The Battle of Bennelong

It took 18 days for former Prime Minister John Howard to finally concede defeat in the seat of Bennelong and he congratulated Labor’s Maxine McKew.

“The Labor Party won the seat fairly and squarely. This is a wonderful exercise in democracy” Howard told a packed gathering in Chatswood.

Mr Howard had held the Bennelong electorate since 1974 and is the second longest serving Prime Minister in Australian history. He is also only the second Prime Minister in history to lose his seat at an election, with the Australian Electoral Commission declaring Ms McKew the winner by 44,685 votes to Mr Howard’s 42,251.

Maxine McKew was humble in victory saying “I wish you and Mrs Howard all fulfilment”. Mr Howard declined to talk to the media, instead choosing to mingle with Liberal Party supporters.

The loss of Bennelong has hit deep into the psyche of the Coalition, putting every member on notice that they are far from safe come the next election in 2010. Given the massive swing to the Labor Party and the amazing campaign put together to take Bennelong from the Liberal Party, the new Leader of the opposition Brendan Nelson must surely be feeling uneasy. His seat of Bradfield is situated right next to Bennelong along with North Sydney which is still held by Liberal Joe Hockey.

The emphatic victory for Labor must surely cause slight paranoia for those in the Coalition in seats which have traditionally been considered as “safe” and certainly raises the question of who Labor will choose to run in those seats in the next election? Will it be possible to turn the political landscape further on its head and create a Labor held North Shore?

There have also been considerable rumblings from the Malcolm Turnbull camp about the validity of the leadership ballot, given that some seats were still to be decided and it would seem a fairly safe bet that a Leadership challenge is on the cards. The question is when?

Who would want to lead the Coalition to the next Federal election? Would that person be kept on as Leader if they were resoundingly defeated again? Would Peter Costello reappear as the “elder statesmen” at a later time and take the fight to the ALP? Given that Labor is in Government Federally and in every State and Territory it is a big ask to lead the Coalition at any level and we can only wish Dr Nelson the very best in what is seemingly going to be a fight to survive from within his own ranks, let alone that of the ALP.

Michael Marquette

It's The Year 2015 & Road Tolls Are Up 500%

It’s the year 2015 and Sydney’s tolls have spiraled out of control to the point where just crossing the Harbour Bridge costs $15.

A satrical look at a serious problem

The Cross City Tunnel is now a café and restaurant boulevard and the Manly Tunnel costs $25 each way. There are now two bus lanes on all major roads and the normal time to travel from Manly to the City by car is 3 hours. The construction of Sydney’s Metro Rail System is in full swing with the Labor controlled North Shore and Northern Beaches being the first to enjoy the new rail system. Completion is due in 2018 which will connect the State seat of Sydney which has just been won for Labor by high profile singer John Farnham who defeated Clover Moore by a mere 21 votes.

Sydney’s Metro Lines are estimated to take until 2042 to complete and with the extraordinary cost of tolls, housing affordability is at its lowest point in history. It now takes around 65% of gross household income to pay for housing and wages have increased, pushing inflationary targets to well above 20%pa and the Reserve Bank has official rates at 19% in an attempt to pull the economy back from the brink.

The lack of transport to New South Wales Regional cities and towns has resulted in a metropolitan housing crisis that has more than 1000 people each week becoming homeless with charities like the Salvation Army unable to cope with the enormous need for support. What can we do now in 2007 to avoid this pending Armageddon?

Sydney is choked by the lack of effective public transport. Bus lanes and more buses are not viable long term solutions as more and more cars are on the road and with less space and more bus room needed the future isn’t looking bright. The poor support for the Cross City Tunnel is a great indicator that families are being pushed to breaking point with the cost of housing and general living expenses at an all time high.

The sale and lease of New South Wales power stations and retail energy companies will be a great boost to this State and will go a long way toward helping Premier Iemma to resolve the transport crisis and aging infrastructure that is now a reality in this State.

The disastrous scenario could be even slightly true if immediate action is not taken. The current housing crisis will be solved through a variety of means but transport to Sydney from regional cities and towns in NSW must be addressed to provide a viable alternative to those unable to afford accommodation in Sydney. A super fast train (or bullet train) must be the priority of Government for cities like Newcastle and Wollongong to name just two. This would create enormous opportunities for these cities to attract major business to the areas as well as create the opportunity for people who work in the Metropolitan area to live in other more affordable places.

