Home 2025 March 10 Truly, heads must roll!

Truly, heads must roll!

in Life, Law & Culture

After we posted our The Dockers Grand Final Better Not Be Like This – Too Close To Call story yesterday morning, reporting on the apparent very tight race between ALP’s Simone McGurk and the Teal like independent Kate Hulett and expressing frustration at the slow call by the WA Electoral Commission, the true reasons for the delay unfolded.

First, the WA Electoral Commission somehow didn’t have enough voting slips at many Fremantle polling booths forcing many voters to have to vote as Absentees at other electorate polling stations, helping to slow down the count.

And then on the night, the Electoral Commission decided to make a two party preferred call based on the two main contesting parties being Labor and the Greens, not Labor and the Independent, based in the voting trends at the last Freo election and totally ignoring the very visible Freo independent candidate.

This article is in the nature of an Open Letter by our Editor, Michael Barker, to the head honchos at the Electoral Commission.

Truly, heads must roll.

You’re joking, right?

You’re not?

Really?

You really didn’t have enough voting slips for the punters in Freo?

What, you thought they weren’t interested? Wouldn’t turn up?

And forced them to trudge off to other electorates to lodge Absentee votes?

And then decided the contest would be a two party race between the ALP candidate and the Greens candidate based on the last Freo election results without wetting your finger, holding your arm up in the air and testing which direction the wind was blowing and realising everyone in Freo knew the Teal-like independent was Labor’s main opposition? And so on the night you started a two party preferred count on an entirely misconceived basis?

You did?

My goodness.

In that case, you’d better start the counting all over again first thing this morning.

And do it quickly.

And apologise – in fact, grovel – to all the Freo voters who had to find their way to out of the electorate polling stations to lodge Absentee votes – and further delay the count.

And are still waiting, waiting, waiting, for the result.

And then, after someone (not from the WA Electoral Commission) conducts a review of this whole shemozzle, consider the employment options of the Commission’s head honchos.

Truly, how can heads not roll?

* By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News

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© 2025 Fremantle Shipping News / Site by Super Minimal

© 2025 Fremantle Shipping News / Site by Superminimal