If you ever needed confirmation that Australia, and particularly Melbourne, is food-obsessed, then what follows should allay any doubts that might have remained in your mind. Eating sausages at polling places is practically mandatory; they even had them on hand in Antarctica, where residents vote with Victoria. Farmers at least should take some comfort from Saturday’s election.
If you don’t buy a sausage you won’t get any ballot papers. This is of course a joke, but it’s not really far from the truth. In this post almost every man and woman represented by a tweet was partaking of snags. With or without fried onions and with or without tomato sauce – ketchup for Americans – or mustard, or BBQ sauce (an Aussie staple which has a dark brown colour and a smoky tang).
The new normal gives new meaning to the expression "Silly sausage", a term of endearment from the old days used by parents when comforting a child who had banged a knee or grazed a knuckle. And the question being asked on election day (apart from the poll result) was this: onions on the top or on the bottom?
At 8.49am Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Saturday 24 November, Melbourne resident Simon Bowden set the tone early (polling stations opened at 8am and would close at 6pm), tweeting a photo of two young men eating sausages wrapped in slices of bread. Both men had beards and wore glasses. The tweet contained the #demcracysausage hashtag. At the same time federal Nationals MP Darren Chester tweeted a photo showing a sausage, with tomato sauce and fried onions on it, sitting on a slice of white bread. His tweet included the comment, “First democracy sausage down! Don’t have breakfast Traralgon voters - Grey St Primary School is producing magnificent sausages in white bread, onion on top! The only way to go.” Two minutes later Melbourne resident Nicole (@coldishtoes) tweeted a photo with the hashtag that showed a sausage with fried onions on top of it on a slice of white bread.
At 8.58am Rob Harris, who lives in Canberra, responded to Chester’s tweet, “Just spoke to Mum and Dad and they’re walking down the hill now to get one.” Chester got back to him two minutes later, “Make sure they say g’day and I’ll shout them a sausage... after they vote of course! Wouldn’t want to be accused of soliciting votes with sausages! What a scandal that would be.” At 9.05am Victorian resident James (@ichymochek) tweeted, “Congratulations to everyone today who manages to not only vote, but also eat a sausage.” Two minutes later Benno of the Twitters (@jeamland), a Melbourne resident, tweeted a photo showing a piece of white bread with a sausage on it that had tomato sauce liberally applied to it. The whole thing was held in a paper serviette.
At 9.08am, Melbourne resident Tim Welsh-Eliot tweeted, “Cooking a hot breakfast, including sausages. In case my local voting venue doesn't have any democracy sausages for sale. Sure, @electionsvic has a map of places to vote, but doesn't indicate which ones have a sausage sizzle. Someone needs to lift their game.” A minute later, Jordan Janssen tweeted, “Held out to vote on Election Day for the democracy sausage, and there wasn’t even one being set up at my local polling booth. Just rude.” A minute later Guy Barker tweeted, “No one panic, but rumour has it that Richmond Primary School doesn’t have a sausage sizzle today.” At 9.13am the @demsausage account replied, “Alarming. How reliable is the rumour? Should we mark it as sausageless on the map, or wait for other reports?” Six minutes later, Barker replied, “Unsure yet - I heard it from a Labor [pollie] who apparently heard it from the [Victorian Electoral Commission]. Will keep you informed.”
At 9.21am Tom Minear, a Herald Sun journalist, tweeted, “’Worst nightmare’ - Federal Labor MPs fear Bill Shorten’s bid to become prime minister will be damaged if Premier Daniel Andrews is forced to rely on the Greens to form government.” The tweet contained a link to a story on the newspaper’s website. As if she had just seen Minear’s tweet, at 9.23am The Australian reporter Rachel Baxendale tweeted, “Greens MP for Prahran @Sam_Hibbins is fending off Liberal and Labor contenders in the only genuine three way contest of the election. Upper House Lib @georgiecrozier (not pictured) is also handing out at Prahran RSL.” The tweet came with a photo showing volunteers with the colours of their political parties lined up outside a building on a suburban street.
At 9.26am federal Labor MP Rob Mitchell tweeted, “It’s Election Day don’t forget to cast your ballot. @DanielAndrewsMP all the way. If you’re in Whittlesea [don’t] forget your #democracysausage from the wonderful Whittlesea Lions daredevil[; top or (safety first)] bottom onion.” The final comment referred to a story that had hit the news the week before that recounted how the hardware chain Bunnings had instructed charities selling sausages on bread outside its stores to put the onion on the bottom, next to the bread, out of fears that if onion fell off the sausage it might constitute a health and safety risk (people might slip on it).
At 9.30am Melbourne resident Sumeyya Ilanbey tweeted a photo showing a sign that had been placed on the pavement outside a building. On the sign was printed, “Coffee, hot chocolate, democracy sausages, cakes, cakes, cakes, 2019 calendars.” Also on the sign was printed “EFTPOS available.” The tweet said, “Eftpos available at this election booth in Brunswick.” (EFPTOS means “electronic funds transfer point of sale” and refers to the machines that retailers put next to their cash registers to take money from customers who don’t want to pay using cash; they can instead use a bank transaction card that is linked to a bank account. Usually sausages sold outside polling places cost a gold coin: one or two dollars.)
At 9.34am Victorian resident Anna Mallard tweeted a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette that was wrapped around a piece of bread that held a sausage with mustard and tomato sauce on it. The tweet had the #democracysausage hashtag in it. At 9.37am Melbourne resident Dancing Dan (@dancingdanb) tweeted, “I live across the road from a polling station but there is no democracy sausage set up!! I should just set up my bbq on the verge.” A minute later Nathan Wind, who didn’t put on his Twitter profile where he lives, tweeted a photo showing a hand holding a piece of white bread wrapped around a sausage that had tomato sauce, onion and mustard on it. The tweet also contained the short comment, “Democracy!!!!!”
At 9.40am The Age journalist Michael Short tweeted, “[Votes] below the line, but onions below the sausage?” His tweet referred to the fact that preferences exchanged by political parties for votes cast for the upper house of the Victorian parliament were not always clear. It was impossible with the system as architecture for voters to know where their preferences would end up, and therefore which party’s candidate would be elected. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) psephologist Antony Green had been telling people in the week leading up to the election that people could ensure their actual preferences were followed by selecting candidates on the ballot in the area below the line, where the names of individual candidates, not political parties, were set out for voters to tick with their pencils. At 9.43am account @uberingingmelb tweeted, “No sausage sizzle, or even coffee here...” A minute later Short put out his tweet again this time with a retweet to a story published by his newspaper informing readers about the reasons they should vote below the line on upper house ballots.
