I am generally apolitical and not particularly interested in playing the Holden vs Ford game we have in our political system, neither the ALP or Coalition truly represent the interests of the Australian electorate.  What I do care about is democracy.   The Coalition today has edged ahead of the ALP in my view when it comes to being NON-democratic.  The Australian is reporting “Coalition labels voter law changes an attempted rort”unfortunately this article is behind a paywall, though the gist of it is, due to so many new voters not being so quick to enrol themselves, they Government is making it easier and will have ‘auto enrolment’.   Sooooooo Manager of opposition business, Christopher Pyne, is dirty that young people (who may not be so conservative and not vote for them) will have easier access to their democratic and ‘legal’ right to vote?  Seriously?

As the mother of a young adult, when they turn 18 they have no idea, and enrolling to vote is the last thing on their mind, worrying about getting a job, getting into Uni etc., is a way higher priority.  Then that first year out of school is a massive learning curve of having to pay for yourself, (remembering most will still not have a full drivers licence yet), get a mobile phone in your own name, sign a rental lease for the first time, you name it...  Again, enrolling to vote is the least of their concerns, and even if they are interested, like my daughter was, it is a pain in the butt!  Now, they are going to make it easier for them to actually vote, yet the Coalition says this is wrong.

Mr Pyne has always been the feeler for Mr Abbot, and I seriously doubt he came up with this attack on his own without his bosses ok?  So I have a message for your boss Mr Pyne:

Mr Abbott, you are annoyed me an awful lot with your negativity, twisting of facts, wasting time in Parliament, negative attitude towards females and basically your holier than thou attitude, all of which has been counteracted by the rubbish the ALP has also carried on with.  This time though, you have pushed me over the edge.  Thinking it is OK to make out that allowing kids to have easier access to voting is wrong?  Seriously?  It is bad enough that it is a legal requirement to vote, yet there is no legal requirement to actually teach people what they are voting for, now you want to hold those kids off for as long as possible.  Did you people learn nothing from the US election?  White conservative men trying as hard as possible to enforce their values on a diverse population, making it harder for people who do not fit their little ‘conservative’ mindset, seriously?  What happened there?

I hope that other papers will pick this story up, not just an old white conservative paper, so that kids can actually see what you truly think of them.  Obviously you don’t want to invest any money or effort into winning their vote.  Obviously you do not want to consider any modern issues that our youth are concerned about?  Obviously youth who have not been moulded into your old fashioned mindset may not be as easily conned by the old chestnuts?  Obviously the youth may actually 'question you', which is why you don’t want them having easier access to enrol.  Guess what Mr Abbott, they are our future, not you!  Get off your butt & think about the whole country, not just your old white conservative mates, time to engage with them and be careful, contrary to popular belief, most of them have a good bullshit radar!

Cheers,
Noely
Twitter - @YaThinkN
(mother of 18 year old)

10 Dec 2012 - 10am - Sky News is now also reporting this, to see the article "New voting law endangers coalition seats", again, Coalition more concerned about potential for their re-election, not concern whatsoever about kids getting the opportunity to vote?
11 Dec 2012- Antony Green is amazing how he can explain a complex situation when it comes to voting, this is a very very good explanation "More on Direct Enrolment and Update"

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