Australia

I moved out of the house where these were taken from last week. Nice memory.

Thanks to everybody who responded to my last thread asking how the system works. I went in thinking Australia had Winner Takes All (WTA) or First Past The Post (FPTP) for parliamentary elections of the House of Representatives, but found out it does in fact have preferential voting.

As a European living in a democracy with lower houses / parliaments / houses of representatives that have proportional representation (multiple parties in parliament forcing requiring coalitions) allowing only a single tick per list on the ballot, it's a little strange to see the choice in Australia seemingly come down to two political parties. There are multiple groups here fighting for preferential voting and you guys have it yet look like the UK or the US when considering voting outcomes.

Why doesn't preferential voting not lead to plurality in Australia and more choice? Have there been efforts to change the system in such a way that plurality can be achieved?

Thank you for your insights! This is quite interesting to me.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21771540

If the car doesnt kill you, the highway will ?

There are no firm conclusions for why there has been a sudden increase in melioidosis cases in Far North Queensland.

But one theory — documented by Dr Smith and backed by other medical experts and scientists — centres around the staged Bruce Highway upgrade that runs almost 20 kilometres through the muddy plains south of Cairns.

The multi-billion-dollar project commenced in 2010, with more than a decade of construction works stirring up a clay-like soil believed to harbour the bacteria.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is urging politicians to shift further to the right and adopt US President Donald Trump’s polices as she blames voters and the “left media” for the Coalition’s disastrous election result.

I honestly wonder if she just wants to ruin everything for her own benefit, or she is actually lost in the sauce.

A largely automated pro-Russian news website has been used to "launder" propaganda on Australian topics in the lead-up to this weekend's federal election.

Pravda Australia has increased its output significantly since mid-March, in what experts say is an attempt to sway AI chatbots to spread "Russian narratives".

Liberal home affairs spokesperson James Paterson says any allegations of foreign interference should be taken seriously and investigated.

An advocacy service over the phone for people living with opioid dependence.

There’s not much I can do but share resources and hope it helps someone.

An advocacy service over the phone for people living with opioid dependence.

There’s not much I can do but share resources and hope it helps someone.

Y'all have first past the post / winner takes all, don't you? There was a vote recently and "labor" won from what I'm reading?

Labor, coalition, independents, etc. what kinds of parties are these? I thought Albanese was a "cunt" yet his party seems to have won again? What's going on?

ABC Elections Analyst Antony Green will crunch the numbers on election night for the final time on May 3, after more than three decades in the role. Here's a look back at some memorable moments.

(If you were watching ABC's election coverage near the end of the night this appears to be the same video)

“People only come to polling booths because they know they’ll be rewarded with a sausage, which is also the only reason they come to Bunnings. So it’s a natural fit"

I never carry coins, this is cruel and inhumane to deny me.

Welp

Of 13,334 advertised rental properties...

6 Were affordable and appropriate for a couple on the Age Pension

2 Were affordable and appropriate for a family with 2 children on JobSeeker

21 Were affordable and appropriate for a single person on the minimum wage single parent

0 Were affordable and appropriate for a single parent on Parenting Payment

See also: https://www.buildaballot.org.au/

The questions there are a little biased but the results were generally in line with how I'd vote.

Edit: The rules are changing for permanent residents - see article.

Temporary residents are allowed to keep using their overseas license.

I'm headed for the MUA march in town, it's great having a yarn with all the other workers in the pub afterwards.

I want to know that what does funeral celebrants do, what their actual roles are?

Trying to make this recipe

https://www.justonecookbook.com/wprm_print/baked-japanese-sweet-potatoes-yaki-imo

But it doesn't turn out as good with regular orange sweet potatoes and I live in a regional town and I don't know if my local Asian stores will have them because they don't have websites I can check so I'm wondering is anyone knows which sweet potato type here in Aus is closest to the Japanese sweet potato.

It seems a good time to remember, in amongst the rhetoric of election campaigns that all parties will keep house prices where they are.

The way back to affordability is 10-20 years of marginal house price growth, to enable housing to come into line with long term trends. Fluctuations that are radical pose radical problems for politics. So they opt for the sustained. This is what I think Australia's (and others) future housing comes down to the (continued) debasement of currency through broad (stealth) taxation.

What a game.

I suspect voting preferences will swing around the late 30s quite bad :-/