At 9.41am Melbourne resident Matthew Mills tweeted, “Went to vote. Liberal candidate had parked his car on the school crossing making it hard to see oncoming traffic when crossing the road. I mentioned it to him and he said there were no [‘No parking’] signs.” Five minutes later he also tweeted, “When I came out of voting I noticed he had moved his car a few feet backwards off the crossing. Democracy works!”
At 9.48am Melbourne resident Dale Roberts tweeted, “Voted Labor. Voted below the line in upper house. Voted onions on top for my democracy sausage. Travelled to another electorate just to get a democracy sausage.” His tweet contained a photo showing two young men with beards holding pieces of white bread with sausages in them that had mustard and tomato sauce on them. There was also onion on the sausages. One of the men was smiling lopsidedly and the other was standing behind him looking straight at the camera with a faintly humorous look on his face.
At 9.51am Jack Bee-Knee (@alsolounges) tweeted, “If you're burning onion while simultaneously undercooking it, [you] have no right to comment where it's placed.” A minute later, rose (@rowjamm), who didn’t include her locality in her Twitter profile, tweeted a photo showing a table set out with a bowl of vegetables in a brown soup and a piece of unleavened bread. There was also a cup of cappuccino next to the food. Her tweet contained the comment, “No sausage, but can't complain canai?” At 9.54am Natasha O’Connor Put a photo showing a frankfurter in a bread roll sitting in a paper dish. The tweet also had the comment, “It's here! #VicVotes today to hopefully keep Matthew Guy out.”
At 9.57am Thornbury resident Matthew Hall tweeted, “Today’s #vicvotes is the first time our whole family will casting ballots! Huzzah! #democracysausage for all!!” A minute later Melbourne resident Dean Adams tweeted, “I love living in a place where #democracysausage will trend higher than #vicvotes or #VictoriaVotes on Election Day.”
At 9.59am Bentleigh Farmers Market’s account retweeted a tweet from CBR Foodie that read, “@bentleighfarm has set the #DemocracySausage bar pretty high for #VicVotes this morning! I think we’re done. Back to trolling #Canberra #food tweets now...” This tweet retweeted one from Bentleigh Farmers Market that read, “Even better than a #DemocracySausage is a yummy bacon & egg roll or veggie burger (with or without egg). Available from 8am until 12.30pm, inside or outside our #FarmersMarket at the polling station at 90 Bignell Rd #Bentleigh East.” This tweet had a photo with it that showed a male hand holding a bun that contained a burger made from something yellow and what looked like egg and avocado.
At 10.02am Melbourne resident Laura McCormack tweeted, “For anyone voting at All Saints Anglican in Northcote, Beryl & friends have your democratic rights covered.” The tweet contained a photo showing a slice of white bread wrapped around a sausage that had onion and tomato sauce on it. A minute later, Melbourne resident Teri Cooper tweeted, “Voting done, now for a #democracysausage for @DanielAndrewsMP and don’t hold back the onions!” Thepolitician named in the tweet was the premier of the state, Daniel Andrews, of the Australian Labor Party (APL). The tweet contained a photo showing a woman standing next to a table that had mustard and BBQ sauce bottles on it. The woman was putting tomato sauce on a sausage she held in her hand wrapped in a piece of white bread. There were there women standing behind the table who were serving customers. One of these women had her hands clasped in front of her stomach and she was smiling.
At 10.06am a Perth native who lives in Melbourne, Anthony Stewart, tweeted, “In a democracy the onions go on TOP!” His tweet contained a photo showing a sausage wrapped in a piece of white bread with fried onions on it. The whole thing was held in a paper serviette.
At 11.01am @andrewgigacz tweeted, “Look, I'm not saying the DEMOCRACY SAUSAGE is a secret plot to ensure the Liberals get thrashed, but it's an anagram of A CODE: MASSACRE GUY.” The comment referred to the Liberal Party leader in Victoria, Matthew Guy. At 11.04am Matthew Elmas tweeted, “Pork and fennel snags at my polling station in Macleod. How gourmet. Will cost you an extra 50c though. Not sure about whether its onion on top or not.”
At 11.06am Hugh Rundle tweeted, “What a joke. VEC assigned 3 staff to distribute #VicVotes ballots at Collingwood College. Current wait is over an hour in the rain.”
At 11.08am a man who says he lives between Fremantle (in Western Australia) and Melbourne named Damien Rabbitt tweeted, “can confirm NO #democracysausage at the Northcote Baptist Church Hall, but quite some queue to vote.” The tweet came with a photo showing cars parked on a suburban street and a long queue of people lined up on the footpath. The queue ended at a building that did, indeed, look like a church. At 11.11am a resident of the Latrobe Vallye, Jarrod Whittaker, tweeted, “Same deal at Newborough town hall. Plenty of democracy, no sausage. This is an outrage.” The tweet came with a photo showing party volunteers standing outside a building with voters entering it. One woman shown is seen stretching out her hand to receive one of the how-to-vote pamphlets that a volunteer holds in his hands.
At 11.14am Carlton resident @clintwits tweeted, “Well [that’s] disappointing... No @DemSausage or cakes at #carlton Gardens primary... Ah well will just have to go home and do my own sausage sizzle then.”
At 11.21am Melbourne resident Damian Chandler tweeted a photo showing a ballot paper for the lower house that had been marked with a pencil. Someone had written a new series of boxes, each of which had a number in it, and the labels read, “Boobs, Hot dogs, Beer, Vodka.” The box with the number five in it had no label. A ballot paper filled out and submitted with this kind of marking on it would be counted as an informal vote.
At 11.24am Melbourne resident Geoffrey Payne retweeted a tweet that had gone up an hour before. It said, “Out on the booth for @Cindy4Brunswick with @gedkearney @VictorianLabor.” The two Twitter handles were for Cindy O’Connor, the Labor candidate for the state seat of Brunswick, and Ged Kearney, the Labor member for the federal division of Batman. The tweet came with a photo showing four women smiling at the camera. One woman had a read hoodie on with the hood up. Another woman was wearing a blue skicker with the hood down.
At 11.28am Melbourne resident Kelly Benson tweeted, “The diligent bbq team at St Kilda primary are delivering sausages to people in the voting queue. That's service!” The tweet came with a photo showing a woman’s hand holding a paper serviette with a piece of white bread in it wrapped around a sausage, with onion on top. In the background you could see the feet of people queueing on the pavement of what looked like a sports ground.
At 11.31am Perth resident and self-proclaimed Greens supporter Zia Hakimi tweeted, “Huge lines outside Brunswick Town Hall even though it has been raining quite a bit.”