The upgrading of airports in regional areas to International standard is critical for the long term health of the State and a world-class metro rail system like that in London or New York City would be the icing on the cake for a State in desperate need of long term solutions.

Michael Marquette

The Labor of Living: Fear of Losing Homes Drove ALP Win

VOTERS in electorates recording the highest rates of home repossessions voted more strongly for Labor than areas not facing the same home-loan pressures, according to figures on the influence mortgage stress had on the federal election result.

The data offers the first firm evidence that mortgage stress and six interest rate rises were a key influence in seats covering Sydney's west, south-west, the Hunter and the Central Coast.

In a Fairfax analysis of lower house seats in NSW and the ACT, high home-repossession rates were a better indicator of Labor receiving a stronger vote than either high unemployment rates or lower average incomes.

The top 10 home repossession electorates were identified and these 10 electorates recorded an average swing to the ALP of 6.7 per cent, compared with an average NSW swing of 5.4 per cent, using the ABC's analysis of election results.

The swing to Labor in the 10 seats with the highest unemployment rate was 6.2 per cent and the swing to Labor in the 10 seats with the lowest income was below the state average at 5 per cent.

An associate professor of economics at the University of Western Sydney, Steve Keen, said household debt had become a pressing issue since the 2004 election, with total debts as a proportion of disposable household income increasing from 128 per cent to 160 per cent.

Over the same period the percentage of household income required to service debts had increased from 11 per cent to 16 per cent, meaning rising debt levels and interest rates had created a "double whammy".

People with mortgage repayments of between $1400 and $1600 a month, just above the average repayment, stood out as one group that moved solidly to Labor.

Interestingly, the ABC's election analyst, Antony Green, noted the seats identified by Fitch did not appear to select the seats with the lowest incomes, but rather those facing the highest cost-of-living expenses.

Simon Turner

Regional NSW in Crisis

Regional NSW is in desperate need of attention and fast. For decades Sydney has been the focus of both Federal and State Governments with regional cities like Newcastle largely ignored by both sides of politics as it has always provided a safe haven for Labor. Therefore Labor has seen no need to campaign strongly and the Coalition parties have promised little for the area as ultimately they would be unlikely to gain politically from the exercise.

It is sad to think that our country and ultimately our democracy is run in a way where political opportunism determines what infrastructure may be placed in a given area, however it would seem quite close to the reality in 2007. Successive State Governments have ignored the needs of regional NSW and therefore have in a large way created the housing crisis which we are now suffering. There has been a complete lack of focus, vision and spending on regional infrastructure connecting NSW regions to metropolitan Sydney and we now are suffering the consequences.

As a boy born and bred in Newcastle I have seen the city progress ever so slowly. I have seen the Newcastle City Council sacked in the 1980's and the Honeysuckle development touted as the city's saviour take longer to complete than it has taken for China to become a major international economic force. I experienced the earthquake in 1989 and still see unchanged remnants today which is a terrible indictment on Government at all levels.

If transport was world leading, with a super fast train connecting Sydney and regional centres we would have the capacity to resolve housing problems in Sydney with people able to live further from their workplace. We would also be able to attract business to our regions which would revolutionize the economies of many cities and towns that are otherwise struggling. Imagine a second international airport actually in Newcastle or Wollongong rather than Sydney? Imagine them connected by world class super fast train links and imagine how that might compare to London with Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead? Imagine how we could easily progress our nation if only common sense prevailed? Let's hope it does. Michael Marquette

Election Bloopers and Blunders

Here's some light-hearted relief from this year's federal election campaigning, compiled by ABC News.

Watch here

Howard's Judgement Day

I watched the ABC commentary last Saturday night completely in awe of the enormous 6.3 % national swing to the ALP. Not only had the ALP contained the damage in Western Australia but seat after seat had fallen in even safe Liberal electorates. Massive swings of over 14% were recorded in some seats and Maxine McKew looked like she had pulled off the unthinkable and beaten Howard in his own seat of Bennelong. All five seats in Tasmania fell to the ALP along with election winning gains in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Ministers had fallen and at that point we were still be told of the pending retirements of senior Coalition members like Mark Vaile and Peter Costello to name just two.

