In the election year, as a 20-year-old immigrant to Australia, the election has nothing to do with me and now I can talk about the Australian election as a witness.
The History of Democratic elections in 1150
Long ago it was only 1788, when the first British government troops and prisoners landed in Australia. Then, more than 100 years ago, the Commonwealth of Australia was founded in 1901, and six colonies were converted into states. But in fact, the democratic electoral system began long before the establishment of the Federation.
Victoria began secret voting in 1855.
In 1856, South Australia abolished the requirement that voters should own certain property and a fixed occupation, giving all adult men the right to vote.
Thirty-eight years later, in 1894, South Australia gave women the right to vote.
But here's the point. It wasn't until 1962 that the indigenous people had the right to vote.
It can be seen that the right to vote is not easy to come, even how many revolution martyrs of the blood of the exchange.
To sum up, although Australia is a young country, democratic elections are more than 150 years old, and it should be one of the oldest and most mature democracies in the world today. Unfortunately, Australia is now dubbed the "coup capital of the democratic world" by the international media. How did it evolve? Let's speak slowly below.
2. Why did Australia choose the prime minister, not the president?
In 1931, the Westminster Act was passed by the British Parliament, which gave Australian autonomy and diplomatic independence from the sovereignty. Since then, Australia has become an independent country within the Commonwealth.
Despite becoming an independent state, the current head of state is Elizabeth II, Britain's kind and lovely old lady. Because according to the constitution, the Australian Parliament is composed of the Australian monarch, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Australia is a constitutional monarchy, and the head of state is an Australian monarch (Australia shares a monarch with the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth kingdoms). The Governor-General of Australia is the representative of the Australian monarch when he is not in Australia and exercises his power under the Australian constitution in lieu of the monarch.
There have been numerous discussions in Australia about whether to abolish the constitutional monarchy to the Republican system, but because many British descendants and even the British old lady are still very popular, the majority of the people think that A hundred years from now may be the time to discuss reform in Australia.
Since it is not a republic, there is no president but a prime minister. The Governor basically authorizes the House of Representatives majority group, led by the Prime Minister, to carry out the authority, and the Governor acts only as a ceremonial function. In other words, the Governor is the first in name, and it is the Prime Minister who holds real power. The monarch does not question Australian politics except when appointing or replacing the Governor and Governor of Australia on the nomination of the Prime Minister and the Governor of the states.
3. How did the Prime Minister come into being?
As mentioned earlier, the Australian Parliament is composed of the Australian monarch, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Australia's House of Representatives (House of Representatives), also known as the House of Commons, currently consists of members from 150 constituencies. It is usually twice the number of seats in the Senate. Since House constituencies are distributed equally, they will be adjusted from time to time as the total population and the population of the states rise or fall. House members are called MP (Member of Parliament).
The Australian Senate (Senate) is currently made up of 76 members: 12 in each state plus 2 in the Northern Territory and 2 in the Capital Territory, the Senate is also known as the upper house, and the Senate is called the Senator.
For new immigrants to Australia, to see these words really dizzy, do not understand. One of my methods of memory is relatively simple, that is, the one with more people is called the crowd, and the one with more people is also more important. For example, the federal budget just announced, can only be proposed and amended in the House of Representatives, the Senate can only vote.
The key point came, and the most elected party became the ruling party, and its party chieftain naturally became Australia's prime minister. So Australia's prime minister is not elected by one voter, one vote. In the general election form, there is no form or option for selecting a prime minister.
When voters fill out election forms, they have two forms, one for members of the House of Representatives of their own constituency, and one for senators of their own state or territory. As a result, voters voted for congressmen and senators, not prime ministers.
The prime minister was elected by the members of the ruling party. Whether the prime minister can maintain the throne in the ruling process will be uncertain. Because the prime minister is not elected by voters and has no natural legitimacy and law guarantees, Australia's prime minister will change when there are other opponents in the ruling party who can successfully challenge their party chieftain status. Now, as a result of the chaos, it has been proposed that federal elections should be changed from three to four years, and that the ruling party chieftain should also make it more difficult to switch.