A minute later, Melbourne resident Shane Brown tweeted, “Member for Essendon, @DannyPearsonMP [Victorian Labor lower house MP] checking some high-quality #Democracysausage action at Moonee Ponds West Primary School. @Pillstyle [Paul Limoli] in full control of the barbecue.” The tweet came with a photo showing a BBQ set up outside a building with a blue awning over it. There was a man holding tongs looking after the sausages that were frying on the hotplate. Next to him a young man was standing and it looked like this man was talking with an older man opposite him (presumably the politician named) who was wearing a grey jacket and a suit and tie.
At 11.36am Ballarat resident Bridget Rollason tweeted, “No #democracysausages at the Maryborough polling booth in the marginal seat of Ripon, just a long line.” The tweet came with a photo showing people standing in the sunshine outside an Art Deco building. At 11.39am Melbourne resident Katerina (@kat_la) tweeted, “Coffee stop. Melissa Templestowe. Great coffee and food.” The tweet came with a photo showing a woman’s hand holding two disposable coffee cups with plastic lids.
At 11.42am Melbourne resident Jacquie Tran tweeted, “I love that my country has compulsory voting (making it a democratic responsibility as much as it is a right), and that my state's electoral commission promotes the #DemocracySausage!” The tweet came with a retweet from the account operated by the VEC that said, “Voting centre queues are busiest around 11am - why not have a #democracysausage while you wait? Otherwise, mid-afternoon is the quietest time to vote. Use the hashtag #votingqueues to post live updates of how busy your centre is and help others avoid the crowds.” Two minutes later ABC employee (producer of Jon Faine’s radio program) and Melbourne resident Katrina Palmer tweeted, “Long queue to vote at Brighton primary. Can confirm steady flow for #democracysausage.” The tweet came with a photo (shown) showing a school sports ground with tables set up on the periphery where people were standing. The queue of voters is not shown, this photo just shows the charities that had set up tables to make money selling sausages and bread.
At 11.50am Melbourne resident Ted Sussex tweeted, “Our [Lady of the Sacred Heart College] in Bentleigh with 4 food stalls.” The tweet came with four photos, two of which showed tables with biscuits and cakes on them, one photo showing a barbeque, and one showing a table with wrapped sandwiches and sauce bottles on it.
At 11.54am Melbourne resident Daniel Bowen tweeted, “My democratic duty is done. Note the onions on top.” This came with a photo showing a man’s hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of bread with a sausage and onions in it. There is also tomato sauce on the sausage.
At 12.03pm, Melbourne music journalist Reece Hooker tweeted, “The biggest scandal of the 2018 Victorian state election is clearly, obviously the absence of a sausage sizzles at some voting centres.” The tweet came with a screenshot showing an online conversation between two people about sausage sizzles at polling places.
At 12.06pm Sky News reporter Patrick Murrell retweeted a tweet from the VEC that had gone up a few minutes before that said, “We'll go to the four corners of the earth to get your vote! Shout out to voters at Casey Station, Antarctica, who are enjoying a #democracysausage while voting (photo credit: Dale Smith).” The tweet came with a photo (shown) with three men standing on rocks and a woman sitting. Two of the men are holding what appear to be pieces of bread wrapping sausages, but it’s not entirely clear from where the camera is positioned. In the background behind the people is a sign saying “Casey” and a pole with signs attached to it showing the locations of other places. The signs are pointing in different directions and they are yellow. The pole they are attached to is held up by guy wires anchored in the ground. Behind the group is the sea and you can see snow.
At 12.12pm Angela Korras retweeted a tweet that had gone up a couple of hours before from ABC radio host Rafael Epstein that had said, “So, so satisfying to vote! Best voting system in the world. Cheers to #democracysausage volunteers, party volunteers and @electionsvic people.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette on the outside of a piece of white bread wrapped around a sausage with onions on top. The sausage also had tomato sauce on it. In the background behind this was a building with party volunteers standing outside it and party candidates’ posters.
At 12.18pm Melbourne resident David Stocks tweeted a photo with the #democracysausage hashtag that showed a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread which held a sausage that had mustard and tomato sauce on it. In the background, behind the food, was a queue of people in the grounds of a suburban church. A minute later Melbourne resident Helen MacLean tweeted, “Walked to my local primary school, didn’t get rained on, bought my #democracysausage, two cookies and a jar of pear and raisin conserve, (and voted). Democracy is a wonderful thing!” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of brown bread that held a sausage with tomato sauce on it. At 12.21pm Melbourne resident Katherina Howell tweeted, “It’s a two democracy sausage (each) kind of day.”
At 12.22pm @fukvit10 retweeted a tweet that had gone up an hour before from a person identifying themselves as Lett Sipping Bogan that had retweeted a tweet from (self-declared) Bellevue Hill (Sydney) resident @paulkaz12 that showed two lobsters on a grill. The image was a nod to the Opposition leader, Matthew Guy, who had been caught in August 2017 having dinner with mafia boss Tony Maddaferi at a seafood restaurant.
At 12.29pm @ynoirb tweeted, “There is a polling place at the end of my street but I walked 2 kms to another suburb to vote because I WANT MY DEMOCRACY SAUSAGE also they had a cake stall.” At the same time Melbourne resident Renatha Mulqueeney-Reed tweeted, “Couldn't stand it! Voted yesterday yet keep seeing pics of sausage sizzles! Forced to go to @Bunnings and pretend to be shopping only so I could buy a sausage sizzle on the way out! Onions on the bottom tasted all wrong but still very satisfying.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a blue paper serviette with a piece of white bread and a sausage in it. There was barbeque sauce on the sausage but no fried onion was visible.
At 12.31pm Melbourne resident Alastair Pitts tweeted, “Democracy done. Made sure I got my #DemocracySausage as well.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a tan paper serviette with a piece of white bread in it wrapped around a sausage. There was tomato sauce on the sausage and the hand that held the serviette also held the leash of a spotted grey dog.
At 12.34pm Bendigo resident Lou Bray tweeted, “Voting at my old primary school.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding two paper serviettes with two pieces of white bread in them that were wrapped around two sausages. There was no sauce in evidence, nor onions. In the background behind the food was a building with people coming and going and with the election posters of candidates scattered around the place.
At 12.40pm Melbourne resident Clare Murphy tweeted, “I love democracy,” with the word “love” replaced by the emoji for a heart. There was also a photo showing a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread in which a sausage and onions were nestled. In the background behind the food you could see the posters of candidates, and people milling around. At the same time Williamstown resident @docavvers (Averil) tweeted, “Vegan cupcakes at Williamstown Primary, but I had a #democracysausage. And put the Shooters last.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bead with a sausage and onions in it. There was also tomato sauce on the sausage. The political reference was to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, which has in recent years been contesting elections in the states.
