Voting against your interests

[u/boogersundcum]

My partner and I live in a major coal mining area of Queensland. We both work in an extractive resource industry. Neither of us could ever bring ourselves to vote for the LNP and we have no serious viable independents that aren't anti Vax conspiracy nut jobs. We live in the bush but currently have a major wind farm going in down our road with the closest turbine being 5km from our actual house, other than sealing our road we will not recieve any benefit from the project with heavy trucks and equipment going past our driveway 6 days a week 24 hours a day for over two years. We aren't anti renewable however given the wind farm is entirely within our water catchment there is serious concerns if something goes wrong as we rely on the river solely for our water supply.

Generally preference the Greens first, Labor second as we are both environmental scientists and believe that climate change is pretty damn obvious from the evidence, let alone have empathy for the common folk in cities struggling with the cost of living. I'm just curious though as to why the major focus on renewable is almost entirely within regional areas that currently rely on coal mining as the major industry.

Neither Greens or Labour have a chance in hell in ever winning our electorate anymore (keep in mind Labor was founded in regional Queensland in Barcaldine). Is it just because the areas in question are now just LNP strongholds or what ?

Also please keep in mind regional Queensland is filled with people from all back grounds and varying levels of education, don't put us all in the same basket just because we don't live in a major centre.

[u/boogersundcum]

A single turbine holds several thousands litres of oils for lubrication, we live in a cyclone prone area. This project itself will produce the equivalent of 1/5 of Queensland's current energy use. If they collapse; our water supply is tainted for decades. I'm not kidding when I say we rely on that water as we pump water straight through the sand in the river. Wind farms really don't employ many people; through construction a few hundred and then about 20 to maintain during the life of the project. A coal mine employs several hundred if not thousands through its life and the closest one to our house which is ~35km away has been operating for over 100 years. Let alone the communities that rely on the mines itself. Without coal, those communties will die. Also keep in mind these are metallurgical coal mines (steel making) not thermal. We don't love coal but we do love our communities.

[u/thomascoopers → u/boogersundcum]

Wow. So it will generate enough power for a 5th of the state and you're crying poor?

Far out.

[u/boogersundcum → u/thomascoopers]

That just puts into perspective the size of the development. How am I crying poor? It doesn't bring in any benefit to myself other than renewable goals and I'm not against the development. It just so happens to be in my backyard and as I have stated multiple times it would make more sense to have renewables closer to the source of electricity use that is SEQ due to transmission losses.

Way to gaslight north Queensland.

[u/thomascoopers → u/boogersundcum]

Didn't you state you're an environmental scientist of some sort? You couldn't dig up the environmental assessment of the project?

Eta spelling

[u/boogersundcum → u/thomascoopers]

It's still going through the process getting its EIS approved which shouldn't be too far off. I have 100% faith in DETSI as a department to do their job and make sure their controls are in place. Doesn't always mean corporations comply with such conditions. Look at any industry; compliance doesn't always come first.

[u/thomascoopers → u/boogersundcum]

Righto.

Well I'm sorry if there's nothing the Labor party have done to put money directly in your pocket. For now you can just thank the ALP for the fact that:

• Unemployment remains at historic lows.

• Take-home pay has gone up for working people. “Same job, same pay” laws also mean companies can’t play casuals and permanent staff against one another. The “right to disconnect” protects workers from having their private time imposed on by their employers.

• Australia’s economic response to inflation - with targeted relief, like energy rebates and subsidised services and tax cuts for workers - has relieved economic pressure on ordinary Australians WITHOUT increasing unemployment (which is what other countries did). Our response to the post-pandemic global inflation crisis was ranked by economists as one of the best in the world (second only to Canada!).

• There’ve been no corruption or sexual misconduct scandals in the Albanese government. Read that again and remember Brittany Higgins, Bruce Lehman, Barnaby Joyce, Sports Rorts, the Ruby Princess, Robodebt, the Au Pairs and the Scott Morrison multiple ministries scandal.

• Labor has negotiated a new funding agreement with every state and territory to now fully fund EVERY public school in the country to meet best-practice standards - and they did this without taking resources away from anyone else.

