Australia 2019 (sign-up and rules thread)

[GoTfan]

Ever since the double dissolution election of 2016, Australian politics has been in chaos. Malcolm Turnbull's attempt to "clean out" the Senate backfired enormously, with the Liberal/National Coalition losing several seats; particularly in South Australia, where the party of maverick Senator Nick Xenophon won three Senate seats and won the House seat of Mayo from the Liberals.

The Coalition was also hampered by a resurgent One Nation in Queensland, where Pauline Hanson won a Senate seat, and where a significant chunk of the conservative vote went to One Nation.

Despite this, the Coalition was narrowly returned to government with the bare minimum of 76 MPs in the House of Representatives. They were assisted by Bob Katter, who chose to back the Coalition, effectively giving them a majority of two.

Ever since however, Australia has been trapped in deadlock. With not enough MPs or to get any legislation through, the Federal Parliament descended into chaos. There were talks of a possible revolt from the Coalition's conservative faction, but these died down after a short while. However, these rumours have recently resurfaced, especially with several moderate Coalition MPs proposing a national referendum on same-sex marriage and Turnbull's refusal to strike down these proposals.

Parties:

Liberal/National Coalition          (Washington)
-Leader: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
-Current MPs: 76
-Current Senators: 35

Australia's current PM faces an uphill battle in 2019. With talks of a mass defection from the conservative wing of the Coalition and the moderate faction urging a referendum on same-sex marriage, Turnbull leads a fractious Coalition into the election.

However, his appeal to moderates has allowed him to enjoy support not just from the Coalition's moderate faction, but also occasionally from the Nick Xenophon Team and Katter's Australian Party. Ultimately, 2019 will decide whether Turnbull is fit to lead the Coalition or not.

Australian Labor Party      (Faust)
-Leader: Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten
-Current MPs: 69
-Current Senators: 29

In sharp contrast to the Coalition, Shorten leads a united Labor party into 2019. Having experienced a resurgence in 2016, Labor is confident of being able to put the ghosts of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era behind them.

It's not all rosy for Labor however. Labor recently has found itself under fire from all directions: The Coalition from the right, the Greens from the left and Xenophon from the centre. Despite this, Labor has continued to pursue its marginally left-of-centre line, and despite grumblings from the party's left-wing faction, has held fast. In fact, Shorten has recently adopted a handful of surprisingly left-wing positions, such as immediate investment in renewable energy, closing tax loopholes and slightly raising taxes on the wealthiest Australians.

The new platform however has been attacked from both the left and right, with the Coalition saying that the ideas are not economically viable, and the Greens saying that these were outright taken from their own platform. In the end, will Shorten's Labor party continue its slow but steady shift to the left, or will it hold fast to its current position?

Australian Greens         (lok1999)
-Leader: Senator Richard Di Natale
-Current MPs: 1
-Current Senators: 6

The Greens had a successful year in 2016, breaking new ground by winning a Senate seat in Queensland, a state normally considered very conservative and thus, hostile to the Greens.

Di Natale notably refused to clearly ally with either party in the Senate, instead choosing to ally himself with Nick Xenophon and his new party. Together, the Greens and Nick Xenophon Team have formed a powerful voting bloc in the Senate, with Xenophon and Di Natale becoming the unofficial kingmakers in the Senate.

However, the Greens suffered losses as well. Notably, much of their vote has been siphoned by Xenophon, the charismatic SA Senator is hurting the Greens power base. As such, Di Natale hopes his alliance with Xenophon will help the Greens win back some of their vote, but only time will tell.

Katter's Australian Party         (ChairmanSanchez)
-Leader: Bob Katter MP
-Current MPs: 1
-Current Senators: 0

Bob Katter, the charismatic and sometimes controversial MP, backed the Coalition in 2016, but has grown somewhat disillusioned by the Coalition's pursuit of trade deals with China, as well as the encroachment of Chinese businesses on Australian farmland. Katter has notably voted against Coalition-proposed trade deals, in spite of siding with them.

Katter may in fact attempt to field candidates all over Queensland this election, perhaps even in other states, but his socially conservative views may be seen as archaic, especially with the election of Queensland's first Greens Senator. Katter will have to work hard for votes, but if he campaigns well, he may be able to hold the balance of power in a new election.

Nick Xenophon Team     (GAworth)
-Leader: Nick Xenophon
-Current MPs: 1
-Current Senators: 3

2016 was the year of Xenophon. In the new party's first election, it won the seat of Mayo from the Liberals, as well as winning 3 Senate seats, in spite of attacks from both parties.

Buoyed by the success in 2016, Xenophon may attempt to launch in several other states, while increasing his power base in South Australia, of which the most remarkable part was the fact that he managed to siphon votes from all parties, proving his appeal to both sides of the political divide.

Xenophon's lack of trust of major parties has led to him allying with the Greens in the Senate, allowing him and Greens leader Richard Di Natale to become the Senate's unofficial kingmakers, where he has led the charge for a referendum on same-sex marriage, and has spoken out in favour of protectionist policies.