At 12.44pm radio presenter Brian Peel tweeted, “Served how a snag should be served. Onions on top!” the tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread with lots of onions on top. There was also tomato sauce. At 12.48pm ABC Melbourne reporter Joanna Crothers tweeted, “The polling station in Seddon didn’t have a #democracysausage I’m very disappointed.”
At 12.50pm Melbourne travel writer Tim Richards tweeted, “No mere sausage for me before voting in inner-city Melbourne. Behold the porcini egg with Jerusalem artichoke rosti & roast mushroom duxelle from Industry Beans. Next, I shall vote.” The tweet came with a photo showing an elaborate meal laid out with great care to appeal to the diner. It wasn’t clear what the food was made from but the comment gave sufficient information, I presumed.
At 12.52pm Michelle Eddy tweeted, “Footscray City Primary School selling Free Range Black Angus Sausages #democracysausage. Coffee & Cake Stall. It’s a good day to be Victorian.” The tweet came with a photo showing people standing around tables set up under awnings. On one table were large yellow and red bottles presumably containing sauce.
At 12.55pm Melbourne woman Goldie (@goldie_fm) tweeted, “My @DemSausage has been had.” It came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of bread with a sausage in it that had mustard and tomato sauce on it. At the same time Heather B (@hev_boyd) tweeted, “Democracy Sausage.” Her tweet came with a photo of a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of bread with a sausage in it that had tomato sauce on it.
At 12.57pm Melbourne Guardian reporter Luke Henriques-Gomes tweeted, “Some complaints there’s no almond milk at Moreland Primary.” Nine minutes earlier he had tweeted a photo of his hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread with a sausage in it that had BBQ sauce and mustard on it.
At 1.01pm @kevs_view tweeted, “Queue for #democracysausage longer than the one for #vicvotes at Chelsea Heights [Primary School]. Due to the great empty gas bottle catastrophe of 2018. (But worth the wait).” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread that had a sausage in it (with onions on the bottom) that had tomato sauce on it.
At 1.03pm writer and radio host Paul Verhoven tweeted, “Question: how many #vicvotes voters had to pay for their sausages and is being made to pay for your democracy sausage deeply undemocratic?” At the same time Melbourne resident Sally Hayles tweeted, “Ripponlea Primary [School] bringing the goods this Election Day with a sausage sizzle, sweet cake stall and the shortest line for a metro voting booth I’ve ever encountered.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a brown paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread with a sausage and onion in it that had BBQ sauce and mustard on them. In the background behind the food was a building with a table out the front of it that had an awning set up above it. The table had bottles of sauce on it.
At 1.08pm, @kerry_lambert tweeted, “The was no sausage sizzle at my polling booth. Now THAT is a true democracy at work.” At the same time ABC digital producer Andie Noonan tweeted, “Vote 1: #democracysausage. This Brunswick East polling station has controversially gone with onions on top though.” The attached photo showed a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread that had a sausage in it with fried onions on top as well as mustard and tomato sauce.
At 11.11pm, the federal Greens leader Richard Di Natale tweeted, “Enjoying a delicious democracy sausage here in beautiful Richmond! Thanks to all of our amazing Greens candidates, staff and volunteers here in Victoria for a great campaign.” The attached photo showed the politician ostentatiously holding up in front of his face a piece of white bread wrapped around a sausage. His mouth looked full and his lips were closed. In his left hand you could see the paper serviette that had been given to him when he bought it. No sign of onions.
At 1.15pm ABC Victoria political reporter Stephanie Anderson tweeted, “Democracy queues. Should’ve got the sausage first...” The photo showed a queue of people standing outside a building in what looks like a school sports ground.
At 1.17pm Nick Etchells tweeted, “Question answered. Bill Shorten votes #onionsonthebottom.” The photo that came with the tweet showed the leader of the federal ALP standing underneath a blue awning that had been set up over a table in front of a building, and eating a sausage wrapped in a piece of white bread. In front of the politician were two cameramen, one with a video camera and one with a still camera. They were busy taking his picture. It was impossible to see the onions in this shot.
At 1.21pm the Democracy sausage Twitter account retweeted a tweet that had gone up a minute before from Ryan Sheales, a communications staffer at the Victorian Council of Social Service, that had said, “I just met a democracy sausage DOG. His name is Teddy Roosevelt. This is beyond my wildest dreams.” The tweet came with a photo of a brown dachshund on a black leash.
Anyway, you get the message. I could have spent all afternoon collecting like messages but I decided to limit the post to a reasonable length. The desire to vote was equalled by the person’s desire to take a photo of their hand holding a sausage wrapped in a slice of white bread that had been sold to them for a dollar or two (one person reported a price of $2.50) by a charity eager to raise funds. Nothing can come between an Aussie and his or her food.
But what was also often noticeable in these tweets was the staged purpose of the message. The photo would be taken deliberately to show the food in the foreground with the polling place visible in the background. The feeling that you were seeing something managed by the poster existed in a majority of cases. Democracy turned into an opportunity for a wicked selfie. Eating sausages as a marker of authenticity. Voting as a blazon for identity politics.
In the end the result was so convincing that Antony Green was able to call it before 7.30pm. It saw a big swing to Labor in metropolitan Victoria but losses were not just limited to the Liberal Party. The Australian Greens also bled some supporters to Labor in many seats. The swing to the Labor Party in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne was most noticeable, with a string of wealthy areas close to the CBD changing from Liberal to Labor with the help of preferences. Talk of a close election was utterly unfounded in the event, and the opinion polls over the past two days, which predicted a swing to the ALP and a result where the ALP would get 54 percent of the two party-preferred vote and the Liberal-National coalition would get 46 percent, turned out to be pretty accurate (as normally happens in Australia, where voting is mandatory). At 8pm on the election night the 2PP result was actually 57 percent to Labor and 43 percent to the Coalition.
The law and order campaign waged by the Liberals completely failed to get any support from Melbourne voters. Likewise the scare tactics used by federal Liberals on account of “terror” in the wake of the 9 November stabbing attack on Bourke Street (which actually highlighted mental health as an issue) was dismissed by the city. The Labor Party’s drug injecting room will therefore go ahead.
On the bigger question of whether onions should go on top of the sausage or next to the bread and underneath the sausage, I think it’s pretty clear from the sample used in this post that the consensus among Melbournians was that it should remain where it has always sat: on top. As with the government: no change needed. The voters solidly rejected the finicky solution conjured up by Bunnings, but the recall factor that onions held for Melbournians should be a source of comfort for the retailer.