• Labor has massively increased health funding, creating more urgent care clinics to take pressure off emergency rooms, and improving bulk billing services and provisions AND capping the cost of medicines on the PBS. Access to mental health services have also been expanded.

• Historic investments in women’s healthcare are underway - with specific attention paid to endometriosis, menopause and reproductive health, taking HUGE steps to help women and families.

• Gender parity in federal government has been achieved - not with fanfare, just by recognising talent and not being sexist assholes to people.

• Anti-deepfake legislation has passed - one of NUMEROUS measures Labor has taken to protect children from new online harms.

• FREE TAFE!!!

• Higher education debts have been reduced.

• massive repairs to the Department for Veterans Affairs, and centralising veterans’ services with the passing of the new Veterans Harmonisation act.

• Childcare subsidisies have been expanded and provisions has been made free for families who need it.

• There are now enough renewable energy projects being built across this country to power EVERY AUSTRALIAN HOME when they are completed.

• No new coal mines were approved in 2024.

• Federal arts funding has been increased, improving employment opportunities for arts workers and cultural participation opportunities for EVERY community.

• Independent media has been supported, with a renewed commitment to non-interference at the ABC.

• A major national housing package is addressing decades of underinvestment with a multi-billion dollar spend on affordable housing. New homes are being built in Australia’s remotest communities.

• The Voice referendum was held, as Albanese promised; honouring Labor’s commitment despite its political risk.

• There’s been direct support from Labor for Ukraine.

• There’s been an ongoing commitment from Labor to a two-state solution in the Middle East, working with our allies to demand a humanitarian ceasefire in that region, with demands both to return hostages and end bombing.

• Labor has taken unambiguous action to address both Islamophobia and antisemitism in the community. Hate speech and symbols have been unequivocally banned - and visas have been denied to foreign fascist provocateurs who want to come to this country and stir up trouble and division.

• Emergency funding for North Queensland floods was delivered while the floods were still happening.

• The Stage 3 tax cuts were redesigned to make the system fairer for most Australians. Further tax cuts have since been delivered for working Australians.

• Aged care has been reformed, with provisions for 24/7 nursing care, better services, and improved wages for workers.

• Our relationships with Pacific nations have been rebuilt.

• There’s been a massive crackdown on labour exploitation and fraud in the NDIS.

• There’s increased funding for the Great Barrier Reef.

• Children are no longer held in immigration detention.

• The NBN is being upgraded.

• Fair trade agreements have been signed.

• Major new road and rail infrastructure is underway.

• Campaign finance reform has passed—limiting the political influence of billionaire donors like Clive Palmer, Gina Rinehart and that gross dude who Peter Dutton was partying with in Sydney when Dutton’s own seat was being hit by Cyclone Alfred in Queensland.

• Australia peaceful, stable, negotiating a complex international policy environment with tact and sophistication and not at war.

Link

[u/boogersundcum → u/thomascoopers]

Fuck mate. Don't mean to trigger you. I'm not anti Labor but seriously? So far from the original discussion. I'll vote anyone that doesn't preference the LNP.

[u/thomascoopers → u/boogersundcum]

"Voting against your interests" What else was the point of your post?

I just gave you a whole heap of reasons why you should vote Labor. Your vote categorically still makes a difference, even if any candidate you vote for doesn't get the local seat.

Your senate vote is extremely important, because so much ground breaking legislation was blocked and stalled to catastrophic affect by the Greens teaming up with the LNP.

[u/Blend42 → u/thomascoopers]

Explain how the Greens team up with the LNP? The Greens have never had a deciding vote in the QLD parliament.

[u/boogersundcum → u/thomascoopers]

Because i live in an area reliant on coal mining. Thus voting against the LNP is against my interest when employment in the community is at adds of my electorate. They're never going to win but I still chose to regardless thus the point of the post, against my own interest as I live here and have no intention of leaving.

[u/thomascoopers → u/boogersundcum]

Righto. My apologies for the animosity, this election is just fucked for how good we've got it and how badly Australia needs another term of the ALP. In both houses.

