2011 NSW Election

UPDATE: The Liberal/National Coalition was elected at the election held on Saturday 26 March 2011.

Although official counting is not yet complete at 31 March, Labor was reduced from 50 seats in the Legislative Assembly to an expected total of around 19 or 20  seats. The Liberal/National Coalition is expected to win around 68 to 71 seats in the Legislative Council.

In the Legislative Council, where half the 44 seats were up for election, it appears that the Coalition will have a total of about 19 seats out of 44 seats - Labor will probably have 14 seats - and the Greens have increased their number from four to five. (Read report) 

In the Council, the CDP has two seats and the conservative Shooters and Fishers will also have 2 seats. Family  Gordon Moyes appears to have lost his seat and it has been taken by the CDP's Paul Green (read report at Eternity).

Election results:
Antony Green (ABC election analyst) has a running total of seats to date...
Legislative Assembly - click here.
Legislative Council - click here.

Original Report prior to the NSW Election

The New South Wales election will be held on Saturday 26 March 2011.

The election is for all the Legislative Assembly (93 Members) and half the Legislative Council (21 Members).

Many commentators and media reports have noted that the Labor government in NSW has become increasingly unpopular with the public following various scandals. Some are already predicting a win for the Liberals/Nationals. With the changing vote towards the conservatives in the federal election (gaining a number of seats but not quite winning government) and the win by the Coalition in Victoria, this could well be part of a trend. The Herald/Nielsen poll on 16 February confirmed this move - see article in 'Media Reports' below.

From a Christian perspective, we are concerned with some policies of Labor during the past few years - including the introduction of same-sex adoption laws last year, the approval of the drug injecting room and relationship registers for homosexual and heterosexual de facto couples.

Unfortunately, both the Premier Kristina Keneally (who is supposed to be a pro-life Catholic) and the Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell BOTH voted for the legalising of adoption by homosexuals during 2010 (read media report).

 

Christian Values Checklist

The Christian Values Checklist for the NSW election has been released - it helps you by identifying some key moral and ethical issues and assessing the major parties on those issues. It was sent out on email last weekend.

Here are the documents - one in colour, one in B&W.
Both of them have a one page statement attached - explaining why the Australian Christian Values Institute, which does the Checklist, chooses the moral and ethical issues they do, and listing the votes on three key moral and ethical issues (Relationship Registers, same-sex adoption and the drug injecting room) that were voted on during 2010.
[Documents are also available at the Australian Christian Values Institute website - click here.]

NSW election - Christian Values Checklist - colour + statement

NSW election - Christian Values Checklist - B & W + statement

Please circulate them to your friends and hand them out to tour church friends so that people know where the major parties stand on the moral and ethical issues. 

 

Family Voice Survey Results

Information

The NSW Electoral Commission website has information about candidates and voting - click here.

 

Checking your electorate

You can check your electorate details (federal, state and local) at the special page at the Australian Electoral Commission: click here.

 

Media Reports

Keneally's king hits leave O'Farrell without a scratch, SMH, 16 Feb 2011.
The latest Herald/Nielsen poll shows that the Coalition has a commanding lead over Labor - this reflects recent opinion polls and concern about Labor's government in recent years.

No devil dealing with the Greens in NSW election - Barry O'Farrell, AAP, Feb 16, 2011.
Barry O'Farrell says the Coalition will not do a deal with the Greens if the Greens gain the balance of power in the Upper House. He was speaking at a forum organised by ACL. Both leaders discussed how they view the matters of faith and their political role. They were asked about a range of matters including same-sex adoption.