Macedonian votes for the Australian election 2010

[Bill77]

SoM, if I had thought of this I would have done it too. I wish I had known about it earlier. Do you think that your message has been recorded somewhere, or noted down ?

There is talk of a re election coming up. Mabe we will have another chance. What a great initiative SOM to show our protest.

This is the only way by us going to the polls and have any value to us Macedonians.

[fyrOM]

I didn't vote for anybody.

Instead, I wrote 'Australia must recognise Macedonia'…
…so fuck them all until one… respects our human rights.

My decision was made as both an Australian and a Macedonian.

SoM, if I had thought of this I would have done it too.

Its no use Mastika.
The corpus is in terra Australis but the mind is in Macedon.

[Bill77]

An invalid vote is, frankly, a waste of everyone's time, and of tax payers money. All votes are valuable, it gives people the chance to decided who will be leading their country into the future.

well well, we are possibly heading for the polls again. So who is waisting who's time and money. Before you blame the hand full of Macedonian invalid votes, If all Macedonians did not vote, it would not have made a difference in who got elected, But a message would have came accross.

Also what diference does it make who leads the country. We have had Both major parties leading the country in this last two terms and no difference. This is my point. I find them useless and i should have the right in not voting (just like many other countries) if i can't find a competent party to run the country.

We are all Australian citizens/live in Australia are we not? Whether it affects Macedonia or not, we still have our day to day lives to live. To boycott the elections just because there isnt a specific focus on Macedonians is ludicrous.

Thats just one factor. As a Macedonian, its very important to me. Much more than Broadband speed. But as for being an Australian citizen, i have listed my concerns for that side aswell. So what do you find ludicrous.

We live in Australia most of the time, so, why wouldn't we care who is leading our country

Its got nothing to do with care. Its plenty to do with hope or faith. I have lack of it towards both major parties. So how can i vote for something or someone i do not believe in.

It is this country which will be paying for our pensions and gives us financial support, not Macedonia.

Pension is something people earned through there long hard working life. That pain time and sweat that was lost including us Macedonians to get this country where it is. Mind you that Pension will be taken away and this country will expect there hard working citizens to survive on there own.

I find it very hard to accept this mentality; 'that we should not participate in the democratic process, just because Australia recognises FYROM and not ROM'.......I am still grateful that we are able to have our own Churches, Soccer grounds, clubs, social associations, KUDs, protests, etc.

I find it hard to accept this mentality; 'that we should not show any defiance and make a statement'.
We should just be thankful that we have soccer clubs that once were banned in having supporters from carrying Macedonian Flags and forced a name change from Makedonia to Lions'

How about the Bitola Club in Epping being asked to remove the Macedonian flag, should we be thankful for that aswell?

Only an efficient and benevolent government can help lessen the effects of these occurances, that is why it is crucial to vote.

When that party comes along, only then i will vote.

[Prolet]

I find it hard to accept this mentality; 'that we should not show any defiance and make a statement'.
We should just be thankful that we have soccer clubs that once were banned in having supporters from carrying Macedonian Flags and forced a name change from Makedonia to Lions'

How about the Bitola Club in Epping being asked to remove the Macedonian flag, should we be thankful for that aswell?

Our football club Preston Makedonia was forced to change its name, lets not forget that we've contributed to build this great country. Surly we are entitled to the basic UN right to name ourselves anyway we like, we've been in this country for over 100 years i think we deserve the right to be called Macedonians and our country be recognized as Republic of Macedonia. We are loyal citizens of this country, thats the least they can do for us as Australian Citizens.

[Mastika]

well well, we are possibly heading for the polls again. So who is waisting who's time and money. Before you blame the hand full of Macedonian invalid votes, If all Macedonians did not vote, it would not have made a difference in who got elected, But a message would have came accross.

I am not blaming the Macedonians or any group in particular for not voting. What I am adressing, is people who like whinge (which sadly includes most Maso's) BUT do not like to voice their opinions in a medium (voting) which allows people to enact change (which thankfully is only a small minority of Macedonians).

