Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

The Armchair Warrior

Driving up and down the coast, candidate signs are hard to miss. Their point is to get voters to remember them come polling day. However, a successful election campaign can’t just rely on name recognition. Candidates need to be out and about sharing their visions and what they can do for the electorate.

This week Dawson candidates gathered at a Whitsunday Chamber of Commerce event in a ‘meet the people forum’. Events like this, and there will be more, are important in giving all candidates a voice and equal opportunity to press their claims. Outside of these type of forums candidates also need to be amongst the people, door knocking, being available at community events, and creating opportunities for voters to meet them.

Crisscrossing the country our Federal leaders have been racking up the miles to get to as many places as possible. In Dawson, at the time of writing this observer notes since the election was called, David Littleproud, leader of the Nationals has visited the region alongside current member Andrew Willcox and this observer wonders are we going to have any other leaders visit before polling day?

Of course, it is not just the members of parliament that want your vote, it those running for Senate as well. The make-up of the Senate dictates how easily promises made can be passed into law. There are 76 senators, the current composition of which is made up of 25 Labour Senators, 30 Coalition Senators with 21 representing the minor parties (including 11 Green) and independents.

For legislation to pass the Senate, 39 votes are required (unless not all Senators are present), which means both Labor and Coalition rely on playing nice with either each other or the cross bench. While this is not something new, the more Senators a government have, the less wheeling and dealing that is required.

Voters might at times be finding it hard to decipher at a national level, all the party politics and sort through the promises and scares. The local candidates are the one’s that will represent us and for some the choice may be more about the local guy or girl rather than the party they represent.

This observer asks readers, when heading to the polls on May 3rd, which local candidate is best placed to be our positive voice in Canberra?

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