Them's the rules
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Australia uses a "preferential voting system" in federal elections, and this system was introduced by the conservatives some time ago. Sometimes it works for you and sometimes it doesn't. In the 2019 election it worked for the LNP, but it didn't work for the Liberal Party in Indi.
However, them's the rules.
Perhaps the national primary vote should be re-examined too, for clarity.
In the 2019 federal election the Liberal party received just 27.99 per cent f the first-preference votes while the Labor party received 33.34 per cent. And yet still we have to suffer another three years of conservative, inept government. Go figure!
Glenn Wilson Tallangatta Valley
Local knowledge key
Your article on Wednesday July 17 ('Cost of a foot amputation') highlights the serious problems that exist because of differing laws in our states regarding compensation and damages for injuries received at work and elsewhere.
The plain fact of the matter is that when you cross the state borders to work or even just to travel and are injured, you engage a plethora of conflicting (and confusing) laws which unless negotiated with a skilled and experienced legal practitioner, you risk suffering a poor outcome and inadequate compensation for your loss.
This confusion affects not only injured workers but their employers who reasonably expect coverage for their employees for the insurance premiums they have paid.
The situation is not dissimilar to the recent experiences you have identified about the confusion between 'P-plate' drivers on the border which shows that people (and sometimes their lawyers) can very easily fall into these traps.
In the case of Mr Dollisson, that misunderstanding (and advice given by his original lawyer in 2014) may have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, or possibly more. Even if ultimately rectified he has still suffered a significant delay in achieving reasonable compensation for his injuries.
This situation is all too common in our region and much of it is quite clearly connected to advertising from big city firms in Melbourne and Sydney who profess to be experts, but as soon as a case has some interstate involvement, clients realise too late how limited that "expertise" really is.
I have seen countless examples of this in my years of practicing on the Border.
If I could make a suggestion to your readers it would be to shop local - there are highly skilled practitioners in our region who understand local issues and the complexities of interstate laws.
Don Cameron, Albury
Letters to the editor
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