After being elected prime minister, according to Westminster system practice, the prime minister chooses minister from among members of Congress to form a cabinet. Policy decisions are decided by the cabinet, with the exception of decisions officially announced, the contents of cabinet discussions are not public, and all cabinet minister must abide by the principle of "cabinet consistency". As with the post of Prime Minister, the Cabinet is not the state body mandated by the constitution, so the Cabinet's decision has no direct effect on the law and is subject to the symbolic approval of the Federal Executive Council headed by the Governor.
Vote allocation system in 2100
A political party is greater than an individual.
The elections are the responsibility of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). It is run by a three-member group, independent of all political parties or factions, responsible for federal elections, referendums and voter registration.
Australia is a mandatory voting system.
Mandatory voting requires every adult over the age of 18 to register with the Election Commission and vote at the general election. If there is no vote, and there is no good reason, fine! This is especially important for immigrants from both sides of China and Australia. Of course, it is more important to care about the future of the country and fulfill the rights and interests of the citizen, and it is particularly important to treat the one-vote in hand with caution, especially in the years when the voting ratio between the two parties is close.
As for how to choose, from the technical link is really a bit complicated. For example, Australia's ticket allocation system. This system was adopted as early as 1918, 100 years ago! I don't know if it's advanced or backward?
Voting system:
In the election of the Federal House of Representatives, for example, voters fill in the ballot papers and choose them one by one in the order in which they like them, with figures of 1,2,3,4,5, respectively.
If one candidate is not selected, each candidate is not listed in the same order, or two candidates are listed in the same order, the vote is scrapped. Therefore, new immigrants, despite their big head, but should also understand, can not let their hands of the authority to waste ah.
According to the electoral law, a candidate needs more than half to win. In the first round of counting, if no one is more than half, the person with the least number of votes will be eliminated. The man who has been eliminated will have to recount the vote to see who is second in the election of these voters. If these votes are given the fourth place, the fourth place has the chance to become the second place, then the third place is the new last position, so that the new final ballot paper will be re-counted, depending on who their second vote is. So it went on, and the vote went on until one candidate got more than half of the vote.
Don't count the votes. I feel so tired reading.
This reminds me of the Melbourne mayoral election, when Chinese candidates Yang Qianhui and Wang Zongjian said yes, when promoting, they put each other in second place in order to play a role in the allocation of votes.
So, when you vote, it's important who you choose first and who you vote for. It is also important that you choose the order in which the candidates are placed not in alphabetical order or party affiliation, but in random order by the Election Commission on the ballot paper. I don't know if it's a bit of a bad luck to be in the back at random?
Of course, there are ways not to use your brain. On the day of the election, there will be volunteers from all parties at each polling station, giving voters "how to vote" cards. Generally speaking, voters who prefer a particular party will vote according to the instruction card. You can, of course, rank each candidate according to your preferences, starting with 1. However, I sincerely hope that everyone must cherish authority, do not see who looks good to choose who ha.
Senate elections take the form of a "mass vote". Choose 1 in front of your favorite party on a long ballot, or list all the dozens of candidates below the line in the order in which they like it. According to statistics, more than 95% of voters, take the former approach.
In this way, you vote for a party you trust, and if that party cannot be elected, give your vote to someone they trust.
In general, during the election process, Australians tend to think that the party in which the candidate belongs is more important than the individual, and that the party represents a policy trend that is more important than personal character. According to the electoral law, any political party or independent candidate will receive more than a certain amount of donations to the public. As an electorate, you can also file a complaint with the Election Committee if you feel discontented or unfair.
Five, once a prime minister for 11 years.
Come to Australia nearly 20 years, become citizen also more than ten years, naturally have some personal experience. Howard (John Howard), then leader of the Liberal Party, came to power after becoming Australia's 25th prime minister in 1996, winning federal elections in 1998, 2001, 2004 and re-elected for 11 years.
