Kyle Said:

Can you get some kind of visa or citizenship into Australia through Military service?

We Answered:

You're moving to Australia?! Can you take me with you? I have a friend there that I'd love to visit!

Oh man, i take it obama won?

Ruby Said:

what does it mean by this (Australian politics!)?

We Answered:

A swing to (+) means that they have recieved __% more support. A swing against (-) means that __% percent of people who voted for that party last time have changd their vote.

So labor had a -3.7% swing against them. 3.7% of voters decided Labor wasn't for them and voted for another party.

Won 52, means they won 52 seats.

A platform means their policies. So every policy they go into the election with is their platform. A platform is commonly used when refering to the entire policy package they offer.

On election day a voter shows up, passing all the people handing out How to votes, often takes a "How to vote" card. Lines up, gets name marked off on electoral roll. Gets ballot paper. Goes and numbers the boxes (for a legislative assemly ballot), 1 through to however many candidates, or they can 'Just vote one', for a legislative council vote you can "vote above the line" for a particular party, or you can number your preferences. Fold ballot paper, but it in the designated box. And your done.

Just Vote one= but just putting a one in a box your only voting for that one person as opposed to giving preferences out. The problem however is that if you don't vote for a major party your vote becomes exhausted after the intial count is done, effectivly becoming wasted.. just voting one for a minor party is often done as a protest vote.

Above the line= By putting a one above the line you are only voting for that political party. The person at the top of the list will recieve all the votes until they are elected, then the next person starts to recieve votes until they are elected and so on. It ensures you only vote for one party and that all their top people get in.

How to vote= a piece of paper which indicates where the parties want you to put your preferences. You don't have to follow the numbering, many use it as a guide only.

Protest vote= often used by people who don't want to vote for a major party on principle, but don't want to vote for the opposition either. Commonly people vote 1 for a smaller party who has no chance of getting in (an independent commonly, sometimes a Greens candidate), but gives their number 2 vote to the major party they would prefer if they had to have one. So they are sending a message that we don't want Party A, but if we had to pick out of A and B, it would be party A.

The legislative assembly method of voting is used for the House of Reps on a federal level, and the legislative council method is used for the Senate at the federal election.

Hope it helps, email me if you have any questions.