Seven votes away from a new government
My apologies for a text-heavy segment to kick things off this week; prepare to learn something!
Australia is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, meaning that the legislative body (Parliament) selects the executive leader (Prime Minister) from within the elected members of the ruling party. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth serves as the head of state and is represented in the country by the Governor-General. The Governor-General is nominated by the Prime Minister (but actually appointed by the Queen) and pretty much follows along with the ruling party, though there was a time in the 1970s when the Governor-General dismissed the Prime Minister and put the opposition in power in the midst of a constitutional crisis. But that's another story.
The Parliament is divided into an upper an lower house; like America, the lower house is called the House of Representatives and the 150 members represent varying geographic areas generally determined by population. Members are elected every three-ish years (I'll get to that in a bit). The upper house is the Senate and has 76 members; the six states of Australia get 12 senators apiece, while the two large territories each get 2 senators, who also represent an assortment of tiny island territories.
Whatever party has the majority in the House of Representatives after an election chooses a leader (or generally already has a clear leader) of the party and they become Prime Minister.
Easy? Of course not!
Also like the United States, there are two major parties in Australia: the Liberal Party (which, again, is the conservative party) and the Labor Party (don't ask why they spell it without the 'u', even though they spell the word 'labour' in everyday situations; they are the "little 'l'" liberal party, falling roughly where the American Democrats do). But here, there are other smaller parties that also play a key role.
Often, neither major party has enough members in parliament to form an outright majority, requiring the party with the most members in the House to form a coalition with members from smaller parties. If they are unsuccessful, the opposition would get a chance to form a government, or the parliament would be dissolved and a new election would be called. Typically, that's not an issue, and the elections happen every three-ish years.
The thing is, there isn't a fixed election date. Rather, the Prime Minister decides when the election will be held, though there are guidelines that mean elections tend to happen some time between March and November every third year (with 2019 being the next year for an election). Federal elections are always held on a Saturday and are never held concurrently with any other election. And voting is compulsory for all eligible Australians, though I hear the fine is pretty insignificant if you choose not to vote.
Also, they don't have run-offs here. Rather, Australia uses a preferential voting system (which some places in the United States also use), where voters rank all the candidates on the ballot by preference. If the first preference votes don't add up to a majority, voters whose first preference candidate got the least votes have their second preference counted, and so on, until a candidate receives a majority.
Interestingly, you don't see nearly as many political ads here during elections; the reasoning is twofold: 1) since Australians don't vote for national positions, but instead just for their specific representatives who will ultimately form the government, there isn't a single dominant election. 2) Until recently, much of the funding for campaigning was allocated by the government, with money being distributed based upon how well a candidate does in the election. However, corporations have ramped up political donations in the last few elections; a trend that doesn't seem like a good thing.
Now that you know way too much about Australian politics, I'll get back to the matter at hand...
So, even when there is not an election, it is possible to end up with a new Prime Minister. More than possible, it has become the norm in the last decade, with the country plowing through five different Prime Ministerships (that's totally a word) of four different people. Basically, if the ruling party is unhappy or has no confidence in their Prime Minister, they can call a party meeting and vote them out.
A slew of policy disagreements in the last year or so has resulted in the current Liberal Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, not being so universally loved by his own party members. There had been rumblings in the last day or two that a vote could be called, and sure enough one happened this morning in a flurry of confusion. The votes weren't quite there for the challenger, Peter Dutton, but it's not unlikely he could try again some time in the next few days; already, five ministers have submitted their resignations resigned, hinting at the fact that this saga is far from over.
The entire situation is very similar to the one that unfolded in 2013, when the Prime Minister Julia Gillard was forced out of office one night by her own party (Labor). It took two votes—one in 2012 that she won handily and the decisive one in 2013 that she ultimately lost—for Kevin Rudd to wrest control of the government, only for Labor to lose the election they called just a few months later. And for the record, Gillard had taken the position from Rudd just a few years earlier.
Ironically, Turnbull took the position from the previous Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, in similar upheaval in 2015. It won't surprise anyone if he is gone soon enough; and not surprisingly, Abbott has been a thorn in Turnbull's side, stoking the fires of discontent among the party. Most people I've heard talk on the subject feel that this is all leading up to a loss for the Liberals in the next election.
Pop some popcorn; we are likely in for quite a week.
