Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has journalists in every state and territory. Sign up here to get it by email, or here to forward it to a friend. Today's newsletter was written by ACM national agriculture reporter Chris McLennan.
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Don't get me wrong, I love my ute - my wife not so much.
It is a Toyota Hilux which tends to bounce around a bit without a load.
Okay, it bounces a lot - such much so that some owners permanently keep a few concrete pavers across the top of the rear axle to tame it.
It is also a good way to check on the surface of roads, and the ute says our roads definitely need some love.
Motorcyclists report the same thing.
The election season will soon be upon us.
Oh no you say - yet today I want to urge you to get involved.
You do realise don't you that your pollies get away with far too much and it's all your fault?
Our elected representatives live in a bubble where they say they know what we want, but don't really.
How can we expect them to do our bidding unless we tell them?
A spray on your community's Facebook page on their performance is water off a duck's back. Have your say when it counts, right now.
So this week I have two tasks for you.
Number one - find out who your elected representative is?
Number two - find out how to contact them?
Voting is a chore to be endured and so many of us wouldn't bother if we didn't have to. Some go through the motions, just enough to avoid a fine.
Thank heavens for postal voting, we don't have to ruin our Saturday lining up.
But polling day, when your vote is there to be wooed, that's the time to strike.
I am as guilty as any as voting simply to avoid a fine.
I have never been a donkey voter but I have moved around a bit in recent years and found when fronting up for federal, Territory and council elections - I had no idea who I was voting for.
Some times I voted on what the candidate "looked like" on the way to the booth, it was probably a volunteer passing out the how-to-vote cards anyway.
It was easy just to put a number in the box - 1, 2,3 and so on, lots of my friends have admitted doing that.
Not this time around though.
It's not about Scomo and Albo - it's about what our local rep is doing for us.
So first we have to find out who that is?
There's usually enough junk mail which should help with that, if not an online search will do the job.
Same goes with the main rivals trying to steal his/her seat as well.
My particular beef is the state of the roads.
It seems lots of fun announcing a new road or bypass or widening or something or other while existing roads fall into ruin.
Some of the highways and freeways need widening even before they're opened.
Anyway, I'll save that argument for the pollie or wannabe pollie, to get my vote I want to know how you are going to fix the potholes?
The patches can be a problem themselves, and I've seen those yellow warning signs about an unsafe surface in the same spots for months.
Well that's my election issue, I'm sure you have yours as well.
The council will hear the same thing when it's their turn and the state as well - they'll all try and pass the buck to each other.
You want my vote, I want to know what you are going to do about it (my issue), and I want to know you are going to keep your word?
It's no good waiting for polling day - they will say and so anything for your vote, my advice is to get in as soon as possible.
Get it off your chest, open the lines of communication. What do you have to lose?
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