Gasp in awe as it simplifies some issues to ludicrous binaries ("jobs or trees"?) but declines to do so on issues where such a blunt question might not favour the major parties (no "tax cuts or government services" question, for example).
Watch as it tells you to vote for either the ALP or the Liberal Party, whilst subtly twisting the issues to the Liberal Party's favour (are you concerned about Kevin Rudd being in charge of the economy or not? Ookay then...)
See if you can get it to recommend voting for the Greens! I think you'd actually have to answer "I want to inject children with gay heroin and marry a tree" before it would suggest a vote for the only consistently progressive party standing at this election.
Want government services over tax cuts? DOES NOT COMPUTE.
And people might actually use this dishonest propaganda tool in order to decide their vote! Terrifying.
And depressingly unsurprising.
UPDATE: By way of an example, these are the "health" questions:
- What's the best way to ensure your future health? (A. gym membership, B. get private health insurance, C. go for a walk)
- What keeps me away from the dentist? (A. cost, B. "my state government has made it impossible to get an appointment", C. my teeth are fine, D. fear, E. I go regularly)
- Hospitals should be run by A. the states, B. the federal government, C. themselves.
How do these questions (and idiotic answers) differentiate reasonably between the parties? Health in federal politics is a question about funding, about Medicare, about forcing people into private health insurance. What answers do I select to indicate that I want a full public health system and no more measures giving public money to the private health insurance companies? Where do I select "there should be a national dental scheme"?
Question 1 - the correct answer in the present system is obviously "B", but it shouldn't be. If you select option B, is that counted as your support for the status quo rather than a sad recognition of it?
And don't you like the way News slips "it's the state government's fault" into question 2?
They're shameless.
UPDATE #2: A more accurate Australian political quiz, with questions that actually meaningfully differentiate between the parties, is available at Oz Politics. It fairly accurately puts me as "left" for "political outlook" and "economic policy", "centre left" for "social policy", and "far left" for "traditional values", and suggests I vote 1. Greens, 2. Democrats, 3. ALP. Sounds about right to me.