The "Guotai Minan" used to describe Australia a bit over the past dozen years. The door is closed. The shoes don't need to be scrubbed for a week. It's a big deal to have a car accident in the news. At that time, the finance minister, Castro, was also rated high, but without a power of power. So that the general election in that year had not been suspended, and there was no point of view, and nothing could be remembered.
Well, in 2004, suddenly a dark horse came out, young and handsome, polite, and the Chinese-speaking leader of the Labour Party, Rudd (Kevin Rudd), suddenly went up and down all over the country. At that time, he watched TV elections every day and read a bipartisan fight between the newspapers. Like watching TV dramas, it's really fun.
"Australia doesn't need a new leader," Howard told the public. "I cut the unemployment rate to a 33-year low and paid off the 96 billion deficit that Labour had left behind." However, in the face of the 68-year-old, who has been watching the wrinkled television for 11 years, voters have lost interest. They are attracted by Kevin Rudd's "new leader and new thinking," regardless of the withdrawal of Iraqi troops and the repeal of the labour law. Or aboriginal apologies are often applauded.
Howard shuddered the story of Rudd watching strippers when he was young, but not only did he cut points, but he found Rudd more amusing as a scholar. In the last three weeks, when the Budget came out, the Liberal Party came up with a quick hand and threw out the 34 billion tax cuts. Lao Lu was slow for a moment and came up with a 31 billion proposal. The Liberal Party quickly named Lao Lu: "Me
Mr. too, comics and posters. But it is no use, the voters are determined to see Laolu good. In the end, Labour won 86 seats and won 24 seats. It created a situation of one-party dominance, creating a boom for the Labour Party that it had never seen in 116 years.
At that time, I wrote in an article:
In Australia's democracy, no matter which party comes to power, society will not be disturbed by it. The election and change of political parties will only make the management of the society more satisfactory and the development of society more perfect.
Six, eight, five prime ministers?
Looking back at the above, I can only say that I was young and ignorant (too young too simple.When I was also exultant about Rudd's election, I could not have expected the next eight years to change the five prime ministers.
In 2018, we hosted the "foresight 2018" Forum and invited Kevin Rudd to be the keynote speaker. When the host asked him about his resignation in that year, he said: "I think about national affairs every day, go to bed when I go home, and I really didn't think there would be problems within the Party."
Yeah, before Kevin Rudd, I didn't even know that a well-elected prime minister could be discussed by dozens of cabinet members and dismissed overnight. And to tell the truth, the old Lu Gan was pretty good at that time, and the percentage of polls was quite high. Not to mention, such a dramatic plot will never end in Australia! And even if the prime minister is not particularly wrong, Australia's prime minister is named the world's highest-risk profession.
In the past 117 years, the current Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has produced 30 prime ministers. And now it is 5 prime ministers in 8 years. In order to sort out the following prime minister replacement schedule, I have spent some time.
In November 2007 federal elections, Labour Rudd (Kevin Rudd) was elected Prime Minister.
June 2010 Labour deputy party chieftain Julie Gillard (Julia Gillard) challenge Kevin Rudd, successfully replaced.
In August 2010 federal elections Gillard narrowly won.
In June 2013 Kevin Rudd turned back to challenge Gillard and succeeded in vengeance.
In September 2013 federal elections, Liberal Party party chieftain Tony Albert Tony Abbott won the election as Prime Minister.
September 2015 Liberal Party minister Tan Bao (Malcolm Turnbull) party challenge Albert, succeeded in replacing.
In July 2016, the federal election, Tan Bao, narrowly won.
August 2018 Liberal internal affairs minister Darden (Peter Dutton) launched a challenge to Tan Bao, failed.
Scott Morrison (Scott Morrison) replaced Tan Baocheng as prime minister.
Federal elections in May 2019? Prime Ministe
The end of democracy in 7150?
