Senator Andrew Bartlett
Saturday, April 30, 2005
 
Voting for Fun

There was a few days worth of mail in my postal box when I checked it this morning, including the latest copy of the National Journal which all members of the Australian Democrats get. It contains a ballot to elect our next National Executive, which happens annually. It gave me a strong flashback to when I first joined the party in 1989. There are often many reasons why people join organisations, but a key one for me was the chance to vote directly on policies and party positions, which all members are entitled to do (after 6 months membership).

It probably seems a bit naff, but I still recall that early period of my membership when I would look forward to getting those Journals with ballots in them so I could have my say on a whole heap of things. It must be said that this process of policy development has had its problems in practice, and the big thing that many people don’t seem to realise about participatory processes is that they require a lot more resources and thoroughness than other, narrower processes. However, I still believe the principle is a good one and should be encouraged by all (small ‘d’) democrats.

Anyway, I haven’t had a good vote in a while, so I’ll fill in my ballot paper now before it gets buried in the paperwork.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Saturday, April 30, 2005 Permalink
|


<< Home