By Anne Boyd and Susan Laukens
This year Ferntree Gully votes in the Federal government electorate of Aston. At the time of going to press, no date has yet been announced.
Australia is lucky to live in a democracy, where every citizen over the age of 18 and on the electoral roll must vote to decide the Federal government of the day. Given the questions people have asked us we thought a Q & A might be useful.
Didn’t we just vote?
In October 2024 residents of Knox voted in the Knox City Council postal election, held every four years. Next Council election is 2028.
A Victorian State election was last held in November 2022. The next State election is due in November 2026.
A Federal election is held every 3 years. The Federal electorate of Aston has had two elections since 2022. In the Federal general election in May 2022 Alan Tudge MP (Liberal party) was elected. In 2023 he resigned, thus triggering a by-election in which the current Federal MP Mary Doyle (Labor party,) was elected. So you would be forgiven for thinking, you just voted. Knox residents have been to the polls five times in three years.
It is important to know these three levels of government deal with different affairs, from national defence (Federal) to rubbish collection (local Council).
Why do we have to vote?
Australia has compulsory voting. Every eligible resident has a say via their vote in shaping the direction of the country. It is thought that the more people who vote the greater satisfaction there will be in our democracy. There are fines for failing to vote.
What is preferential voting?
In a Federal election there are two ballots to complete. On the ballot paper, each voter decides who they would like their vote to go to. They put number one in the box beside that candidate’s name. They then number all boxes in order of preference.
How to vote cards: each candidate or party may or may not put out a ‘How to vote (HTV) card’. This is only a guide to preference according to the candidate’s views. It is not compulsory to follow to HTV card. Each voter may decide their own preferences.
In the House of Representatives ballot the voter numbers each box in order of preference.
The other voting paper is the Senate ballot: the voter may vote above the line for a political party’s appointed senators or below the line, where the voter decides the senators by indicating their preferences.
Where can I read about the election?
With mis- and dis-information on the rise both in mainstream media and social media it can be very hard to know what is true or not.
Ask yourself, does that news article sound responsible? Is the article from a reputable source? Is the article an opinion piece? Is the article or advertisement from a lobby organisation or a financially invested interest group? Are there facts to support the claims?
What are ‘Teal’ candidates?
Independant or candidates representing a party? Teal is how some in the media describe candidates that have been nominated by a local grassroots community driven group (like Jess Ness who recently announced in Deakin electorate, Maroondah, as a community independent).
An independent can be a self-nominated candidate. Party candidates (Labor, Liberal, Greens etc.) generally have a party preselection process where party members have a say in who they would like to nominate as the party candidate for the election.
How are candidates funded?
Political donations are regulated and must be declared via a register. Visit disclosures.vec.vic.gov.au/publicdonations/ for more details.
Is it important to you who is funding each candidate? You can look up who is funding community independent candidates and parties.
Remember to be curious, ask questions and contact candidates. Let them know what is important to you. Ask how will their policy affect our country. Your vote is your way of shaping Australia.
