To be a little more Aussie ... *dreamy sigh*

[BeMuled MissBeth]

Okay, okay ... yeesh! You'd think you want people to learn more about (or at least show more interest in) Oz or something. *winks*

Next question -- How does this third party political system of yours work? What does it mean exactly and how does it effect voting?  

[scruffy012]

umm, ive got no idea... i can honestly say ill probably need to find out, but im only 19.... and the last major election was about 2 months before i turned 18....  

[WellzY]

The two major parties are the Liberals and Labour, being the main two parties. At the momment, the Liberals are in a dominant Coalition with a third party, the Nationals. The other third party is The Greens... and I think the rest are basically independants.

Basically, you can vote for whoever you want, and whichever party has 51% or more of the vote becomes the government. This doesn't always happen, hence the need to form a coalition to in affect have a majority of the votes/seats.  

[Lilah-Clover]

scruffy012

umm, ive got no idea... i can honestly say ill probably need to find out, but im only 19.... and the last major election was about 2 months before i turned 18....

HAHA!!! lUcky.. i think somehting like that will happen to me.... Coz I know where I live there will be one soon. and im not 18 til oct...


I don't know mush about pooliticts... but I will put in a donkey vote...
I MEAN DON"T COME AND TAKE ME NOOOO!!!

LOL, j/ks, I would vote for who has the best stuff..... I want my stuff the promised me..



sorry, I need sleeep,.... Ive gone a bit physco in case u havn't relised..

razz goodnight...


...WAIT.. its only 8:45 pm.. can't sleep yet too early... what to do......??  

[passionberry]

i just turned 18, but all i know is that even if we vote, the system is still going to be wroughted by the politics... ninja  

[BeMuled MissBeth]

Hmm ... I like Aussie politics. It certainly makes more sense than what we have here in Canada, and what they have in the States, for that matter. Vote for who you want to win, not simply for the 'lesser evil'. I like it. 3nodding  

[WellzY]

BeMuled MissBeth

Hmm ... I like Aussie politics. It certainly makes more sense than what we have here in Canada, and what they have in the States, for that matter. Vote for who you want to win, not simply for the 'lesser evil'. I like it. 3nodding

Well on a Federal level, we've only ever had alternating governments of Labour and Liberal, no other.

I'm not sure about the other states, but I know that Tasmania at least has had a third party majority in the Greens, which I am very proud of, and wish we could acheive here.  

[EmWah]

Ha. Proud of Tasmanians. That's not a sentance you hear very often xd

Ahahahahahah *cough*inbred*cough*  

[WellzY]

EmWah

Ha. Proud of Tasmanians. That's not a sentance you hear very often xd

Ahahahahahah *cough*inbred*cough*

You know, inbreading can also greatly amplify possitive, as well as negative straits.

Perhaps they're smarter.  

[EmWah]

Well yes, I suppose you would be smarter if you had TWO HEADS rofl

Ahahahaha I think I'm Tassie-racist neutral  

[WellzY]

EmWah

Well yes, I suppose you would be smarter if you had TWO HEADS rofl

Ahahahaha I think I'm Tassie-racist neutral

:O


Not cool.


I do genetics, so I'm a little less biased.  

[BeMuled MissBeth]

And I'd really prefer it if people wouldn't slam other races in my topic, thank you. In fact, I insist on people respecting others regardless of personal prejudices if they're going to talk in here. *curt nod* Joking is one thing, being rude is another entirely.

Now for the next question I have about Oz: If someone were to ask, 'Where would you suggest I visit in Australia?' where would you recommend? Off the beaten tourist path, I mean. I don't want to see all the places the tourists are always shown or told to see. I'd want to see the real Australia. Wild, raw, sunburned. 4laugh Suggestions?  

[EmWah]

Hahahaha. It's more racist because you called them another race xd

If you didn't know, Tasmania is a state of Australia, and because it's an isolated island everyone on the mainland likes to joke that they're inbred. Nothing serious.

Now for your question.

It really depends on what your opinion of the real Australia is. To some people the real Australia is suburbs apon suburbs. To other's it's the swimming hole at the end of a country road. It could be a tropical rainforest of far north Queensland or the Victorian high country. Or it could just be that great bloody slab of desert we call the Red Center.

I've spent most of my life in Southern NSW and North East Victoria, so my view of Australia is more based on a temperate climate with lots of farmland, bush and mountains.

So I'd say if you want to see my real Australia, go to the top of Mt Buffalo and stand on the edge of a cliff. When your're there, it looks like the mountains go on forever, and the whole world is a sea of forest. Also, standing on the edge of a cliff is a pretty awesome feeling.

Plus near the Chalet up there, there is a flock of tame rosellas which will come and sit on you and eat any food you give them. So cute!

I dunno much about the 'sunburnt' parts. The only desert trip I've been on was when I was 18 months old, so I don't remember a minute of it. Stoopid parents.  

[WellzY]

My Australia is a suburban wasteland. Very eye-wrenching really.

I live in Melbourne, on the South-Eastern tip of the continent, just above Tasmania. xd

We're a coastal city, but our beeches are not the s**t. In fact, they are s**t. If you're ever here, you wanna go to the St. Kilda forshore, but it's nothing special.

Out in the Eastern Suburbs though is Mt. Dandenong, followed by the Dandenong Ranges. There's a spot there somewhere called Burnem Beeches. Not sure on the spelling.

ANYWAY! It's Rain Forest, so like Tropical Rain Forest, only... not painfully humid.

It's gorgeous, the trees are absolutely gianormous. I believe the largest recorded tree was found there, and the trees today are still mighty impressive. I like it, because it puts you in your place as the small and faint blink of a life-form that you are. That, and you can feed birds. xd

Now, in West-Central Victoria there are The Grampian Ranges, which is another gorgeous section of Victoria that I love.

I really havn't been anywhere outside of Victoria, but the country is so goddamn huge, you could look forever.

I don't think we have a real Australia though. If you asked people that, they'd spurt the same crap we spurt to the tourists to get them over here. So you either pop-on over to the Desert of the Great Barrier Reef. Each is so vast though, you wouldn't have trouble finding something small and out of the way.

A warning though, most of the desert towns are small Victorian age settlements, and that's all they seem to have going for them. So if you're into a bit of that, by all means.  

[JewelsSparkle]

Wel, you wanna see the Big Banana, Big Pineapple, the Big Potato, the Big Sheep, the Dog On The Tuckerbox....

Just kidding... I've never been to the Big Pineapple... can't remember if I've been to the Big Banana (where is that again?) & the other places really aren't that good... (the big potato is a particular letdown... it's not all that big & kinda just looks like a mini boulder... they fail).


What you want to do is just generally explore... rock up in your city/town of choice & walk up to random locals & ask them where their favourite place in that city/town is & ask them for directons.

That said, random little country & beach towns like Bungendore, Yass, Rye/Rosebud (they're kinda... attached.... they're like suburbs but they say they're towns), Batemans Bay etc are pretty cool.