Election Update

The election outcome is still in the balance and it will be some days before the election result is finalised and we know the actual number of seats each party will have.

At present it looks as though there will be a 'hung parliament', with neither Labor nor the Coalition having the required 76 seats in the House of Representatives that are required to govern.

There are three independents in the new Parliament (Bob Katter, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott) and possibly Andrew Wilkie in Denison in Tasmania - as well as one Green (Adam Bandt for Melbourne). These men will hold the 'balance' of power and are currently considering which Party to support.

The Australian Electoral Commission currently has the situation as: Labor 71, Coalition 71, Independent 4, Green 1 with 3 seats 'doubtful'. The AEC says the 'doubtful' seats are Brisbane in Qld, Hasluck in WA and Corangamite in Victoria - see AEC page for 'close seats'.

There were a huge number of postal and absentee votes and these are still being counted. Some seats are so close that the lead regularly changes. As of today 79.2% of the vote has been counted - between 72% and 84% depending on the state - so other seats could still change.

The Australian Electoral Commission has a 'Virtual Tally Room' where the current results are shown - including an ongoing record of the vote in the 'in doubt' seats.

If you want to monitor the progress of counting, Check the VTR regularly for up to date results.

We need to pray for the leaders of the two major parties - the Liberal's Tony Abbott and Labor's Julia Gillard - as they begin to negotiate with the Independents.

We also need to pray for the three Independents who have already met to discuss the criteria they might use for deciding on which party to support - they say that 'stability in governance' is a key criteria as well as reform of parliamentary procedures to make parliament more transparent and respectful. They have just released a 'call for information' on seven points regarding the economy - see media report - and they all met with both leaders today.

Andrew Bolt notes that their own electorates would not favour a Labor government and that this is something they should consider.

Meanwhile the Green Adam Bandt has said he will support Labor - the Greens could have NINE Senators from next July, and will hold the balance of power in the Senate. They are already talking of making the country 'more loving' and 'more equal' and more 'progressive'! 'Progressive' seems to be today's word for all the bad social engineering.

The future of our nation hangs in the balance at this time. What direction will we go in?

Please pray for the final counting of the votes and finalisation of seat numbers - and pray for the negotiations between the leaders and the Independents.

Two alterations to Christian Values Checklist

Since the release of the Australian Christian Values Checklist there have been a couple of policy announcements by Labor and Liberal that have led to the Australian Christian Values Institute issuing a Second Edition of the Christian Values Checklist.

We welcome the following two announcements and have posted the new editions of the Christian Values Checklist and Supporting Statements and One page Summary on our website - below and on our 'Election page'.

The changes relate to Labor giving money for more chaplains in schools and Liberal/Nationals giving a pre-marriage education voucher to couples getting married.

Read on for full details and the revised Christian Values Checklist and Supporting Statements.

Greens - and Humanists

With the federal election just days away, it's important that we take a close look at the real policies of the Greens.

And a close look at the Greens leader, Bob Brown - he has been named 'Humanist of the Year' for 2010.

Of course, humanism is a philosophy that is very opposed to the Biblical Christian worldview!
Humanism says people can do without 'religion' or faith.

The Greens reject religion in policy and focus on humanist ideals. So it isn't surprising to find that the Greens support same sex marriage, sex-ed for children to explain 'the diversity of sexuality' and abortion as a right.

They're not just about the 'environment' - and even with their 'environemnt' policies we need to carefully assess the consequences of say, closing coal-fired power stations!

Here's the email we sent today about the Greens and how they compare with the other parties on vital moral issues...
It includes information about the FamilyVoice survey results which gave the Greens a score of just 23 out of 100.

Voting - how to make your vote COUNT!

'How do we make the best use of our vote?'

'Should we just vote for the major parties?'

'If I vote for a minor party - like CDP, Family First and DLP - is my vote wasted?'

'How does the 'preferential voting' system work?'

These are some of the questions we get asked.

So we've written a report on how to make your vote count... and how to organise your preferences!

We sent it out by by email - but everyone needs to read it - so we've posted it online below...

The first part of the document is what was in our email - an overview of the situation.
We also provided a more detailed analysis of how to use your preference vote well - it includes information about Group Voting Tickets for the parties and so on ...

We've combined it into one document:  
How to Make your Vote COUNT! E-News plus detailed analysis

Make sure you read it before you vote!

AEC videos

The Australian Electoral Commission also has videos explaining how the House of Representatives and Senate votes are counted:

House of Representatives vote count video

Senate vote count video

These are really helpful!!!

Party positions and appealing for votes

In the run-up to the federal election this Saturday there have been an overwhelming number of articles and blogs by Christians - some opposing a vote for Labor or the Greens (one or the other or both) and some supporting the Greens policies on refugees and so on.

That raises the question 'Should we tell people who to vote for?'
The answer is 'No!'
HOWEVER, we can carefully analyse the policies of the parties on a range of moral issues and decide if particular parties have policies that we can support and that we can vote for!

We've just assessed the parties' policies on abortion and sent it by email...
The first document below is the E-News email with an outline of the issue.

The second document has a more detailed look at the policies of the parties on abortion.

We look at the Greens support for abortion - and also that fact that Labor's platform SUPPORTS abortion (they allow a conscience vote but so do the Greens!).
We also look at EMILY's List - that group that helps Labor women who support abortion get elected. Julia Gillard was a 'founding member'!

E-News - Voting for Life and Morality (sent 16 August 1010)

Detailed assessment of party policies on abortion: The political party positions on abortion

Last week we sent an email looking at how Julia Gillard has changed tack and is now trying to appeal to the 'Christian vote'!

Read the email:

E-News - Will the real Julia please stand up?