Also, the new office is located above one of the major dining destinations in the CBD, with plenty of options on the lower floors. Not that I eat out all that often, but on my first day in the office I went downstairs to one of my favourite fast-casual place, Duck in Duck out. Coincidentally, the celebrity chef that started the place, Manu Feildel (who has been on MasterChef and is a judge on My Kitchen Rules Australia) was there, giving out duck burgers. Not a bad way to start the job!
Things have definitely started up with the new project now, and I'm getting to do some interesting things. Always good to have a bit of variety at the office.
Yes, those are really two place names.
The 10km (6.2 mile) walk starts at the Spit Bridge, which connects the middle peninsula of Sydney Harbour with the the north peninsula, wending its way along the coastline from beach to cliff and down again, all the way to Manly (where I had ventured back in June by ferry).
Passing through the National Park at Dobroyd Head, the trek offered plenty of scenic vistas of clear-watered bays and even the Sydney skyline on the southern shore.
In addition to great views, we also got to see some Aborginal rock carvings and something that was a bit unexpected... A few kilometres from Manly, the smell of smoke picked up in the air. Soon, the scrub and ground on either side of the trail turned black, having been freshly burned. As I had mentioned last week, hazard reduction burns had been conducted on the north shore, and it turns out they had actually been carried out where we were walking.
It was amazing to see how the Rural Fire Service is able to burn so expertly as to not harm the boardwalks in the park. For those that worry about why the RFS burns forests, including in National Parks, it is actually pretty healthy for the plants in the long run as the fire generates new growth. Unfortunately, there are some major fires burning throughout the state right now, which has taken the Rural Fire Service by surprise as large fires in winter are uncommon. Drought, coupled with high winds, has made for an unusually active fire off-season, and the worry is that, come spring and summer, the country could be in for some bad fires.
The wind chill was pretty low, and it was funny to see hundreds of people out on the beach despite the chill. The range of attire worn, from shorts to winter jackets and gloves was entertaining as well.
An Australian civics lesson
It has been an exciting day in Australian politics (though hardly unprecedented), with a failed coup within the ruling Liberal Party (which is actually the conservative party here), resulting in uncertainty as to how things will pan out in the next few weeks. Before I explain, here's a bit of background about the political structure in Australia:Australia is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, meaning that the legislative body (Parliament) selects the executive leader (Prime Minister) from within the elected members of the ruling party. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth serves as the head of state and is represented in the country by the Governor-General. The Governor-General is nominated by the Prime Minister (but actually appointed by the Queen) and pretty much follows along with the ruling party, though there was a time in the 1970s when the Governor-General dismissed the Prime Minister and put the opposition in power in the midst of a constitutional crisis. But that's another story.
The Parliament is divided into an upper an lower house; like America, the lower house is called the House of Representatives and the 150 members represent varying geographic areas generally determined by population. Members are elected every three-ish years (I'll get to that in a bit). The upper house is the Senate and has 76 members; the six states of Australia get 12 senators apiece, while the two large territories each get 2 senators, who also represent an assortment of tiny island territories.
Whatever party has the majority in the House of Representatives after an election chooses a leader (or generally already has a clear leader) of the party and they become Prime Minister.
Easy? Of course not!
Also like the United States, there are two major parties in Australia: the Liberal Party (which, again, is the conservative party) and the Labor Party (don't ask why they spell it without the 'u', even though they spell the word 'labour' in everyday situations; they are the "little 'l'" liberal party, falling roughly where the American Democrats do). But here, there are other smaller parties that also play a key role.
Often, neither major party has enough members in parliament to form an outright majority, requiring the party with the most members in the House to form a coalition with members from smaller parties. If they are unsuccessful, the opposition would get a chance to form a government, or the parliament would be dissolved and a new election would be called. Typically, that's not an issue, and the elections happen every three-ish years.
The thing is, there isn't a fixed election date. Rather, the Prime Minister decides when the election will be held, though there are guidelines that mean elections tend to happen some time between March and November every third year (with 2019 being the next year for an election). Federal elections are always held on a Saturday and are never held concurrently with any other election. And voting is compulsory for all eligible Australians, though I hear the fine is pretty insignificant if you choose not to vote.
Also, they don't have run-offs here. Rather, Australia uses a preferential voting system (which some places in the United States also use), where voters rank all the candidates on the ballot by preference. If the first preference votes don't add up to a majority, voters whose first preference candidate got the least votes have their second preference counted, and so on, until a candidate receives a majority.
