paper.

Effectively the voter had determined that there was only 9 people they would less like to give their vote to, yet it went to him.

If we had to vote each time someone stood down from a multi-member electorate, in Canberra it would usually be won a Labor member. Ginninderra’s representation is currently ALPx 3, Grn x 1 and Lib x 2. Doesn’t make a difference when a Labor MLA steps down, but if it were a Lib stepping down it would be ALP x 4, Grn x 1 and Lib x 1. A Green stepping down would be ALP x 4, Grn x 0, Lib x 2. Changes the mix of representation.

Of course, the current system relies on those persons who ran last time putting their hand up again. That is, if no ALP candidates put their hand up this time, the vast majority of those Stanhope ALP votes would have expired. Who knows who we’d have ended up with.

I suspect the current system is therefore more democratic than what Labor proposed recently ie no matter the case, when a party member steps down, the party chooses the replacement. At least the public’s preferences are currently taken into account.

I suspect Brindabella may have a better chance of a Lib getting up, which might indicate why whatsisface is hanging around on the Labor backbench.

emd said :

I do like that we can get a replacement MLA in without all having to go out and vote again. Very cost-effective.

Yeah that democracy and voting thing is totally over rated.

I do like that we can get a replacement MLA in without all having to go out and vote again. Very cost-effective.

Am I missing something here? Who is this bloke? I’ve never heard of him.

Swaggie said :

Let’s just judge people on their merits and not on their ancestry or religion or any other social factor.

Yes, let’s focus on important stuff… like what is up with that awful shirt he’s wearing?

The Frots said :

I know nothing about him – but congratulations to him and let’s hope that he looks after us all.

He used to be my dentist!

Holden Caulfield said :

Swaggie said :

Jeez can we focus on his ability to do the job and not his ancestry, if he’d been a Muslim I suppose that would have been the first thing mentioned! Let’s just judge people on their merits and not on their ancestry or religion or any other social factor.

That’s a fair point, but is it really an that much of an issue to acknowledge the MLA’s first indigenous member?

Gotta agree………………………not sure where that comment came from Swaggie? Something we said?