If you don’t buy a sausage you won’t get any ballot papers. This is of course a joke, but it’s not really far from the truth. In this post almost every man and woman represented by a tweet was partaking of snags. With or without fried onions and with or without tomato sauce – ketchup for Americans – or mustard, or BBQ sauce (an Aussie staple which has a dark brown colour and a smoky tang).
The new normal gives new meaning to the expression "Silly sausage", a term of endearment from the old days used by parents when comforting a child who had banged a knee or grazed a knuckle. And the question being asked on election day (apart from the poll result) was this: onions on the top or on the bottom?
At 8.49am Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Saturday 24 November, Melbourne resident Simon Bowden set the tone early (polling stations opened at 8am and would close at 6pm), tweeting a photo of two young men eating sausages wrapped in slices of bread. Both men had beards and wore glasses. The tweet contained the #demcracysausage hashtag. At the same time federal Nationals MP Darren Chester tweeted a photo showing a sausage, with tomato sauce and fried onions on it, sitting on a slice of white bread. His tweet included the comment, “First democracy sausage down! Don’t have breakfast Traralgon voters - Grey St Primary School is producing magnificent sausages in white bread, onion on top! The only way to go.” Two minutes later Melbourne resident Nicole (@coldishtoes) tweeted a photo with the hashtag that showed a sausage with fried onions on top of it on a slice of white bread.
At 8.58am Rob Harris, who lives in Canberra, responded to Chester’s tweet, “Just spoke to Mum and Dad and they’re walking down the hill now to get one.” Chester got back to him two minutes later, “Make sure they say g’day and I’ll shout them a sausage... after they vote of course! Wouldn’t want to be accused of soliciting votes with sausages! What a scandal that would be.” At 9.05am Victorian resident James (@ichymochek) tweeted, “Congratulations to everyone today who manages to not only vote, but also eat a sausage.” Two minutes later Benno of the Twitters (@jeamland), a Melbourne resident, tweeted a photo showing a piece of white bread with a sausage on it that had tomato sauce liberally applied to it. The whole thing was held in a paper serviette.
At 9.08am, Melbourne resident Tim Welsh-Eliot tweeted, “Cooking a hot breakfast, including sausages. In case my local voting venue doesn't have any democracy sausages for sale. Sure, @electionsvic has a map of places to vote, but doesn't indicate which ones have a sausage sizzle. Someone needs to lift their game.” A minute later, Jordan Janssen tweeted, “Held out to vote on Election Day for the democracy sausage, and there wasn’t even one being set up at my local polling booth. Just rude.” A minute later Guy Barker tweeted, “No one panic, but rumour has it that Richmond Primary School doesn’t have a sausage sizzle today.” At 9.13am the @demsausage account replied, “Alarming. How reliable is the rumour? Should we mark it as sausageless on the map, or wait for other reports?” Six minutes later, Barker replied, “Unsure yet - I heard it from a Labor [pollie] who apparently heard it from the [Victorian Electoral Commission]. Will keep you informed.”
At 9.21am Tom Minear, a Herald Sun journalist, tweeted, “’Worst nightmare’ - Federal Labor MPs fear Bill Shorten’s bid to become prime minister will be damaged if Premier Daniel Andrews is forced to rely on the Greens to form government.” The tweet contained a link to a story on the newspaper’s website. As if she had just seen Minear’s tweet, at 9.23am The Australian reporter Rachel Baxendale tweeted, “Greens MP for Prahran @Sam_Hibbins is fending off Liberal and Labor contenders in the only genuine three way contest of the election. Upper House Lib @georgiecrozier (not pictured) is also handing out at Prahran RSL.” The tweet came with a photo showing volunteers with the colours of their political parties lined up outside a building on a suburban street.
At 9.26am federal Labor MP Rob Mitchell tweeted, “It’s Election Day don’t forget to cast your ballot. @DanielAndrewsMP all the way. If you’re in Whittlesea [don’t] forget your #democracysausage from the wonderful Whittlesea Lions daredevil[; top or (safety first)] bottom onion.” The final comment referred to a story that had hit the news the week before that recounted how the hardware chain Bunnings had instructed charities selling sausages on bread outside its stores to put the onion on the bottom, next to the bread, out of fears that if onion fell off the sausage it might constitute a health and safety risk (people might slip on it).
At 9.30am Melbourne resident Sumeyya Ilanbey tweeted a photo showing a sign that had been placed on the pavement outside a building. On the sign was printed, “Coffee, hot chocolate, democracy sausages, cakes, cakes, cakes, 2019 calendars.” Also on the sign was printed “EFTPOS available.” The tweet said, “Eftpos available at this election booth in Brunswick.” (EFPTOS means “electronic funds transfer point of sale” and refers to the machines that retailers put next to their cash registers to take money from customers who don’t want to pay using cash; they can instead use a bank transaction card that is linked to a bank account. Usually sausages sold outside polling places cost a gold coin: one or two dollars.)
At 9.34am Victorian resident Anna Mallard tweeted a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette that was wrapped around a piece of bread that held a sausage with mustard and tomato sauce on it. The tweet had the #democracysausage hashtag in it. At 9.37am Melbourne resident Dancing Dan (@dancingdanb) tweeted, “I live across the road from a polling station but there is no democracy sausage set up!! I should just set up my bbq on the verge.” A minute later Nathan Wind, who didn’t put on his Twitter profile where he lives, tweeted a photo showing a hand holding a piece of white bread wrapped around a sausage that had tomato sauce, onion and mustard on it. The tweet also contained the short comment, “Democracy!!!!!”
At 9.40am The Age journalist Michael Short tweeted, “[Votes] below the line, but onions below the sausage?” His tweet referred to the fact that preferences exchanged by political parties for votes cast for the upper house of the Victorian parliament were not always clear. It was impossible with the system as architecture for voters to know where their preferences would end up, and therefore which party’s candidate would be elected. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) psephologist Antony Green had been telling people in the week leading up to the election that people could ensure their actual preferences were followed by selecting candidates on the ballot in the area below the line, where the names of individual candidates, not political parties, were set out for voters to tick with their pencils. At 9.43am account @uberingingmelb tweeted, “No sausage sizzle, or even coffee here...” A minute later Short put out his tweet again this time with a retweet to a story published by his newspaper informing readers about the reasons they should vote below the line on upper house ballots.
