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Canberra Today 18°/23° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

ACT electoral history under the hammer

MICHAEL Moore has donated a very special 1989 ACT election ballot paper for auction to support the ACT Palliative Care Society at their dinner October 1.

Key features of this history document are:

  • Nearly a metre long
  • Modified D’Hondt method for a multi-member single constituency
  • 117 candidates and includes a wide range of parties including:
    • Party Party
    • Surprise Party
    • Sun-ripened warm tomato party (these three registered by Emile Brunaro)
    • No-Self Gov Party
    • Abolish Self Gov Party
    • Residents Rally … and so on
  • Signed by the members who were elected
  • With illustrations of each elected member by Canberra Times cartoonist Geoff Pryor
  • A limited run of 100 numbered by Pryor. The ballot paper in question is 80/100
  • (will be) framed
  • The original and one of the copies is held by the Canberra Museum and Gallery

The run was originally made as a fund raising device for Michael’s second election. It was subsequently used for fund raising in his third and fourth elections. Following politics he still had a small number of the ballot papers left and has provided them for charity auctions once every couple of years.

These ballot paper copies are becoming more important from a historical perspective as it is now over a quarter of a century since that first election.

While it is a “silent auction” to be held at the dinner ACT PalCare will take bids on the ballot paper from outside of the dinner for people who might be interested but cannot attend.

They can be contacted on 02 6255 5771 or office@pallcareact.org.au .

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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