At 10.35pm Prime Minister Howard appeared with his family to concede defeat and in doing so ending an era Australian politics. His speech was delivered with enormous dignity and grace and he congratulated Prime Minister elect Rudd on a “very emphatic victory”. He also went on to accept full responsibility for the Coalition campaign and election defeat and also stressed that Australia was now “stronger, prouder and more prosperous” than it had been 11 ½ years prior. If that statement was true then why had so many Australians turned their back on the Coalition? If indeed the average family were so much better off why had they so resoundingly sacked the government?

There are a number of factors that I suggest were at play. Firstly Australians have developed a social conscience that now cannot be politically ignored. Issues like the environment, treatment of refugees, equal rights for gay and lesbian couples and the promised “Education Revolution” have hit a chord with voters to the extent that the economy has been considered as one factor rather than the main factor in determining government. The massive increase in the availability and access to information due to the internet has played its part in shaping this election result. Never before have the Australian people had such a massive amount of information so readily available to assist in making the enormous decision of electing our government. Never before has there been such scrutiny of a government’s performance.

At the end of 33 years in parliament, 15 as Leader of the Liberal Party and 11 ½ years as Prime Minister, John Howard has cemented his place in history as the second longest serving Prime Minister in Australia’s history. Australia’s 26th Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd has set a massive agenda for reform and was at work on Sunday morning speaking to other world leaders and instructing the new Labor Caucus to visit at least one government and one private school in their electorate before meeting in Canberra this Thursday. With Labor in government Federally and in all States and Territories we have never had a better chance of resolving issues where there has been little or no co-operation between Government at all levels. It is with enormous excitement that I thank Mr Howard for his contribution to our great nation and welcome the man who may well prove to be the best Prime Minister this country has ever seen.

Michael Marquette

What the Polls Say: The Latest Snapshot

The latest Newspoll shows while the Coalition has slightly narrowed the gap on Labor, it still has ground to make up

The poll of 20 Nov in the Australian newspaper shows the Coalition closing the gap slightly on the primary vote, up 1point to 41 per cent. This is 5 points behind Labor, which has dropped 2 points to 46 per cent.

On a two party-preferred basis, the Coalition has climbed one point to 46 per cent, eight points behind Labor on 54 per cent.

The gap between John Howard and Kevin Rudd has also narrowed slightly, 42 per cent would prefer Mr Howard as Prime Minister, up 2 points, compared to 46 per cent opting for Mr Rudd.
It's the closest preferred PM result in six months.

On the issue of economic management, John Howard has maintained his lead, despite an unprecedented interest rate rise during the election campaign.

As for Malcolm Turnbull's seat of Wentworth (Marquette Turner HQ), a new poll suggests he is facing an uphill battle to retain his seat.

A Nielsen poll of 901 Wentworth voters, published in Fairfax newspapers, shows Greens preferences could give Labor's George Newhouse, leading to a Labor win in the seat for the first time since federation.

Even though Mr Turnbull leads the primary vote by 45 per cent to 36 per cent, Greens candidate Susan Jarnason is attracting 17 per cent support in the primary vote and her preferences will flow to Labor, leaving Mr Newhouse leading Mr Turnbull by 52 percent to 48 percent on a two party preferred basis.

This of course does not factor in the shadow over Mr Newhouse's head as to whether he is inellegible to be a candidate. A Liberal Party spokesperson cites Mr Newhouse, as well as 12 other Labor candidates throughout Australia, whose candidacy is questionable. The ALP completely disputes such assertions and whilst this could lead to a spate of by-elections post-election, it could also shore up support for the ALP leading up to the election as voters turn against the Coalition for raising such assertions.

Finally, a special telephone Morgan Poll of 435 electors conducted last night (November 20) shows a swing (0.8%) to the Liberals in the five Western Australian marginal seats of Brand, Cowan, Hasluck, Stirling and Swan.

In these five key WA seats, Liberal primary support is 44%, ALP 42.5%, Greens 9.5%, One Nation 1% and Independent/Others 3%.