You would be surprised at what can be achieved if people work with the democratic system.

Also what diference does it make who leads the country. We have had Both major parties leading the country in this last two terms and no difference. This is my point. I find them useless and i should have the right in not voting (just like many other countries) if i can't find a competent party to run the country.

Hmm, lets see what difference does it make. We live in one of the most properous nations on the planet, the GFC hardly affected us, we have low unemployment etc. How can you say that neither party is competent when BOTH have ensured our position as the leaders of the Australasia region and have made sure that our living standards are the highest in all of Asia-Pacific.

Thats just one factor. As a Macedonian, its very important to me. Much more than Broadband speed. But as for being an Australian citizen, i have listed my concerns for that side aswell. So what do you find ludicrous.

In your comment you refered to Macedonian issues Four times, in what is an Australian election. From what i gathered the main reason why you chose to boycott the election is because you are Macedonian, It is this which i find ludicrous.

Its got nothing to do with care. Its plenty to do with hope or faith. I have lack of it towards both major parties. So how can i vote for something or someone i do not believe in.

maybe you need to assess what You believe in first, and then see what political movement suits you best. Anyone who feels disaffected by the major political parties is more than welcome to start their own.

Pension is something people earned through there long hard working life. That pain time and sweat that was lost including us Macedonians to get this country where it is. Mind you that Pension will be taken away and this country will expect there hard working citizens to survive on there own.

Thats superannuation, the pension is a priviledge (should be a right) given to all Australian citizens. Besides, Australia has given us immigrants opportunities which we simply would not have recieved in Macedonia, I think that all need to be grateful for this (I know many of my relatives are NOT, and frankly, this disgusts me).

I find it hard to accept this mentality; 'that we should not show any defiance and make a statement'.
We should just be thankful that we have soccer clubs that once were banned in having supporters from carrying Macedonian Flags and forced a name change from Makedonia to Lions'

From what i am aware, all of the football clubs were "de-ethnicised" in an effort to curb what people saw as 'ethnic violence', etc. As far as I know, it is not Macedonians specifically that were targetted, but all ethnic Groups (Greeks, Serbs, etc.). Same thing with the name of the club, there are both postive and beneficial aspects of thes policies.

How about the Bitola Club in Epping being asked to remove the Macedonian flag, should we be thankful for that aswell?

If the Macedonian and Australian flags are flown together, side-by-side, then I personally wouldn't have any issues with it. (Did the flying of the flag breach any legal obligations of the club? Finding out the real reason why things occur is the best way to get to the bottom of the matter)

Our football club Preston Makedonia was forced to change its name, lets not forget that we've contributed to build this great country. Surly we are entitled to the basic UN right to name ourselves anyway we like, we've been in this country for over 100 years i think we deserve the right to be called Macedonians and our country be recognized as Republic of Macedonia. We are loyal citizens of this country, thats the least they can do for us as Australian Citizens.

Come on Prolet, who doesnt call us Macedonians? Seriously, this is a non-issue. I disagree with the governments stance on the FYROM 'name', however, this will only change IF people participate in the democratic processes. I too think that it is the decent thing that they can do for the Macedonians. Nonetheless, we are still known as MACEDONIANS.

As for the name of Preston FC, as i've said, was it not a State wide policy to force the clubs to adopt non-ethnic/mainstream names?

SoM, if I had thought of this I would have done it too. I wish I had known about it earlier. Do you think that your message has been recorded somewhere, or noted down ?

No, nobody cares.

There is talk of a re election coming up. Mabe we will have another chance. What a great initiative SOM to show our protest.

This is the only way by us going to the polls and have any value to us Macedonians.

Another chance at what? Wasting your rights as an Australian citizen to vote for who YOU want to lead you. The fact is that protest or no protest, nobody cares, and besides most Macedonians are smarter than that.