How Can A Mistake Like This Not Cause An Outrage

It’s the 79th minute, Queensland two points ahead is   parked on New South Wales ten metre line.    Smith is brought down on tackle four; he plays the ball to Cronk who   passes to Thaiday, who bursts through the first tacklers.  Pierce hangs on; Gallen throws himself at   Thaiday as he stretches for the try line, but falls centimetres short.  The referee calls hand over, Pierce grabs the   ball from Thaiday’s outstretched hands, the Queenslanders looks to the referee   in dismay.  Slater shows his extended   fingers to indicate only five tackles; Pierce plays the ball to Soward, he   passes to Hayne who side steps two bewildered Queenslanders, runs one hundred   metres and scores right under the posts, the Suncorp crowd is in outrage, the   chant becomes deafening, the referee blows his whistle to confirm the four   pointer.  The full time siren is hardly   heard, police rush on to the field surrounding the English referee, the   conversion is forgotten as the Blues celebrate their victory.  The next day front page headline reads ‘I   Made A Mistake’, beside a photo of the referee.    The Courier Mail editorial coverage is brutal, opinion pieces demand the   match be replayed, SMS’s are less complimentary towards the referee, Premier   Newman expresses his outrage, QANTAS insiders confirm the referee was secretly   flown out of the State an hour after the game to Melbourne for a connecting   overseas flight.  This scenario is not an   aspiration of mine for this year’s series, but I think details what could happen   if a simple mistake that led to a New South Wales winning try was made.

At the rcent Local Government elections it would appear a bigger   mistake occurred, but has yet to receive the scrutiny that a State of Origin   mistake would receive. “Only mark 1 in one box, do not fill in any other box, we   will not count preferences”, or something similar was allegedly told to who   knows how many local government voters by Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ)   officials.  I understand the Rockhampton   Regional Council budgeted $500,000 for ECQ to conduct its election.  How could a communication error such as this   possibly have occurred?  Was it an   interpretation error, despite what was written on the actual ballot paper? Did   this simple alleged error affect the democratic choice of who will be our Mayor   or Councillors for the next four years?    Maybe not everyone agrees, but in my opinion this type of mistake is   bigger than a rugby league referee not being able to count to six   correctly.  The political decision to   make preferential voting optional has undoubtedly caused confusion, not just   with voters possibly.  Is there a better   system to elect our political representatives?    Mackay Regional Council conducted a postal vote only election.  Not only does this save their residents from   remembering to vote on a set date and passing through the ‘vote this candidate’   gauntlet; it takes out the potential for human error with the verbal   instructions issued to the voter.    Gladstone region did not have divisions, so residents there could elect   the eight councillors they wanted, not just one.   Could future elections be done on-line, or   maybe while shopping at Coles or Woolies?    Should a series of elections be held until there are only two left to   ensure the most popular candidate does win, or instructions issued to number   every box.  The Newman State Government   needs to review the voting process. We should be demanding this as vocally as we   would a mistake awarded
winning try to NSW in a State of Origin game and as the   ECQ is a state government instrumentality Premier Newman should be expressing   his outrage.  If we really want good   government and representation from politicians that we respect then we need to   be more involved and vocal of the political process.  Our democracy must be diligently protected.   The ECQ needs (forced too if necessary) to explain what happened and what is to   be done. To just let this alleged mistake be swept under the carpet will be   unforgivable.