Interestingly, you don't see nearly as many political ads here during elections; the reasoning is twofold: 1) since Australians don't vote for national positions, but instead just for their specific representatives who will ultimately form the government, there isn't a single dominant election. 2) Until recently, much of the funding for campaigning was allocated by the government, with money being distributed based upon how well a candidate does in the election. However, corporations have ramped up political donations in the last few elections; a trend that doesn't seem like a good thing.
Now that you know way too much about Australian politics, I'll get back to the matter at hand...
So, even when there is not an election, it is possible to end up with a new Prime Minister. More than possible, it has become the norm in the last decade, with the country plowing through five different Prime Ministerships (that's totally a word) of four different people. Basically, if the ruling party is unhappy or has no confidence in their Prime Minister, they can call a party meeting and vote them out.
A slew of policy disagreements in the last year or so has resulted in the current Liberal Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, not being so universally loved by his own party members. There had been rumblings in the last day or two that a vote could be called, and sure enough one happened this morning in a flurry of confusion. The votes weren't quite there for the challenger, Peter Dutton, but it's not unlikely he could try again some time in the next few days; already, five ministers have submitted their resignations resigned, hinting at the fact that this saga is far from over.
The entire situation is very similar to the one that unfolded in 2013, when the Prime Minister Julia Gillard was forced out of office one night by her own party (Labor). It took two votes—one in 2012 that she won handily and the decisive one in 2013 that she ultimately lost—for Kevin Rudd to wrest control of the government, only for Labor to lose the election they called just a few months later. And for the record, Gillard had taken the position from Rudd just a few years earlier.
Ironically, Turnbull took the position from the previous Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, in similar upheaval in 2015. It won't surprise anyone if he is gone soon enough; and not surprisingly, Abbott has been a thorn in Turnbull's side, stoking the fires of discontent among the party. Most people I've heard talk on the subject feel that this is all leading up to a loss for the Liberals in the next election.
Pop some popcorn; we are likely in for quite a week.
A new office
Last week I started work at a client site, where I will be for about six weeks. The change of scenery is nice, and my new digs offer a fantastic view across the city. |
| The view west toward Tumbalong Park and the Anzac Bridge. Other views are better, so I'll take some more photos later! |
Things have definitely started up with the new project now, and I'm getting to do some interesting things. Always good to have a bit of variety at the office.
Sunday sojurns
Sunday was sunny and quite windy, but I didn't let the winter chill in the air hold be back from a day of adventuring. After a morning run and brunch I headed up to the north shore to meet up with my good friend Nathan, who is always game for a trek. Our goal for the day was to complete the Spit to Manly walk.Yes, those are really two place names.
The 10km (6.2 mile) walk starts at the Spit Bridge, which connects the middle peninsula of Sydney Harbour with the the north peninsula, wending its way along the coastline from beach to cliff and down again, all the way to Manly (where I had ventured back in June by ferry).
Passing through the National Park at Dobroyd Head, the trek offered plenty of scenic vistas of clear-watered bays and even the Sydney skyline on the southern shore.
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| The waters of Port Jackson off of Mosman. |
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| The view from the Spit Bridge. |
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| South Head, Middle Head, and the entrance to Sydney Harbour from the Pacific Ocean, with two Manly ferries passing, seen from Balgowlah Heights. |
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| The Sydney skyline across Port Jackson and Hunters Bay from Balgowlah Heights. |
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| Burned scrub next to the unburned boardwalk. The Rural Fire Service really knows how to contain fires. |
We finally arrived in Manly in the late afternoon, and were both starving from the journey. We stopped on the Corso (the main drag connecting the Harbour beach to the Pacific beach) and grabbed a big basket of fish and chips to enjoy next to the Pacific.
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| Fish, chips, and the beach. |
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| Kids playing in the sand in winter jackets. |
Finally, we caught a bus back from Manly to wrap up the day. The trip was a little more educational than your average bus ride. I had previously realised that bus drivers seem to be allowed to play their own music on the buses, and the array of styles has been funny to observe. But this bus driver happened to be listening to a book on tape, subjecting all the riders to a novel I was never able to identify.
On Sunday alone, I ended up covering nearly 40km (25 miles). Not too shabby for a windy weekend where I could have just stayed inside.
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