After allocating preferences the two-party preferred result is Liberal 50.5%, ALP 49.5% - a swing of 0.8% to the Liberals since the 2004 election. Simon Turner

Australia's Constitutional Crisis of 2017

Ten Years On: Constitutional crisis looms

The President, John Howard, said yesterday he would not hesitate to use his powers of dismissal if the Prime Minister could not resolve the dispute that caused the Opposition to block key bills in the Senate.

The Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has told Liberal senators to follow a policy of "total obstruction'' until the Prime Minister, Peter Garrett, abandons his plan to build a nuclear reactor in every state capital. Mr Turnbull is supported by four of the eight Greens senators, three of the six Holy Family senators, and the Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja.

Mr Howard delivered his threat during a ceremony in Canberra to mark Australia's return to 20 million people under the "depopulate or perish'' program. Mr Howard congratulated the Government on its anti-immigration and anti-fertility measures, which put Australia on track to reach the so-called "Flannery line" of 18 million by 2026.

Then Mr Howard departed from his prepared speech to add: "When Peter Garrett reached across the party divide to nominate me as the first president of the republic, he called it an act of national reconciliation. I told him at the time that this would not prevent me from doing my duty to the nation, and that includes ensuring the Parliament can function.''

Mr Howard's remarks were immediately condemned by the Victorian Premier, Peter Costello, and the NSW Premier, Pru Goward. Both are supporters of Mr Garrett's program to cut Australia's dependence on coal-fired power stations. "That little toad kept me waiting so long I had to move back to Melbourne and join the Labor Party to get career advancement,'' Mr Costello said. "Now he's threatening the first green Labor government in this country's history. He should respect the Garrett mandate."

Mr Garrett accused Mr Turnbull of wanting to continue Australia's greenhouse emissions so global warming would give his Woollahra home a water frontage.

STOP PRESS: the College of Cardinals in Rome has elected an Australian as the new Pope. He is the former politician Tony Abbott, who returned to the priesthood in 2008 after the Liberal Party failed to choose him as leader.

He will take the name Pope Abbott I, "in recognition of the way a humble Abbott can rise, through hard work and determination, to the top job in the world's most powerful religious corporation.''

Pope Abbott said his first priority was to "ramp up'' what he called "the war of ideas with Islam''. "Christianity needs to be packaged more dynamically, and I believe I have the diplomatic skills to do that," he said.

Original article featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Stay in Touch feature.

Polling Points to Potential Carnage

Polling Suggests Carnage

The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that 13,645,073 voters are enrolled for this Saturday’s election.

That represents 550,000 more than had been on the electoral rolls three years earlier (13,098,461) and almost 1.3 million than actually voted in the 2004 election!

The commission also gave a breakdown of the age groupings of the Australian electorate. These are:
18-24: 1,535,870.
25-39: 3,513,510.
40-54: 3,856,190.
55 and over: 4,739,500.

So – on which side of the fence are the majority of these groups sitting?

AC Nielsen’s polling is showing that Labor is destroying the Coalition in all age groups but the over-55s, where the Coalition has an advantage nationally of 49 per cent to 43 per cent in the primary vote. Considering it is also the largest voting group, it is quite evident why John Howard and his team is ploughing such a huge effort of time and policy promises into them.

Even then, when compared to the previous 4 elections won by the Coalition, Labor has been able to gain on average an additional 9 percentage points among over-55 voters.

In the other age groups the Coalition is severely struggling and the carnage in NSW and Queensland will be immense. Only WA is offering a glimmer of hope for John Howard to keep the Kirribilli lights on. Simon Turner

Electorate More Persuaded by ALP Advertising

On Wednesday and Thursday, Roy Morgan Research used a representative sample of the Australian electorate to monitor their responses to the the seven main political advertisements running on television for the L-NP and ALP, ACTU, and ALP/Greens/Australian Democrats.

The role of The Reactor was to monitor whether the advertising made them "more inclined to the L-NP or the ALP". Between each advertisement, respondents returned to a neutral position.
Typically, the respondents react in accordance with party lines, spokespeople and topics.

Whilst this was generally the case over the last few evenings, the ACTU advertisement of the young woman and the middle-aged couple talking about how Work Choices is hurting working families, clearly touched a nerve with L-NP supporters as well as their own followers. Similarly, so did the ALP advertisement reminding the electorate of the six interest rate rises under the L-NP Government.

