The federal, state and local government elections are critical in shaping the society we live in. It is when we all make our voices heard at the ballot box that we can have a real say in the way our country is governed. We encourage all members to ensure they are enrolled to vote. It's easy to enrol - read on for details.
Enrolling to vote is easy
The AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) website has a page where you can download the appropriate enrolment form for your state or territory:
Remember, if you leave your enrolment too late, you may not be able to vote as the AEC requires some time to process enrolments.
So, if you are not currently enrolled, enrol now!
Why the ASU encourages voting
In order for Australia to have a vibrant democracy, all eligible voters should ensure they are enrolled. The right to vote is both a privilege and a responsibility that we should all take quite seriously.
Australians may be known culturally as a very laid back and relaxed people, but we are passionate about everyone getting a fair go. When we vote we are ensuring that our society reflects our aspirations.
Some of the issues we believe are important follow.
Workplace issues
As a union, the ASU's business is to care about what people experience in their roles as workers. The previous Howard Federal Government was very anti-worker, with their draconian WorkChoices legislation. However, at the 2007 federal election, they were emphatically defeated, with workplace concerns forming a great part of that decision by Australians to change the party in power.
Some of the particular topics of concern have been:
unfair dismissal laws
redundancy entitlements
what can be covered in awards
protection of casual workers
fair wages
occupational health and safety
work life balance
ensuring all workers have access to collective bargaining
paid maternity leave
protection for workers who are discriminated against (eg. young people, old people, women, LGBTIQ people, migrants, etc)
Child Care & Aged Care
Not only do many members of the ASU have children and are faced with the difficult challenge of balancing work and family, we also have many members who are child carers in local government. Although the ASU has achieved a lot for our child care members over the years, the issue of funding and availability will have an important influence on the sector in coming years.
Similarly with aged care, many of our members have elderly parents requiring care as well as a number of our members being care givers to the elderly through local government.
As a society, access to quality and affordable child care and aged care are things we should all take for granted, but we still need to campaign to ensure these core services are delivered by governments.
A checklist for women voters
Further information about things we recommend you consider before voting are on our Women Voters' Page.
Remember
You can enrol to vote when you turn 17 and your eligibility will start when you turn 18.
Enrol now and tell your family and friends to enrol too!!
Authorised and published by Paul Slape,
National Secretary, Australian Services Union,
Ground floor, 116 Queensberry Street,
Carlton South, Victoria, 3053, Australia
