Last night on the " Sixty Minutes " programme, ex-Labor leader Mark Latham urged voters to simply return their unmarked voting slips to the ballot box as some sort of protest against politics.
Australia is one of the few countries in the world that requires citizens to at least turn up and be counted at voting booths - or cop a hefty fine. It is legal to not mark voting intentions - but it is also a waste of a right many world citizens would cheerfully lay their life on the line to possess.
At the end of the day next Saturday there will be a winner - and a loser - when the votes are counted. Either Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott will become the prime minister and the political party they represent will run the country for the next three years.
Many people comment that these two parties show few policy differences, and yet it is the differences that are worth putting pen to paper to select. If the average person can not find a few conflicting issues on which to decide - then they are not paying attention .
Those who deliberately opt out of voting are often the first - and the loudest - to squawk when an incoming government implements policies with which they disagree. If they didn't bother to make their wishes known - then they have no right to judge the results.
Those that follow Mark Latham's advice are destined to get the government they deserve !
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