The L-NP appeared to be talking only to their traditional electorate and failed to move ALP voters. The ALP/Greens/Australian Democrats ad about 'time to restore the balance to the House of Review' did not move either ALP or L-NP supporters to any extent.

What the parties must do to win:
· The ALP needs to cement their traditional supporters as well as continue to motivate some L-NP voters as they appear to be achieving well. Watch a simple yet effective video from Kevin07
· The L-NP needs not only to focus its traditional voters, but also those “soft ALP voters”. It's advertising must be clearer, leaner and broader.

Who has the most stamina as we edge towards the finish line? Simon Turner

The Coalitions' Offer to Improve Housing Affordability

John Howard has put forward a low-tax deposit savings account pledge to assist first-home buyers as part of the Coalitions' election bounty. The $1.56 billion plan is similar to the $600m pledge of Kevin Rudds.

Under the Coalition's scheme, two forms of saving account will be available:

1) Adult first-home buyers will be able to make contributions of up to $10,000 per year into a home deposit saving account. The first $1000 deposited each year is claimable as a tax deduction and interest earned on sums in the account are tax free.

2) Adults will be able to make a total contribution of up to $1000 per year towards the first-home purchase of a family member or friend below the age of 18. The contributions are tax deductible or, for people with no taxable income, subject to a 15% cash rebate.

Additionally, Howard has also promised to exempt first homes purchased in shared equity arrangements between the occupant and a contributing family member from capital gains tax.

If you're trying to work out which party's offer is the most generous, here's what the Housing Industry Association’s Chris Lamont had to say:

“Tax concessions under the Coalition policy appears more generous than what’s offered by Labor,” Lamont says. “But Labor has more of a focus on balancing the needs of home owners with the rental market, so overall they are both very good policies.”

The reality, however, is that neither policy is likely to improve housing affordability, despite the multi-million dollar tax concessions involved. What is being promoted is creating a culture of saving.

Thus, whilst the housing affordability crisis will not be solved by such policies, it would appear that both parties are listening to the concerns of Australians. Simon Turner

Read Marquette Turner's account of Labor's policy.

The Roy Morgan Reactor: Interest Rates

Watch the Roy Morgan Reactor, a very clever use of graphs that move in time with ALP and Coalition announcements and ads.

Watch HERE

The Right to Know

“Australia’s Right to Know”, a Sydney-based coalition of media companies, commissioned a report from Irene Moss, a former magistrate and New South Wales state ombudsman. According to a statment released on November 5th, Mrs Moss found 335 pieces of legislation with secrecy provisions. Thus, can it be true that press freedom, and indeed the freedom of information in Australia is increasingly becoming endangered by the growth of government secrecy.

Ms Moss claims that the burdens associated with freedom-of-information filings have begun to overwhelm many journalists. In one particular case, government officials demanded almost $13,000 for “decision-making time” related to the release of documents about climate change around the Great Barrier Reef.

Whilst I do not believe that we're on the path to becoming like North Korea, it is nevertheless concerning to hear that bureaucracy and secrecy are taking hold of such a champion of democracy. Simon Turner

Homes for the Homeless

As part of its electioneering, Labor has unveiled a $150 million promise to build up to 600 new houses and units across the country to provide better access to housing for homeless people.

Mr Rudd, speaking at a Mission Australia shelter in inner Sydney, said Labor's aim is to halve the number of homeless people turned away from shelters each year within five years and close the gap within a decade to ensure all homeless obtained shelter.

"This is all part of reaching out with a helping hand to Australians in need," he told reporters.

Mr Rudd said figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicated that in 2005-06 there were 3,383 requests for emergency accommodation that could not be met.

That was almost five per cent of the total number of requests for emergency accommodation, he said. At Mission Australia, where Mr Rudd talked to residents, more than half of all single adult women seeking accommodation are turned away.

"In a nation that has experienced 16 consecutive years of economic growth, this is simply not acceptable," stated Mr Rudd. Simon Turner

Labor Offers First Home Buyers a Lifeline

Should Labor win Government, it has promised to establish low-tax saving accounts to encourage first home buyers to save more towards a house deposit.

