Frequently Asked Questions

Couple more days to go and the Election office at Dandenong is getting busier.

Here are some answers to some FAQ's.


On voting

I've recently moved house, I haven't changed my address but I still want to vote. What can I do?

The Roll closed on the 3rd of October. If you're still on the roll, you can vote from your old address.
There will be no absentee voting available. If you need a postal vote, it needs to be in by this Friday.
Please do your best to attend on Saturday, or attend a pre poll centre.
*If you want further clarification please ring the Election Office (Dandenong) on 9701 3431

I'm getting more personal questions every day and I'm going to share the answers here:

On my background
What's your nationality?
Not that my background should matter significantly, my parents are Sri Lankan Burghers, hence the Portugese surname. There's a mix of Dutch, English and Portugese in there.


On my age
You're 21, but you're too young. What experience do you have?
I'd like to point out that one of the requirements in the eligibilty to stand means that I'd need to be on the roll.
What if I'd stood at 18? How much of a rap would I recieved straight out of secondary school?
Age is irrelevant. It is the capacity to serve. Check out my other posts if you need more proof.


On the local papers
You've been quiet in the paper, why haven't we seen your photo?
I have scant regard for biased publishing by our current crop of papers. That's my honest opinion. That's why I have kept a blog on my journey as an candidate so you hear my part.

I have sent my comments as required to the papers and then copied them here and kept the corrospondance.

I've sent what was required to the Leader, Star and Journal.
In regards to The Leader I sent both the statement and photo before deadline, but the they've only decided to show the photo for some reason. They didn't return my call or email when questioned.

The Star, although had asked for 100 words, skimmed my submission when published.
Again sent by deadline.

The Journal asked for a response on a host of issues. They were up front with using the news worthy bits though. They didn't ask for a photo.
It was sent by deadline and they acknowledged the submission.
However, it is unfortunate that one the same paper this week published a biased article from an incumbant. A fly on the wall could tell a much greater story.

The paper that covered my profile and gave half page to was NewsExchange. Thank you to James Fernandez and Des Kelly for that.


Tip for the day: Do your research. Drill the candidates with questions.


Hope to see you around over the next couple of days.

Cheers,
Lauren