It's not all excellent news for the charismatic SA Senator though. This year, he can expect increased attacks from both major parties, which if effectively managed, could permanently damage his reputation. However, if he can manage his party as well as he did 3 years ago, he may become a true force to be reckoned with. Some pundits say that Xenophon has a real chance this year of turning Australia into a three-party nation, while others say his party is just a passing fad. Only the 2019 election can determine this.

[GoTfan]

RULES

-The game simulates the 2019 Australian Federal Election. I have had to extrapolate on the 2016 results as they are not all confirmed.

-This game will begin on the 28th of July at 11:59 PM Australian Central Standard Time

-The writs will be issued on 9 September 2019, and the game will last through to Election Night on 11 October 2019.

-The game will last 5 turns, each simulating 1 week in-game

-Each turn will last 96 hours

-Each leader can conduct a maximum of 5 events per day

-Events such as building campaign infrastructure are all day events, so be mindful

-Each week, random news headlines will be generated for each party. There is a 20% chance of a negative effect, 20% chance of a positive effect, and 60% chance of no effect.

-Additionally, a a major new headline will be generated for the election in general. This could be a defection, important world event, important domestic event, or major story about a leader. These have a 30% chance of a negative effect, 30% chance of a positive effect, and 40% chance of no effect

-In addition to campaigning, each leader must also be mindful of their Parliamentary duties. Failing to attend to such duties may result in a negative headline.

-In their first turn, each leader must announce in which states they wish to run candidates. While major parties, such as the Coalition and Labor can essentially run them anywhere, smaller parties, such as the Greens, KAP and Xenophon will benefit from targeting certain states, as the scope of their campaign is much smaller.

-There will be three debates conducted between leaders during turns 2, 3, and 4.

-A Party must be at least at 12% to participate in the leaders' debates. Failing to do so will result in them taking part in a third party debate to occur in turn 3.

-The debate format shall consist of an opening statement, one question to each specific leader, three general questions to all leaders, and a closing statement.

-Debate performances will dominate headlines the next turn, and will have an effect on polling.

-Advertisements are allowed in any form, but must be identified as a newspaper, radio, internet or TV ad.

-Ads can be general to the entire nation or targeted to a handful of states. General ads will reach every seat, but be less effective. Targeted ads will reach fewer seats, but have a greater effect.

-Endorsements for each party must be requested via PM with the endorser's name, previous or current office or job, state and reasons for endorsing the party.

-Newspapers will hand out endorsements in turns 4 and 5. Their backing will rest entirely on how your campaign is run, and will have a significant effect on polling in the state they are issued in

-Have fun!

[GoTfan]

May I be Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the Liberal Party?

But of course.

[Lachi]

I will run as Di Natale

[GoTfan]

I will run as Di Natale

Welcome!

[Lachi]

I have a couple of questions.

1. Why do we have to worry about parliamentary duties when parliament has been dissolved?
2. Do we have to name the candidates we want to run in the electorates we want candidates in?

[GoTfan]

I have a couple of questions.

1. Why do we have to worry about parliamentary duties when parliament has been dissolved?
2. Do we have to name the candidates we want to run in the electorates we want candidates in?

1) I forgot to mention this is for parties with Senators only. In the event of a general election, the House of Representatives is dissolved, but not the Senate. The Senate is only dissolved in the event of a Double Dissolution, otherwise the standard procedures occur.

2) You can if you want to, but it's not required.

[Lachi]

Ah, ok, thanks for clearing that up.

[GoTfan]

Okay, I need to get more players.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Not sure if I'll be able to commit, but if I do can I take Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

[GoTfan]

Not sure if I'll be able to commit, but if I do can I take Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Unfortunately, the only parties represented in this game are those with active MPs. May I sugges Katter's Australian Party? Katter himself is a social and fiscal conservative with a strong emphasis to protecting Australian jobs.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Not sure if I'll be able to commit, but if I do can I take Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Unfortunately, the only parties represented in this game are those with active MPs. May I sugges Katter's Australian Party? Katter himself is a social and fiscal conservative with a strong emphasis to protecting Australian jobs.

Yeah, I'd be willing to take him. That'd be fun.

[GoTfan]

Not sure if I'll be able to commit, but if I do can I take Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Unfortunately, the only parties represented in this game are those with active MPs. May I sugges Katter's Australian Party? Katter himself is a social and fiscal conservative with a strong emphasis to protecting Australian jobs.

Yeah, I'd be willing to take him. That'd be fun.

Excellent!

Now we just need people for Labor and Xenophon.

[GAworth]

I'll play Xenophon

[GoTfan]

I'll play Xenophon

Welcome! Now we just need Labor and we're set.

[GoTfan]

Bump. Let's get someone signed up for Labor.

[Faust]

I'll take Labour.

[GoTfan]

I'll take Labour.

Welcome!

Okay, now that all spots are filled, I'll PM everyone when I have the game thread posted. Remember,  in your first turn, you must announce which states you wish to run candidates.

PM me for endorsements during the game. Newspapers will endorse in turns 4 and 5 depending on how you manage yor campaign. Don't forget to rally support from independents too!