At 9.41am Melbourne resident Matthew Mills tweeted, “Went to vote. Liberal candidate had parked his car on the school crossing making it hard to see oncoming traffic when crossing the road. I mentioned it to him and he said there were no [‘No parking’] signs.” Five minutes later he also tweeted, “When I came out of voting I noticed he had moved his car a few feet backwards off the crossing. Democracy works!”
At 9.48am Melbourne resident Dale Roberts tweeted, “Voted Labor. Voted below the line in upper house. Voted onions on top for my democracy sausage. Travelled to another electorate just to get a democracy sausage.” His tweet contained a photo showing two young men with beards holding pieces of white bread with sausages in them that had mustard and tomato sauce on them. There was also onion on the sausages. One of the men was smiling lopsidedly and the other was standing behind him looking straight at the camera with a faintly humorous look on his face.
At 9.51am Jack Bee-Knee (@alsolounges) tweeted, “If you're burning onion while simultaneously undercooking it, [you] have no right to comment where it's placed.” A minute later, rose (@rowjamm), who didn’t include her locality in her Twitter profile, tweeted a photo showing a table set out with a bowl of vegetables in a brown soup and a piece of unleavened bread. There was also a cup of cappuccino next to the food. Her tweet contained the comment, “No sausage, but can't complain canai?” At 9.54am Natasha O’Connor Put a photo showing a frankfurter in a bread roll sitting in a paper dish. The tweet also had the comment, “It's here! #VicVotes today to hopefully keep Matthew Guy out.”
At 9.57am Thornbury resident Matthew Hall tweeted, “Today’s #vicvotes is the first time our whole family will casting ballots! Huzzah! #democracysausage for all!!” A minute later Melbourne resident Dean Adams tweeted, “I love living in a place where #democracysausage will trend higher than #vicvotes or #VictoriaVotes on Election Day.”
At 9.59am Bentleigh Farmers Market’s account retweeted a tweet from CBR Foodie that read, “@bentleighfarm has set the #DemocracySausage bar pretty high for #VicVotes this morning! I think we’re done. Back to trolling #Canberra #food tweets now...” This tweet retweeted one from Bentleigh Farmers Market that read, “Even better than a #DemocracySausage is a yummy bacon & egg roll or veggie burger (with or without egg). Available from 8am until 12.30pm, inside or outside our #FarmersMarket at the polling station at 90 Bignell Rd #Bentleigh East.” This tweet had a photo with it that showed a male hand holding a bun that contained a burger made from something yellow and what looked like egg and avocado.
At 10.02am Melbourne resident Laura McCormack tweeted, “For anyone voting at All Saints Anglican in Northcote, Beryl & friends have your democratic rights covered.” The tweet contained a photo showing a slice of white bread wrapped around a sausage that had onion and tomato sauce on it. A minute later, Melbourne resident Teri Cooper tweeted, “Voting done, now for a #democracysausage for @DanielAndrewsMP and don’t hold back the onions!” Thepolitician named in the tweet was the premier of the state, Daniel Andrews, of the Australian Labor Party (APL). The tweet contained a photo showing a woman standing next to a table that had mustard and BBQ sauce bottles on it. The woman was putting tomato sauce on a sausage she held in her hand wrapped in a piece of white bread. There were there women standing behind the table who were serving customers. One of these women had her hands clasped in front of her stomach and she was smiling.
At 10.06am a Perth native who lives in Melbourne, Anthony Stewart, tweeted, “In a democracy the onions go on TOP!” His tweet contained a photo showing a sausage wrapped in a piece of white bread with fried onions on it. The whole thing was held in a paper serviette.
At 11.01am @andrewgigacz tweeted, “Look, I'm not saying the DEMOCRACY SAUSAGE is a secret plot to ensure the Liberals get thrashed, but it's an anagram of A CODE: MASSACRE GUY.” The comment referred to the Liberal Party leader in Victoria, Matthew Guy. At 11.04am Matthew Elmas tweeted, “Pork and fennel snags at my polling station in Macleod. How gourmet. Will cost you an extra 50c though. Not sure about whether its onion on top or not.”
At 11.06am Hugh Rundle tweeted, “What a joke. VEC assigned 3 staff to distribute #VicVotes ballots at Collingwood College. Current wait is over an hour in the rain.”
At 11.08am a man who says he lives between Fremantle (in Western Australia) and Melbourne named Damien Rabbitt tweeted, “can confirm NO #democracysausage at the Northcote Baptist Church Hall, but quite some queue to vote.” The tweet came with a photo showing cars parked on a suburban street and a long queue of people lined up on the footpath. The queue ended at a building that did, indeed, look like a church. At 11.11am a resident of the Latrobe Vallye, Jarrod Whittaker, tweeted, “Same deal at Newborough town hall. Plenty of democracy, no sausage. This is an outrage.” The tweet came with a photo showing party volunteers standing outside a building with voters entering it. One woman shown is seen stretching out her hand to receive one of the how-to-vote pamphlets that a volunteer holds in his hands.
At 11.14am Carlton resident @clintwits tweeted, “Well [that’s] disappointing... No @DemSausage or cakes at #carlton Gardens primary... Ah well will just have to go home and do my own sausage sizzle then.”
At 11.21am Melbourne resident Damian Chandler tweeted a photo showing a ballot paper for the lower house that had been marked with a pencil. Someone had written a new series of boxes, each of which had a number in it, and the labels read, “Boobs, Hot dogs, Beer, Vodka.” The box with the number five in it had no label. A ballot paper filled out and submitted with this kind of marking on it would be counted as an informal vote.
At 11.24am Melbourne resident Geoffrey Payne retweeted a tweet that had gone up an hour before. It said, “Out on the booth for @Cindy4Brunswick with @gedkearney @VictorianLabor.” The two Twitter handles were for Cindy O’Connor, the Labor candidate for the state seat of Brunswick, and Ged Kearney, the Labor member for the federal division of Batman. The tweet came with a photo showing four women smiling at the camera. One woman had a read hoodie on with the hood up. Another woman was wearing a blue skicker with the hood down.
At 11.28am Melbourne resident Kelly Benson tweeted, “The diligent bbq team at St Kilda primary are delivering sausages to people in the voting queue. That's service!” The tweet came with a photo showing a woman’s hand holding a paper serviette with a piece of white bread in it wrapped around a sausage, with onion on top. In the background you could see the feet of people queueing on the pavement of what looked like a sports ground.
At 11.31am Perth resident and self-proclaimed Greens supporter Zia Hakimi tweeted, “Huge lines outside Brunswick Town Hall even though it has been raining quite a bit.”
