Readers of this publication may have noticed the latest policy announcement of the Belco Party: free buses/public transport.

If one looks at the other parties’ transport policies, they seem to be dancing around this issue and doing everything but, so why not bite the bullet and go the whole hog? We only get $25 million in fares as it is. That is even less than we got in 2001, when the then-Liberal cabinet briefly looked at the issue (about $30 million then). Bus drivers I have spoken to reckon it’s a lot simpler and, perhaps, in the long run, even cheaper if buses are free. If the current free period of public transport is any indication, bus patronage will significantly increase if it’s free, and it’s a great way of helping with the cost-of-living crisis, not to mention the environmental benefits. I encourage all parties in this election to adopt this policy.

It has become apparent to me that there are a lot of people who simply still have no idea how our voting system works. So here is my attempt to tell you how to maximise your vote.

1. You’re electing five members in your electorate, so it’s really important you vote for five people (at least).

Your ballot paper will have anything from 24 (Brindabella – Tuggeranong) to 34 (Kurrajong – inner north and south) candidates.

2. It’s sensible to firstly work out who you DON’T want to see elected.

So, if you want a change of government, it would be smart to not put any numbers in the Greens and Labor boxes.

3. It’s smart to go beyond five candidates, so that, if one or more of your desired candidates falls short, their vote can transfer to someone you wouldn’t mind seeing in.

For example: you may want to see the Belco Party get in (excellent choice), and thus vote 1 to 3 for Alan Tutt (Tutty), Angela Lount, and me in Ginninderra. As you want to change the government, you then vote for the Liberals next (4, 5, 6, 7). You also might like Elizabeth Kikkert, so you put her 8, and you might think that independent Janine Haskins is alright, so you put her 9. That’s not a bad effort, as you have a good range of people and listed nine of them. (Please disregard the personalities used in the example.)

4. Some people vote for personalities. I recall in 2004 in Kaleen (a big booth), the then-Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, got over 2,000 votes. It was interesting to see 380 or so of his second preferences went to me. Similarly with mine: I got about 1,200 votes; 190 of my second preferences went to Jon.

In this election, something similar might be someone in Brindabella voting number 1 for Mark Parton and number 2 for Mick Gentleman (both nice blokes); 3 for Emmanuel Ezekiel-Hart – independent (good bloke, with a great baritone singing voice!); 4 for the Independents for Canberra’s Dr Vanessa Picker; and then 5, 6, 7, 8 for the other Liberals. Another good way of voting for the individuals that voter would like to see elected.

Please write in to the Weekly ([email protected]) if you have any questions, and I’ll endeavour to answer them.