If you have been following other state elections you may have noticed a pattern emerging. It started in 2010 when Victoria voted out a long-serving Labor Party, bringing in Liberal politician Ted Baillieu as the new premier. In 2011, the New South Wales followed with the Labor Party suffering a massive defeat against the Liberal Party for the first time in 16 years. Western Australia also has a Liberal premier with South Australia and Tasmania being the two remaining states with Labor premiers. Essentially there has been a shift in support at the state level from the Labor Party towards the Liberal Party. This shift in support may have a psychological effect into opinions we have of federal Labor and federal Liberal. Opinion polls for federal Labor are already at an all time low but having Labor lose support at the state level may further weaken their already fragile image. This can have major implications for federal politics and it will be interesting to see if Tony Abbott gains support should the LNP win at the Queensland elections.

A Federal Issue In A State Election
When we first saw the anti same-sex marriage ads by Bob Katter's new party, 'Katter's Australian Party', most of us were rightly disgusted by its discrimnatory tone and outdated ideas about the "sanctity of marriage". For those of you who haven't seen the ad (or want to see it again) here it is:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPDTR-JPekI

What we should be questioning (apart from its homophobic nature) is why Bob Katter decided to bring up a federal issue in a state election. Marriage is not as relevant to state elections because it is the federal government who passes legislation about marriage. Jack Waterford of the Canberra Times says that the ad should be seen as an attempt by Bob Katter to bring attention to his new party and potentially win support from conservative LNP supporters by highlighting the fact that LNP leader Campbell Newman supports same-sex marriage. The reaction to the ad demonstrates how easily voters can be polarised around a sensitive issue regardless of its relevance to the current scenario. Emotions can play a strong role in determining who we vote for and clearly Katter is playing at voter emotions to stir opposition and gain support for his fledgling party. Katter's ad should also serve as a reminder to voters to always question what is shown through the media (whether it's news media or just a simple ad). We are only being shown a particular side of the story so a little bit of cynicism never hurts.

Final Thoughts
If I could, I would go into an in-depth analysis of all the policies and why they are relevant for the rest of. For those interested the ABC has a