I’m annoyed that I haven’t received any of the phone or Internet spam being sent out by the Liberals. My concern is that, if they haven’t called me, they may be missing other swinging voters. With any luck, though, their database is sufficiently good to pick out only voters who are genuinely considering the Liberals, then to inundate them with messages night and day.
In the spirit of co-operation, I’d like to point out that not everyone is easily contactable by phone or Internet. A fleet of megaphone trucks, sent out at 5am on Saturday morning, could really have a big impact on the Liberal vote.
John Quiggin 
Yeah, trucks at 5am would ensure a Labor victory in a landslide.
You know that if these message leaving machines hear you answering in your own voice, rather than get your answering machine, they hang up! All part of the rich tapestry.
I live in Jenny Macklin’s electorate and I have had the great pleasure of not receiving a single piece of advertising from the Liberals. The ALP have sent me one letter and the greens have dropped one pamphlet in my letterbox. This has been the best election yet for not getting annoyed by candidates.
John
Might have something to do with the fact that you are in Ryan, which is regarded as a very secure Coalition seat,
Oh gosh, when you mention trucks at 5am it reminded me of the gypsies (Roma) who run around central and south Europe in utes, haranging people over loud megaphones to buy their…watermelons!
Here in Deakin, we’ve been *inundated*. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been getting something from both majors pretty much every day – personally addressed (so two copies for our household). Some days there’s more.
If I have to read another *#$%@#$ Liberal glossy about the @$#%^@$%^ Tollway, I’ll scream.
We’ve had the automated Costello ring us up too.
We’ve not had the email spam though (unless my spam filter Did The Right Thing).
John, a small bus with megaphones and waving people is the baby kissing of Japanese electoral campaigns.
Try the seat of Melbourne on the edge of it in Brunswick. The most activity I have witnessed is from the Socialist Alliance who had a convey of four vehicles out last Saturday with loudspeakers driving through shopping centre carparks. I did get a letter from the sitting member Lindsay Tanner asking me to save him from the Greens. I am fated never to meet a Liberal.
Here in Griffith (the seat, not the University) Kevin Rudd has deluged us with pamphlets which have been letterboxed by hand rather than direct-mailed. It’s an impressive effort, but I have to wonder about such an expenditure of funds and volunteer labour on a seat which was never seriously in doubt when there are several other seats in metro Brisbane which are winnable and which Labor needs to win if it wants to win the election.
Also, on sober reflection the story of this election will probably be that Latham needed to announce his forest policy a month earlier.
Bundarra, I live in the CBD of Melbourne so I’m in the same situation as you. I’ve had two letters from Tanner and one from the Greens, both telling me why I should favour them over the other. No mention of Liberals, Democrats, Family First (ha!)…
John,
Talking about phone calls, Bob Brown was on the phone to the Triple J current affairs show (5:30 pm weekdays) and he mentioned you by name. In partcular he quoted your favorable view of the greens economic credentials.
Just thought you’d like to know, and for any of you elderly people who never listen to triple J – i highly recommend the 5:30 pm politics show Hack.
Its always insightful
Also, one bit of disturbing anecdotal intelligence. A friend at a pub in Rudd’s electorate whose daughter works in a real estate office reported that some of her daughter’s clients are, in all seriousness, framing their home purchasing decisions on the basis of what might happen to interest rates if there’s a change of government. For the first time in a very, very long time,I am less angry at the Coalition for telling porkies than I am at information-rich people in an information-rich society who are silly enough to believe them when they have no excuses for doing so.
Seat of Melbourne as well, in safe Labor ward, with two letters from Lindsay and two pamphlets from the Greens. But the CEC are way in front with megaphonic drive-bys in a P-plated Hyundai down Collins St. At least they weren’t preaching to the converted…
Inner Melbourne seat well-populated by earnest young female canvassers for the Greens, multiply pierced by hardware, who beam when assured that the Greens have my vote already.
If I can be permitted to rip off, some of what I hope will soon appear on Margo Kingston’s web-site:
The issue which has been scarcely mentioned by our Prime Minister, and generally neglected by the Newsmedia.
