Now that the new Government has been decided the AEC is getting on with the counting of the votes in the Senate and I am delighted to say that Tasmania is showing some remarkable sophistication in choosing who they would like to represent them.
Both the ALP and Liberal party machines misused their power when they published their list of candidates. The ALP selectors demoted Lisa Singh, a sitting senator, to the number 6 position, probably because she spoke out against the ALP policy on asylum seekers. The Liberal party placed Richard Colbeck, the Minister for Tourism, in the vulnerable number 5 spot, apparently because he was the only Tasmanian MP who voted for Malcolm Turnbull in the leadership coup.
However, instead of blindly following the party line, many Tasmanians chose to vote below the line, giving their first preference to either Lisa or Richard. Good on them! Democracy in action.
On today's figures, Lisa is likely to be elected and Richard is still in with a chance. In fact, one report is that he received more #1 votes than Eric Abetz. I don't think the Age of Dinosaurs is over yet, but it is starting to look a little shaky.
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