“If independent Claire Miles and the Greens’ Isabel Mudford support each other, there’s an outside chance that the seat of Canberra will move from Labor,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

You are not voting for Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton. Certainly, not directly, although both major political parties want you to think that way. 

The complicit media present a similar view encouraging people to think of elections as “presidential” ones. We have a system of representative democracy in the lower house and state/territory based proportional representation in the Senate.

Without going to an election as leader of the Liberals, Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister by securing support from enough MPs in the House of Representatives to overthrow Tony Abbott. It was a similar story with the Rudd, Gillard, Rudd saga. 

Kevin Rudd believed his own rhetoric about being directly elected by the people. After his loss to Julia Gillard, he believed himself disenfranchised from his rightful position. He then ran a ruthless campaign, despite Gillard being the face of Labor that won the next election. A change of heart then allowed him to replace Gillard mid-term.

It is so much easier to frame an election as a presidential-style battle between Albanese and Dutton as the two contenders rather than deal with the intricacies of an election based on representative seats. The voters in the electorates of Dickson and Grayndler make choices regarding Peter Dutton or Anthony Albanese.

The lesson is – think local. The Labor incumbents in the House of Representatives’ seats of Bean, Fenner and Canberra are being challenged by Greens, independents and Liberals.

The seat of Fenner is a lay down misère. Andrew Leigh is the sitting MP who has represented the seat of Canberra for five terms. He has done so effectively and intelligently. His rational and thoughtful contribution in the community and in the parliament has been exemplary and he deserves to be re-elected.

In this election Mr Leigh has two challengers. Dani Hunterford is “a young person, a renter, and a passionate advocate for change working in the not-for-profit sector”. She is a Greens’ candidate who sees this election as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to make real change”. Bola Olatunbosun came from Nigeria more than a decade ago to settle in Canberra and is running with the Liberals. She believes in the “values of family, community, and personal responsibility”.

The seat of Canberra is not so clear. Alicia Payne has held the seat since 2019. She is not as well-known as her colleague, Andrew Leigh. However, she holds the seat by a margin of more than 12 per cent. With the increasing popularity of independents and Greens, there is always a possibility that she will be toppled.

If independent Claire Miles and the Greens’ Isabel Mudford support each other, there will be an outside chance that the seat of Canberra will move from Labor. The Liberal candidate, Will Roche, believes Canberra has been “forgotten”, “taken for granted”, “abandoned by an out-of-touch government”.  Unfortunately for him, such words ring hollow following attacks by Peter Dutton on Canberra.

The seat of Bean is held by David Smith with a comfortable margin, just shy of 13 per cent. Smith has held the seat since 2019 and before that was an ACT Senator for a couple of years. The Liberals do not provide a threat. The outside chance for a change in this seat would require an outstanding and co-ordinated effort from the Greens’ Sam Carter, and independent candidate, Jessie Price.

Carter is a Paralympian and advocate for people with disabilities. His pitch is: “I’ve seen how government decisions can impact the livelihoods of so many in our community, no matter who”. Jessie Price is a journalist and mother of three, who wants to “see politics done differently”. She argues “the major parties have shown their sense of entitlement to politics; we are doing grassroots, participative democracy”.

This is not a presidential election. When you vote for your candidates in the House of Representatives, you delegate to them the responsibility of voting for the first amongst equals as the prime minister. To the chagrin of the major parties, most independents understand this. It is right that they do not declare who they will vote for in terms of prime minister. This would undermine their negotiating position in the event of a minority government.

Each vote does count. But a nuanced approach would dismiss any understanding that there is a direct vote for either of the major party leaders.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.