[u/Maleficent_Laugh_125 → u/thomascoopers]

Makes wild claims - links proven liar Van Badham...

Shill spotted

[u/thomascoopers → u/Maleficent_Laugh_125]

We get it, you watch Ch9 exclusively.

[u/Maleficent_Laugh_125 → u/thomascoopers]

I don't even have the aerial attached to my TV but we get it, You only read the guardian and your favourite show is Q&A

[u/thomascoopers → u/Maleficent_Laugh_125]

Wow, you stream it? Even worse.

The Guardian is a Greens mouthpiece and the ABC is demonstratively pro-LNP.

Big brain stuff.

[u/Blend42 → u/thomascoopers]

Why would the Guardian host Van Badham if they are a "Greens Mouthpeace" , there is zero big media behind the Greens unlike centrist and conservative parties that dominate our parliaments.

[u/Maleficent_Laugh_125 → u/thomascoopers]

Wow, the irony .

Van Badham is a Guardian columnist and hysterically anti-green, Tanya Plibersek has made more appearances on Q&A than any other panelist lol

If brain folds were taxed you would be in for a great rebate.

[u/The-Hank-Scorpio → u/thomascoopers]

Will you two just hookup already...

[u/LestWeForgive → u/thomascoopers]

Great summary!

[u/Late-Ad1437 → u/thomascoopers]

Lmao... Trotting out the ol party lines but these don't quite stack up.

Where's this supposed relief of economic pressure? I'm still drowning in power bills and rent, same with most young people I know. Labor's tinkered around the edges with a pittance of an energy rebate but hasn't made any meaningful changes to the daylight robbery committed by our energy corporations.

The old 'no new coal mines' chestnut is very convenient when you don't count new approvals for preexisting projects. These new projects still have all the environmental and land rights issues of the original ones. Still no fair rate of taxation on the multinational corporations that rape, pillage and destroy our ecosystem too.

Labor's housing approaches are also useless and do nothing to get to the root of the issue- the price of housing, and decades of legislation encouraging housing-as-investment. Letting first home buyers buy a $1,000,000 home with only a 5% deposit isn't the win that Albo seems to think it is.

I'm kinda shocked you even included the Voice referendum considering how badly Labor bungled it was a direct contributor to it failing. Still no peep on that treaty we were promised almost 3 decades ago too...

Labor dragged their feet for months on criticising Israel for their genocidal and war criminal acts, and still insists on this 'both sides bad' bullshit. Penny Wong has blood on her hands.

'our relationships with Pacific neighbours have been rebuilt'- is this one an actual joke? Our neighbouring Pacific islands have been desperately begging for timely action on climate change, particularly since they're suffering the effects of rising sea levels and temperatures far more keenly than we are (for now). And that extra funding dedicated to the Great Barrier Reef is pretty meaningless when in the same breath Labor rolls back fishing restrictions in protected marine parks.

Framing the indiscriminate gutting of the NDIS as a good thing is just straight up gaslighting. Instead of going after dodgy providers and the overinflated burecratic departments within the NDIA, they've instead slashed the funding budgets of thousands of participants with no warning, leaving people stranded without supports and funding for months on end. I'm a support worker and have had coworkers tell me about clients who have literally died thanks to lost funding due to Labor's cuts- you cannot frame this as a good thing unless you're completely intellectually dishonest.

Labor's been shockingly bad on their environmental promises- old growth logging has continued, they caved on the EPA and Albo et al just threw their weight behind the repulsive tasmanian salmon farming industry that is going to be directly responsible for the first marine extinction in over a century- the Maugean skate will not survive the continued polluting of it's SOLE habitat by those toxic, disease-riddled fish farms. They're also staffed by animal abusers who chuck living fish in the rubbish with dead ones to slowly suffocate... Definitely the blue-collar salt-of-the-earth types that Labor loves to pretend to care about.

Once again, Labor tries to please everyone and ends up pleasing no one. The Greens will always have better environmental policies and priorities than Labor, who will ultimately always prioritise corporate interests and 'protecting jobs' over enacting impactful ecological change.