A minute later, Melbourne resident Shane Brown tweeted, “Member for Essendon, @DannyPearsonMP [Victorian Labor lower house MP] checking some high-quality #Democracysausage action at Moonee Ponds West Primary School. @Pillstyle [Paul Limoli] in full control of the barbecue.” The tweet came with a photo showing a BBQ set up outside a building with a blue awning over it. There was a man holding tongs looking after the sausages that were frying on the hotplate. Next to him a young man was standing and it looked like this man was talking with an older man opposite him (presumably the politician named) who was wearing a grey jacket and a suit and tie.
At 11.36am Ballarat resident Bridget Rollason tweeted, “No #democracysausages at the Maryborough polling booth in the marginal seat of Ripon, just a long line.” The tweet came with a photo showing people standing in the sunshine outside an Art Deco building. At 11.39am Melbourne resident Katerina (@kat_la) tweeted, “Coffee stop. Melissa Templestowe. Great coffee and food.” The tweet came with a photo showing a woman’s hand holding two disposable coffee cups with plastic lids.
At 11.42am Melbourne resident Jacquie Tran tweeted, “I love that my country has compulsory voting (making it a democratic responsibility as much as it is a right), and that my state's electoral commission promotes the #DemocracySausage!” The tweet came with a retweet from the account operated by the VEC that said, “Voting centre queues are busiest around 11am - why not have a #democracysausage while you wait? Otherwise, mid-afternoon is the quietest time to vote. Use the hashtag #votingqueues to post live updates of how busy your centre is and help others avoid the crowds.” Two minutes later ABC employee (producer of Jon Faine’s radio program) and Melbourne resident Katrina Palmer tweeted, “Long queue to vote at Brighton primary. Can confirm steady flow for #democracysausage.” The tweet came with a photo (shown) showing a school sports ground with tables set up on the periphery where people were standing. The queue of voters is not shown, this photo just shows the charities that had set up tables to make money selling sausages and bread.
At 11.50am Melbourne resident Ted Sussex tweeted, “Our [Lady of the Sacred Heart College] in Bentleigh with 4 food stalls.” The tweet came with four photos, two of which showed tables with biscuits and cakes on them, one photo showing a barbeque, and one showing a table with wrapped sandwiches and sauce bottles on it.
At 11.54am Melbourne resident Daniel Bowen tweeted, “My democratic duty is done. Note the onions on top.” This came with a photo showing a man’s hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of bread with a sausage and onions in it. There is also tomato sauce on the sausage.
At 12.03pm, Melbourne music journalist Reece Hooker tweeted, “The biggest scandal of the 2018 Victorian state election is clearly, obviously the absence of a sausage sizzles at some voting centres.” The tweet came with a screenshot showing an online conversation between two people about sausage sizzles at polling places.
At 12.06pm Sky News reporter Patrick Murrell retweeted a tweet from the VEC that had gone up a few minutes before that said, “We'll go to the four corners of the earth to get your vote! Shout out to voters at Casey Station, Antarctica, who are enjoying a #democracysausage while voting (photo credit: Dale Smith).” The tweet came with a photo (shown) with three men standing on rocks and a woman sitting. Two of the men are holding what appear to be pieces of bread wrapping sausages, but it’s not entirely clear from where the camera is positioned. In the background behind the people is a sign saying “Casey” and a pole with signs attached to it showing the locations of other places. The signs are pointing in different directions and they are yellow. The pole they are attached to is held up by guy wires anchored in the ground. Behind the group is the sea and you can see snow.
At 12.12pm Angela Korras retweeted a tweet that had gone up a couple of hours before from ABC radio host Rafael Epstein that had said, “So, so satisfying to vote! Best voting system in the world. Cheers to #democracysausage volunteers, party volunteers and @electionsvic people.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette on the outside of a piece of white bread wrapped around a sausage with onions on top. The sausage also had tomato sauce on it. In the background behind this was a building with party volunteers standing outside it and party candidates’ posters.
At 12.18pm Melbourne resident David Stocks tweeted a photo with the #democracysausage hashtag that showed a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread which held a sausage that had mustard and tomato sauce on it. In the background, behind the food, was a queue of people in the grounds of a suburban church. A minute later Melbourne resident Helen MacLean tweeted, “Walked to my local primary school, didn’t get rained on, bought my #democracysausage, two cookies and a jar of pear and raisin conserve, (and voted). Democracy is a wonderful thing!” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of brown bread that held a sausage with tomato sauce on it. At 12.21pm Melbourne resident Katherina Howell tweeted, “It’s a two democracy sausage (each) kind of day.”
At 12.22pm @fukvit10 retweeted a tweet that had gone up an hour before from a person identifying themselves as Lett Sipping Bogan that had retweeted a tweet from (self-declared) Bellevue Hill (Sydney) resident @paulkaz12 that showed two lobsters on a grill. The image was a nod to the Opposition leader, Matthew Guy, who had been caught in August 2017 having dinner with mafia boss Tony Maddaferi at a seafood restaurant.
At 12.29pm @ynoirb tweeted, “There is a polling place at the end of my street but I walked 2 kms to another suburb to vote because I WANT MY DEMOCRACY SAUSAGE also they had a cake stall.” At the same time Melbourne resident Renatha Mulqueeney-Reed tweeted, “Couldn't stand it! Voted yesterday yet keep seeing pics of sausage sizzles! Forced to go to @Bunnings and pretend to be shopping only so I could buy a sausage sizzle on the way out! Onions on the bottom tasted all wrong but still very satisfying.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a blue paper serviette with a piece of white bread and a sausage in it. There was barbeque sauce on the sausage but no fried onion was visible.
At 12.31pm Melbourne resident Alastair Pitts tweeted, “Democracy done. Made sure I got my #DemocracySausage as well.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a tan paper serviette with a piece of white bread in it wrapped around a sausage. There was tomato sauce on the sausage and the hand that held the serviette also held the leash of a spotted grey dog.
At 12.34pm Bendigo resident Lou Bray tweeted, “Voting at my old primary school.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding two paper serviettes with two pieces of white bread in them that were wrapped around two sausages. There was no sauce in evidence, nor onions. In the background behind the food was a building with people coming and going and with the election posters of candidates scattered around the place.
At 12.40pm Melbourne resident Clare Murphy tweeted, “I love democracy,” with the word “love” replaced by the emoji for a heart. There was also a photo showing a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread in which a sausage and onions were nestled. In the background behind the food you could see the posters of candidates, and people milling around. At the same time Williamstown resident @docavvers (Averil) tweeted, “Vegan cupcakes at Williamstown Primary, but I had a #democracysausage. And put the Shooters last.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bead with a sausage and onions in it. There was also tomato sauce on the sausage. The political reference was to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, which has in recent years been contesting elections in the states.