Last night on the “Australia Talks Back” radio talk-back show, I was astounded to hear a person, who said he was opposed to the full privatisation of Telstra, saying he was going to vote Liberal anyway, because there was no difference between the two major parties. Not withstanding what we all know about the record of Keating and Hawke, (e.g. the privatisation of 9 of the 12 institutions on Howard’s 1986 hit list) there is still an important difference between the major parties, and even Switkowski now seems to think so.
Pehaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised, because, after all for years there has been this curious anomoly: on the one hand between 66% and 90% opposition to privatistion, whilst the support fot the major parties on the two-party party preferred basis has hovered around the 50/50 mark.
The case for re-election of the Howard Government is very weak, particularly in regards to the Telstra issue. I believe that there is still time to use the evidence, such as that presented at
http://www.citizensagainstsellingtelstra.com
… to knock this house of cards flying before tomorrow.
Despite Ryan being safe for the Liberals, 4 times in the last two weeks I have been greated with the sight of a placard waving, t-shirt wearing Michael Johnson (Lib member) on the side of the road in the morning.
If Labor was really cunning they would organise those trucks with speakers at 5am in all marginal seats and go around screaming Liberal advertising for an hour or so, then vanish. I am sure Jeb Bush is considering something similar in Florida next month.
I have no idea why the ALP took so long to get the ads with Bernie Fraser et al rebutting the Libs’ interest rate ads. And why on earth didnt they just show an ad with Howard-as-Treasurer interest rates or even Australia vs USA interest rates now?
I live on the edge of the seat of Melbourne. The other side of the street is Wills. I managed to get a leaflet from the Greens Candidate in Wills as well as one for the candidate of Melbourne. Got the letter from Linsay Tanner with a map of polling booths in the wrong area of the seat.
John Howard’s calls to some poor citizens occurred after midnight! No doubt the USA company sending his junk voice messages thought that Australia was on the same time. What a joke this man is saying that he wanted us all to be ‘relaxed and comfortable’ and then bombarding electorates after midnight, awaking citizens from their slumbers, angering them with his mission statement for candidate X or Y. Howard went overboard this time, joining the fictional kiddies that won him the last election.
Here in Greenway on the very final day we received:
1 x persoanlly addressed letters each from the ALP
2 x personally addressed letters each from the Libs
1 x personally address letter with profesionally produced video CD from the Libs
Thats a total of 7 items in just one day.
The Libs have spent a sh*tload in Greenway over a period of about 5 months. They must want to get their AoG worshipping member of less than a year over the line quite desperately.
At least Louise Markus and her crew won’t die wondering if they should have done more.
Albatross,
To me that adds up to 4 not 7?
No Matt there’s two of us in this house. Who vote. Funnily enough the only letters we have written to pollies have been abusive ones to Coalition ministers, including Bill Heffernan, Amanda Vanstone, John Howard, Wilson Tuckey (who replied in good spirit and very funnily), and Robert Hill. So much for their databases being able to identify potential swinging voters.
My apologies albatross.
I’ve picked one nit too many.
On reflection, the more interesting question might be what was on the CD? I hope Markus hasn’t decided to launch a singing career via some free TV coverage.
Paul, I wouldn’t worry too much about the home purchasing stuff. Just as business tends to defer major investment decisions, so too consumer decisions get put off until after the election. It’s not particular to this year and this issue. It’s not entirely rational, but you can see the psychology behind it.
Re – Griffith – Rudd might be worried about a big Green vote.
It’s been rather pleasant being overseas for this election, getting no junk mail, no hateful ads on tv, no phonespam, yet keeping in touch with things through the net (such as this weblog, it’s been fab). Perhaps I’ll stay here for a while…
Mind you, almost didn’t get the postal vote in, as the first embassy we tried didn’t handle them (oh great, thanks for letting us know beforehand!! a notice on the AEC or your website when the election was called would have been NICE) so the second application went off… then the FedEx package with the goodies had only our name, city, country, and a phone number on it to arrange delivery, as street addresses don’t exist, and they wouldn’t deliver to a PO box, it seems. Greeeaaaat. Received tuesday, posted to Aus on Wednesday, who knows if they’ll get there. Oh well. The things you do for democracy.