Australia is now dubbed the "coup capital of the democratic world" by the international media. Fortunately, though, despite coup, there is no bleeding. But the dysfunction of Australia's government and political system is obvious.
"only 52% of 18-29-year-old Australians say democracy is the best form of government," according to the Roy Institute.
Australia's famous commentator Paul Kelly bluntly said: "in this age of subversion, decay and transformation, democracy seems ineffective and the pursuit of individual autonomy is a driving force for cultural development."
"this is an era full of political transactions. Australia's political system has been mired in bipartisan rivalry, its loyalty to major parties has dwindled, the new party has gained a foothold and mistrust of politicians has deepened. Will Australia be able to rebuild the political ground that could even lead to two terms of re-election of the government? "
"the people seem to be caught in a process of self-defeating, they would rather punish and weaken government, and then bear the negative consequences."
In just a few years, the great changes in the world, the decline of Australia, are completely unpredictable, and the differentiation and chaos are so fast. Of course, dripping water is not a day's work, and freezing is not a cold day. "The question in the West is, if you give up your faith in Christ, or if your government system begins to marry this belief, how will he inherit the legacy of Western civilization? The lack of faith may be able to find the root cause of the above chaos, or perhaps solve it. The real way for Australia to go in the future."
8, cherish one vote in hand, seriously elect
Many people, both Westerners and new Chinese immigrants, do not take this vote seriously. Or so chaotic world, do not know what to do, choose who is entangled.
The 2010 federal election saw the first "suspension parliament" in 70 years.
Of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, the Labour Party had 72 seats, the Unionparty 73, the Green Party one, and four independents. Neither of the major parties had a statutory 76 seats, so the prime minister would naturally not be able to produce a prime minister. That time, when 14 million people voted, perhaps 0.1% of voters, or 1400 votes, decided the result. What's more, it was 1.69% of the time that the vote was scrapped.
Well, the federal general election in July 2016 is similar. We were preparing for the social app, bipartisan victory that night, that is, we did not expect that after six hours of counting votes, until 12:00 in the evening, there would be no results. I still remember that the social app question at that time was "step by step"! Watching Australia's federal election is even more tense than watching TV dramas.
It is evident that the importance of each ballot is highlighted.
As for whether to vote for the Liberal Party or the Labour Party, it is definitely a high-risk topic now. When Labour approved the residence of 40, 000 Chinese students before and after the Year Nineteen Eighty-nine, which later grew to the base of at least 300,000 Chinese immigrants, many Chinese communities were unanimous in vowing: "the grace spring of dripping water." Chinese and Labour seem to be somewhat thicker than water.
But since 2013, with the rise of 163,188 investment immigration visas, the proportion of small businessmen or big bosses among Chinese has grown rapidly. At the same time, many foreign students have become citizen, not to mention the fact that most of the Chinese who lived in the past are now bosses. As a result, more and more Chinese gradually agreed with the Liberal Party's policy. There are also new topics involving the homosexual love, campus security plan, religion, refugee, and so on, which make the Chinese voters even more incompatible and extremely divided in their opinions, and even often "open and tear" in the social app group, and the phenomenon of blushing neck often occurs. Sometimes Chinese seriously, friendship, family and even love at all costs, kick, retreat, blacklist, one after another, if you say that the Chinese do not care about politics, it is wrong.
Of course, we still look at Australia's future with optimism. Perhaps we can end with a speech by Frank Roy (Frank Lowy), founder of the famous Westfiled, to soothe the mood:
Building a country is a difficult task, but at the moment it seems difficult to be prime minister in Australia.
I have always admired our parliamentary democracy, but it is unacceptable to have five prime ministers in eight years. We should give the prime minister an opportunity to carry out all reforms if he cannot complete his term of office.
Over the past 70 years, I have witnessed the rise of Australia and I hope to be more successful in the next 70 years, which requires openness and enterprising.
No matter which party you elect, I hope you will cherish the votes in your hands. At such a turning point in the century, Australia's future has a bearing on all aspects of our lives and on the prospects of the next generation.