Under the scheme, which will cost $600 million over four years, first home buyers can make a pre-tax deposit of up to $5000 per year into a special deposit saving account that will be taxed at just 15%. Another $5000 per year after-tax can also be deposited, with interest from the full sum in the account also taxed at the low 15% rate.

The money can only be accessed after four years and must be put towards a home deposit – money can still be withdrawn if not used for that purpose, but the value of the tax concessions will be subtracted from the sum withdrawn. A minimum deposit of $1000 per year is required to keep an account open and the total amount deposited cannot exceed $50,000.

By encouraging first home owners to save, the scheme will help reduce debt levels and the use of expensive deposit guarantees like mortgage insurance, according to Housing Industry Association senior executive director Chris Lamont.

For many, however, even the $1000 minimum may be tough for some people to meet, particularly given that rental prices are on the high side, but certainly some assistance and encouragement is better than nothing. Simon Turner

Read Marquette Turner's account of the Coalition's policy

Melbourne Cup - Who Bet on Whom?

Whilst neither party's leader joined the fanfair at Flemington, Howard’s favourite, Mahler, came in third and Rudd backed the winner Efficient (after his original choice was scratched).

Simon Turner

Australia's Broadband Speed

Broadband is front and centre in election campaigning today, with Coalition Communication Minister Helen Coonan seeking to capitalise on OECD figures showing that Australia has the 9th fastest broadband in the world.

According to Coonan, the OECD’s global internet rankings show Australia is performing well compared to many other developed nations, and clearly does not support Kevin Rudd's claim that Australia's broadband performance is woeful.

As well as the 9th fastest broadband in the world, Australia also has the 4th most affordable broadband, the 6th fastest broadband connection speeds and the 12th fastest take-up of broadband services of the 30 countries surveyed by the OECD.

Simon Turner

"Change it all" by Peter Garrett

Listen to the sound bite relating to Peter Garrett's comment that should Labor take government that, when it comes to their policies, they'll just "change it all". CLICK here

Simon Turner

Recycling Policies

Malcolm Turnbull, the Environment Minister and Peter Garrett, his Labor counterpart, squared off in a short debate yesterday on the Seven Network to outline the environmental platform on which their parties are fighting this month’s Federal Election

As previously mentioned, Mr Turnbull is also the local member for Wentworth, thus Marquette Turner’s HQ falls within his constituency so we are taking a particular awareness of his actions and policies.

After I questioned Mr Turnbull on the fact that despite him being the Minister for Environment, I found it quite ironic that our HQ, which is in fact in Crown St, only 5 minutes walk from his office, we do not get the benefit of recycling.

His response to me was that this was the responsibility of the local council, but would indeed allay my concerns to the local Liberal member (whom notably, does not hold the local council seat).

To add insult to injury, he stated in his debate that recycling is essentially at the heart of his policies and is indeed one of his initiatives.

Whilst I certainly appreciated the speed of his personal response, and my comments are certainly not intended to “point the finger” at the policies of one particular party (both of whose representatives have not been immune from gaffes), I also believe the accountability and “keeping the bastards honest” doesn’t hurt, and in this particular issue Mr Turnbull draws the short straw.

Recylcing should indeed be at the heart of an environmental policy as it SHOULD BE something that every single Australian can participate in. Whilst we can exert pressure when it comes to our believes on whether Kyoto is ratified or not, recycling is an every-day action that each household should be given the opportunity to take part in. Mr Turnbull, please get your local "house in order”. Simon Turner

An Education Revolution in Real Estate is Sorely Overdue

With the Federal election unfolding the concept of an education revolution has pricked my ears up. Recently the Marquette Turner Director's convened a "think tank" where we spent two days in lockdown considering how best to continue educating our team as well as what new initiatives could help in attracting high calibre individuals to our company and also the industry as a whole. Simon Turner, Christine Watson and myself are committed to a transformed industry where tertiary level training is compulsory and negotiation is formally taught and examined. Our vision is to see the real estate industry in Australia mature into the profession that it needs to be - much like Accounting, Medicine and Law.

