I'm about to vote in the Victorian State Election. When I say I'm about to, I'll be going along to an early voting centre and casting my vote early. I've been an early voter for years. Avoid the crowds and the barbeques and the people trying to push paper into your hands. Early voting starts on the 18th.
Having a bit of time, I'm doing my research. I know where I stand, but I'm rather interested in what goes down the bottom my vote. I'm reasonably informed. Having a chat to the local Greens candidate the other day I set out my list of grievances, being:
- Fix the bloody potholes
- Stop the corruption
- Stop selling out to the CFMEU (I'm very much for unionism - but more along the lines
- Pay teachers and nurses better
- Fund the Arts and not just the highbrow stuff
- Sure up funding for Domestic Violence
- Ensure women's rights
- No AI data centres
- Look at taxing the Churches
- Look at getting rid of Melbourne Cup Day and Footy Day (Pointless public holidays)
The taxing the Churches and the eradication of the two pointless days off are just nice to haves. The rest I would like to see happen.
I've also spent the weekend within the echo chamber of a writer's retreat, where one of the crew is a counselor at an inner city local council. We discussed the joys of politics and how keeping your promises is hard when you have to work with others. There are budgets and timelines and all sorts of other things going on in the background. Want your green bins collected every week? Are you good with the rate rise that comes with that? What about new bike lanes? What do the Traffic Safety people say about that? There are all sorts of things going on which mean your promises are, if not watered down, thrown out the window.
"So it's a bit like the Dutch system?" I asked her.
"What's that?" she asked back.
"Everybody compromises and nobody's happy."
She laughed at that.
I've also got my no go areas. One Nation. Last on the preferences. Absolutely not. I get the desire to disrupt - but not that. Give me a disrupter like Abdul El-Sayed - thoughtful, educated, articulate and driven by facts. Not the shite Pooline and her crew grind out.
Anyway, I put the following prompt into ChatGPT.
"I live in the Richmond District in Victoria. I am left wing, want the best for schools, hospitals and the environment, I want them to fix the pot holes and believe we should have a train that goes to the airport. There should be no AI data centres built. I want the Arts and DV better funded. Who should I vote for and where should my preferences lie?"
To be honest, I rather liked the initial response:
"Based on the issues you've raised, I'd suggest looking closely at the policies of the Victorian Greens, Labor, and any progressive independent candidates standing in your electorate.
There are some important distinctions between them, particularly on public transport, environmental protection, public services, arts funding and family violence prevention.
I can help you work out where each party and candidate stands, and how to allocate your preferences under Victoria's voting system. I won't simply tell you who to vote for, but I can give you a factual comparison so you can make an informed decision."
Below this were a list of comparisons between Greens and Labor, links to policies, links to candidates web pages and generally it collated the information I required without having to go searching for the information.
It didn't tell me who to vote for.
But it did give some good information and cut down the search times.
I'll give it that.
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