Site colour change

From time to time I change the colour of this site, often partly or entirely for some reason connected with its content.  Examples of past colours adopted have been:

* a random pale blue when the site was originally started

* a shade of dark blue which was the subject of a ludicrous cease-and-desist letter from the Tasmanian Liberal director asking that an "independent liberal" candidate cease using the colour "Liberal Blue"

* Liberal Blue with spots.  

* Orange, partly in amazement at Cathy McGowan's team finding 1000 votes under the proverbial table during the 2013 Indi count.

* Purple, signifying neutrality between the major parties

* The colour of Senate ballot papers, moving to a purely psephological colour as an expression of disgust with the federal parliament over anti-free speech provisions in the rushed-through same-sex marriage plebiscite safeguards bill.

* Burnt orange, flying SA-BEST colours in protest against SA Labor and Liberal parties preferencing the Australian Conservatives.

The new colours (though I'm fiddling with the combination to try not to make it too hard on the eyes) are another protest, concerning the behaviour of nearly every party in or leading up to the current Victorian Legislative Council election.



Virtually every party in this election has supported, deceptively misused, enabled or failed to adequately fight Group Ticket Voting and its rampant abuse by preference-harvesters.  None of the parties in the current parliament introduced legislation to abolish GVTs at any stage.  Beyond the initial Electoral Matters report, I cannot even find any evidence that anyone even spoke in parliament against it.  Virtually all the ticket orders submitted, whether from parties inside or outside the parliament, either engage in preference harvesting or else preference parties that are obvious preference harvesters above at least some of the mainstream parties.

The only party that has adopted a preference ticket ordering that is clearly consistent with the philosophy of its likely voters, speaking out against dodgy Group Ticket Voting deals in the process, is the Victorian Socialists.  As a result, without copying their look, I have lifted some red and black colours from their website.

I am not even nearly a socialist and never thought I'd be flying the Red Flag for any reason. Heck, 20 years ago local socialists (Resistance especially) were my favourite prey items apart from homophobes and the religious Right, and some of them still hate me for it.

But when injustice remains electoral law, resistance becomes duty!

(This is not an endorsement, just a symbolic protest - it is site policy to oppose obnoxious candidates or parties from time to time but to never endorse anyone.)