Calling all Expat Aussies!

The Prime Minister looks set to announce the federal election date after the APEC summit in Sydney and after the parliamentary sitting week after that. So he'll probably announce it on Sunday 16 September 2007.

That's only two weeks away.

You must get your electoral enrolment organised with the AEC BEFORE he announces the election date, because once he announces it, the electoral roll will close.

The law changed in mid 2006 and the old seven day window between the election announcement and closing of the roll is GONE.

Don't hang around - check your enrolment now with the AEC, and if you are not on the roll, make sure you enrol pronto.

Further details at www.aec.gov.au

If you've lived outside Australia for more than three years and you are no longer on the roll, then the law presently prohibits you from re-enrolling. So you are disenfranchised. We estimate there are half a million such disenfranchised expat Aussies around the world.

We are lobbying on this.

See www.southern-cross-group.org

Anyone with any queries should e-mail me at anne@southern-cross-group.org in Brussels, or call me on mobile +32 474 950 131.

GET YOUR ENROLMENT ORGANISED NOW!

Otherwise you might find yourself disenfranchised for the rest of the time you live abroad.

It's not compulsory to vote while you're overseas, but if you don't vote in one federal election, you'll most likely find you can't vote in any because of the enrolment limitatons in the law.

PM names poll date

The election will be held on November 24th. Visit the AEC link above to enrol to vote.

Here's hoping Labor wins! :-) By the way, if anyone's not sure who to vote for (if you haven't already) - I found this tool on an Australian website quite useful: http://www.news.com.au/feature/0,,5012863,00.html

Cheers,
Travelling Globetrotter