The reality is that real estate agents are one of the highest paid consultants in any industry, yet the entry requirements are so low and the training reality is that very few people ever fail once enrolled in the course. The "pass everyone" mentality is continuing to see hundreds of people enter the industry - most really should not be there. I have listened to the education plans of both major parties and while they are both touting to increase spending on education there appears to be little focus on improving or completely restructuring the training requirements for real estate and other professions which are in desperate need of an overhaul. Marquette Turner is a fierce opponent of the "increase places" education revolution that seems to be the centrepiece of what we are hearing. Simply increasing the number of places does not improve systems that are clearly failing and in need of immediate attention.

It was only yesterday when I was told of a real estate agent in Newcastle offering a potential purchaser part of his commission if he were to buy a house from him. This sort of person should not be in the industry and is a perfect example of why a formal, tertiary level qualification is so desperately needed at Bachelor level as part of the process of cleaning up the real estate industry. More places in existing training programs where standards are low and almost everyone is guaranteed to pass is just not the answer. Let's hope our politicians are listening. Rest assured that Marquette Turner is working diligently towards creating such a revolution. Michael Marquette

Junk Mail: Electoral Rubbish

The upcoming Federal election is causing some vendor jitters in deciding when to sell. Vendors are troubled by the election date of November 24, which is a Saturday and real estate agents are doing all they can to avoid auctioning homes on that weekend. At Marquette Turner Estate Agents we have decided to delay all auctions to avoid the election weekend and we are running new sales campaigns well into December which is extremely rare. The election has resulted in a late "real estate Spring" with the usual Spring influx of new property being delayed until December or the new year.

The election wait has also allowed for me to personally consider what I might do on election day. With our Sydney Headquarters being in Crown Street, East Sydney we are positioned in the Federal seat of Wentworth which is currently held by Malcolm Turnbull for the Liberal Party. It just happens that Mr Turnbull is also the Federal Minister for the Environment so I would expect that he would be extremely active in ensuring that the environment is top priority in his electorate. We have nightly rubbish collections during the week and yet we don't have any recycling facilities for at the Marquette Turner Office. In fact all of our rubbish is collected, unsorted and taken away as if the environment was the last thing on Mr Turnbull's mind.

It is difficult to get political in any situation as both parties have positives and negatives however when such simple things are ignored by the Federal Minister for the Environment I cannot help but wonder what the best thing to do on election day will be? As a real estate agent and a Director of Marquette Turner Estate Agents I have always seen it as my responsibility to act in the best interests of the properties and clients I represent as well as the company I represent. It is of great concern that our Federal Minister for the Environment could miss something so simple which is only a couple of hundred metres from his office. If Wentworth falls to Labor then Mr Turnbull has only himself to blame - Marquette Turner is committed to a greener world and it is under our own initiative that we promote environmentally friendly ways to market, recycle and run our business.

Unnecessary Election Jitters

No one wants to have the distraction of an election on their auction day, so real estate agents and vendors have been playing a guessing game as to how to run their auction campaigns to the best effect

Whilst some have abandoned a spring campaign altogether, Michael Marquette of Marquette Turner points out that this favours vendors as there'll clearly be less stock on the market.

An election, in Australia, regardless of the result, will seriously have little if any effect on the Australian housing market, says fellow director Simon Turner.

There are so many other factors that are involved in creating market conditions that "sitting on ones hands" proves beneficial to no one.

Election round-up: the story so far...

The Howard camp had a difficult weekend with a rift developing between Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard over signing the Kyoto protocol and coming under increasing pressure of a broken promise over interest rates.

Meanwhile the Greens and ALP are negotiating a preference-swap deal that leaves Family First out in the cold. But reports this morning point out this could mean that tough competition between the minor parties could mean the Coalition will remain in control of the upper house.

The biggest promise comes from Labor leader Kevin Rudd. He has promised a $1 billion package of grants and tax breaks designed to encourage investment in desalination and water recycling infrastructure.

Local and state governments will be able to apply grants of up to $100 million for desalination or waste water recycling projects, while businesses will be eligible for tax breaks worth up to 10% of the value of eligible projects.

Howard has committed a further $390 million for the Work Skills Voucher program. The program provides vouchers worth up to $3000 for people to take courses in areas such as ICT, accounting and administration. The new funding will make room for a further 110,000 people to claim the vouchers.

Jacqui Walker, smartcompany