Speaking as a career non-major party voter, I've never been all that taken with the vote-splitting argument (you know, if you don't vote for x then y will win). For one, it's basically anti-democratic. There is no government without voting systems, but I refuse to vote strategically. I vote for the party which best represents my political philosophy. Whenever you decide to juggle the voting system, then you're not voting for what you believe, you're trying to second-guess the beliefs of other people. That ain't democracy, that's trying to be a voting system manager.

Second, it's not that great an argument at the voting system level. We have a preferential system (and in most upper houses, proportional representation), not a first-past-the-post system. Bear in mind that very, very few seats are won outright without preferences. If the major parties don't get enough first preferences, that's their problem, not mine, and the voting system provides them with a way to capture my vote later on.

Why boycott Cadbury? I thought Nestle were the scumbags.

Cadbury does not have a policy for excluding GE ingredients from their products.

Rhonda - way to go. Strange though that you have not been actually encouraged to vote ALP at the ACU - given the Catholic profile of the factions.
I kind of feel sorry for ALP members with a conscience. As Darren has pointed out, a lot of people try to second-guess and vote manage and the ALP are woeful offenders in this dept.

Melbourne Uni had student elections recently. I was not sure I was eligible to vote, given that I am not going to be there next year and I kinda assumed that there would be some safeguard against disgruntled diploma students foisting student governments onto 2003's unsuspecting first years. But not so. Imagine the pathetically joyful rush to the polling booth when myself and my co-impoverished Dip. Ed. friends discovered that there was an $8 food voucher for all votes cast. Between us we amassed $24 worth of union house food (much better than at mong-ash). Over two weeks we used the vouchers to buy lunches and hot drinks.

In the voting queue I was approached by an ALP student. I said that I was not voting for his party and even he said, 'Yes, I can see you have a social conscience'. I asked him why he was in the ALP and he protested that the Melbourne Uni Chapter was not affiliated with the parliamentary party.. Which begs the Q. - why call it the ALP??

So - greens may be disorganised and dominated by personality politics, but with the Democrats having nuked themselves there seems to be few alternatives.