Saturday, August 6, 2016

HERBERT WIN CARTOON ; WEAK GROUNDS FOR COURT CHALLENGE

Despite the Australian Electoral  Commission  (AEC)  repeatedly stating it gave the  Army plenty of  warning and  the  resources  for  Townsville   soldiers taking part in  a  military exercise  in South  Australia to vote  , political reporters  still raise  the possibility  that  ADF members may have been denied a  vote in the  election . 
 
One of the many scrutineers  for the ALP  in the long  count, 29 days , before  Cathy O'Toole ( ALP) was  declared  the  winner by  37 votes, a  former  Army man ,  said that even when he was on  patrol  in the jungles of Malaya , he made sure he  voted . The implication being that  if a  Townsville based soldier  taking  part  in  an exercise in  SA  did not get to vote  , it was  that person's fault, not  that  of  the  AEC.

The media , and the Liberal National Party , also goes on about certain  hospital patients  missing out  on the right to vote .The word is that  a number of the patients in  this hospital had  personal dealings with Cathy  O'Toole  through her work  and  would  probably  have  voted  for  her .

So, on the two main grounds  cited by the LNP , it seems dubious  justification for a    case  to place before  the Court of Disputed Returns . However, because  the Turnbull  government has a  mere one seat majority , the pressure  is on to  try  and snatch  back  Herbert . According to information received  by this blog, on the night of the election , a former Herbert  seat warmer , Peter Lindsay , was heard  say  the ALP could  win .
 
It now remains to be seen if  the Coalition is so desperate and  opportunistic  it will  mount  a  court  challenge likely to fail ; if , however,  a by-election were ordered  the electorate might  vent  its anger on the LNP . As the Chinese might   say, we are living  in   exceedingly  interesting   take away  times . 

Meanwhile, the defeated  Ewen  Jones  has  gone  on  some R and R--rest and resuscitation.