In Australia's election on saturday, the 3-term right-wing Coalition party government was ousted, and a new left-wing Labour party government elected.
But what was interesting was the record number of people who voted for 3rd parties and independents: An estimated 1 in 3. The Green party got a record number of votes and seats. And a squad of 'independent' female candidates running on a mix of environmentalism and right-wing economics ("Teals") won multiple seats.
Australia's ranked-choice voting system allows people to vote for a 3rd party who is likely to lose, safe in the knowledge that their vote will still 'count', as they can also include a preference between the major candidates. A big advantage of this system is to ensure two main parties strive to keep their voters happy rather than just trying to be the 2nd-worst party, as their base does have other options and aren't simply locked into voting for the 2nd-worst of the two bad options. Failure to actually be a good party in the eyes of voters, will have them ranking independents and 3rd parties higher than their main party preference in their vote, as happened in record numbers this election.
When voters were surveyed about their #1 issue, a plurality said Climate Change. That is reflected in the record number of votes for the Green and Teal candidates. Australia recently had extremely severe bushfires, as well as severe flooding. And the conservative government's minimalistic actions on the Climate Change topic were not looked on favorably. It seems fairly likely that as a result of this election the incoming Australian government will be inspired to make significant commitments addressing climate change.
A blood-red sky in Australia in 2020 as the bushfires raged...
https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F200104195017-01-australia-fires-red-sky-0104.jpg
We had some days during that time where the wind was blowing such that our sky in New Zealand, 1500 miles away, turned red.
But what was interesting was the record number of people who voted for 3rd parties and independents: An estimated 1 in 3. The Green party got a record number of votes and seats. And a squad of 'independent' female candidates running on a mix of environmentalism and right-wing economics ("Teals") won multiple seats.
Australia's ranked-choice voting system allows people to vote for a 3rd party who is likely to lose, safe in the knowledge that their vote will still 'count', as they can also include a preference between the major candidates. A big advantage of this system is to ensure two main parties strive to keep their voters happy rather than just trying to be the 2nd-worst party, as their base does have other options and aren't simply locked into voting for the 2nd-worst of the two bad options. Failure to actually be a good party in the eyes of voters, will have them ranking independents and 3rd parties higher than their main party preference in their vote, as happened in record numbers this election.
When voters were surveyed about their #1 issue, a plurality said Climate Change. That is reflected in the record number of votes for the Green and Teal candidates. Australia recently had extremely severe bushfires, as well as severe flooding. And the conservative government's minimalistic actions on the Climate Change topic were not looked on favorably. It seems fairly likely that as a result of this election the incoming Australian government will be inspired to make significant commitments addressing climate change.
A blood-red sky in Australia in 2020 as the bushfires raged...
https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F200104195017-01-australia-fires-red-sky-0104.jpg
We had some days during that time where the wind was blowing such that our sky in New Zealand, 1500 miles away, turned red.
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