At 12.44pm radio presenter Brian Peel tweeted, “Served how a snag should be served. Onions on top!” the tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread with lots of onions on top. There was also tomato sauce. At 12.48pm ABC Melbourne reporter Joanna Crothers tweeted, “The polling station in Seddon didn’t have a #democracysausage I’m very disappointed.”
At 12.50pm Melbourne travel writer Tim Richards tweeted, “No mere sausage for me before voting in inner-city Melbourne. Behold the porcini egg with Jerusalem artichoke rosti & roast mushroom duxelle from Industry Beans. Next, I shall vote.” The tweet came with a photo showing an elaborate meal laid out with great care to appeal to the diner. It wasn’t clear what the food was made from but the comment gave sufficient information, I presumed.
At 12.52pm Michelle Eddy tweeted, “Footscray City Primary School selling Free Range Black Angus Sausages #democracysausage. Coffee & Cake Stall. It’s a good day to be Victorian.” The tweet came with a photo showing people standing around tables set up under awnings. On one table were large yellow and red bottles presumably containing sauce.
At 12.55pm Melbourne woman Goldie (@goldie_fm) tweeted, “My @DemSausage has been had.” It came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of bread with a sausage in it that had mustard and tomato sauce on it. At the same time Heather B (@hev_boyd) tweeted, “Democracy Sausage.” Her tweet came with a photo of a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of bread with a sausage in it that had tomato sauce on it.
At 12.57pm Melbourne Guardian reporter Luke Henriques-Gomes tweeted, “Some complaints there’s no almond milk at Moreland Primary.” Nine minutes earlier he had tweeted a photo of his hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread with a sausage in it that had BBQ sauce and mustard on it.
At 1.01pm @kevs_view tweeted, “Queue for #democracysausage longer than the one for #vicvotes at Chelsea Heights [Primary School]. Due to the great empty gas bottle catastrophe of 2018. (But worth the wait).” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread that had a sausage in it (with onions on the bottom) that had tomato sauce on it.
At 1.03pm writer and radio host Paul Verhoven tweeted, “Question: how many #vicvotes voters had to pay for their sausages and is being made to pay for your democracy sausage deeply undemocratic?” At the same time Melbourne resident Sally Hayles tweeted, “Ripponlea Primary [School] bringing the goods this Election Day with a sausage sizzle, sweet cake stall and the shortest line for a metro voting booth I’ve ever encountered.” The tweet came with a photo showing a hand holding a brown paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread with a sausage and onion in it that had BBQ sauce and mustard on them. In the background behind the food was a building with a table out the front of it that had an awning set up above it. The table had bottles of sauce on it.
At 1.08pm, @kerry_lambert tweeted, “The was no sausage sizzle at my polling booth. Now THAT is a true democracy at work.” At the same time ABC digital producer Andie Noonan tweeted, “Vote 1: #democracysausage. This Brunswick East polling station has controversially gone with onions on top though.” The attached photo showed a hand holding a paper serviette wrapped around a piece of white bread that had a sausage in it with fried onions on top as well as mustard and tomato sauce.
At 11.11pm, the federal Greens leader Richard Di Natale tweeted, “Enjoying a delicious democracy sausage here in beautiful Richmond! Thanks to all of our amazing Greens candidates, staff and volunteers here in Victoria for a great campaign.” The attached photo showed the politician ostentatiously holding up in front of his face a piece of white bread wrapped around a sausage. His mouth looked full and his lips were closed. In his left hand you could see the paper serviette that had been given to him when he bought it. No sign of onions.
At 1.15pm ABC Victoria political reporter Stephanie Anderson tweeted, “Democracy queues. Should’ve got the sausage first...” The photo showed a queue of people standing outside a building in what looks like a school sports ground.
At 1.17pm Nick Etchells tweeted, “Question answered. Bill Shorten votes #onionsonthebottom.” The photo that came with the tweet showed the leader of the federal ALP standing underneath a blue awning that had been set up over a table in front of a building, and eating a sausage wrapped in a piece of white bread. In front of the politician were two cameramen, one with a video camera and one with a still camera. They were busy taking his picture. It was impossible to see the onions in this shot.
At 1.21pm the Democracy sausage Twitter account retweeted a tweet that had gone up a minute before from Ryan Sheales, a communications staffer at the Victorian Council of Social Service, that had said, “I just met a democracy sausage DOG. His name is Teddy Roosevelt. This is beyond my wildest dreams.” The tweet came with a photo of a brown dachshund on a black leash.
Anyway, you get the message. I could have spent all afternoon collecting like messages but I decided to limit the post to a reasonable length. The desire to vote was equalled by the person’s desire to take a photo of their hand holding a sausage wrapped in a slice of white bread that had been sold to them for a dollar or two (one person reported a price of $2.50) by a charity eager to raise funds. Nothing can come between an Aussie and his or her food.
But what was also often noticeable in these tweets was the staged purpose of the message. The photo would be taken deliberately to show the food in the foreground with the polling place visible in the background. The feeling that you were seeing something managed by the poster existed in a majority of cases. Democracy turned into an opportunity for a wicked selfie. Eating sausages as a marker of authenticity. Voting as a blazon for identity politics.
In the end the result was so convincing that Antony Green was able to call it before 7.30pm. It saw a big swing to Labor in metropolitan Victoria but losses were not just limited to the Liberal Party. The Australian Greens also bled some supporters to Labor in many seats. The swing to the Labor Party in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne was most noticeable, with a string of wealthy areas close to the CBD changing from Liberal to Labor with the help of preferences. Talk of a close election was utterly unfounded in the event, and the opinion polls over the past two days, which predicted a swing to the ALP and a result where the ALP would get 54 percent of the two party-preferred vote and the Liberal-National coalition would get 46 percent, turned out to be pretty accurate (as normally happens in Australia, where voting is mandatory). At 8pm on the election night the 2PP result was actually 57 percent to Labor and 43 percent to the Coalition.
The law and order campaign waged by the Liberals completely failed to get any support from Melbourne voters. Likewise the scare tactics used by federal Liberals on account of “terror” in the wake of the 9 November stabbing attack on Bourke Street (which actually highlighted mental health as an issue) was dismissed by the city. The Labor Party’s drug injecting room will therefore go ahead.
On the bigger question of whether onions should go on top of the sausage or next to the bread and underneath the sausage, I think it’s pretty clear from the sample used in this post that the consensus among Melbournians was that it should remain where it has always sat: on top. As with the government: no change needed. The voters solidly rejected the finicky solution conjured up by Bunnings, but the recall factor that onions held for Melbournians should be a source of comfort for the retailer.
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