Australia decides today
from AntBlog701

Australia decides today

If you are over 18 and an Australian, you must vote today. Sadly, voting is compulsory, and you've been threatened with $50 fine plus court cost if you fail to show up in the voting booth. AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) says so.

Here's the interesting Riley Diary.

(Click the QuickTime screenshot above to watch the video clip)

(highlight of the election campaign follows)

The highlight of the election campaign? The infamous dirty tricks campaign.
On Thursday, just two days before the election, retiring MP Jackie Kelly (Liberal)'s husband, Gary Clark, and Liberal candidate Karen Chijoff's husband, Mr Greg Chijoff, were caught for distributing bogus pamphlet in a marginal Sydney electorate. The pamphlet purports to be from a non-existing Islamic Australia Federation and says the ALP (Labor) wants the Bali bombers forgiven and backs construction of a mosque in western Sydney. It was designed to inflame anti-Muslim sentiment against Labor in key marginal seat of Lindsay. MP Jackie Kelly laughed it off as Chaser-styled prank.

My family is completely aware of my husband's actions and I have spoken to him accordingly.
(Channel 9 Today Show, 22 Nov 2007)

Both PM John Howard (Liberal) and opposition leader Kevin Rudd condemned such offensive smear that explored race and religion to try to divide an electorate, it also involved forgery which could be a crime.

PM John Howard replied something interesting when asked would he sack the candidate (Karen Chijoff),

Because her husband may have done a foolish thing that should not automatically be visited upon her.

Read the disgraceful dirty trick pamphlet.

The video clip is encoded with state-of-the-art video codec H.264, which delivers stunning quality at remarkably low data rates. QuickTime Player 7 (free) is recommended for watching the video.

Content of the video clip is copyright Seven Network.

Related blog entry:
have you decided who should be the next PM? (20 October 2007)