A weather observer stationed on a remote island 450 kilometres off Cairns cast his vote for Williamstown’s Labor MP with a message in a bottle.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Colin Blobel sealed his voting papers in a glass bottle and threw it into the Coral Sea from the coast of Willis Island.
The vote was actually cast after November’s state election, but it was Mr Blobel’s way of protesting about being unable to vote, unlike observers and researchers in Antarctica.
He is one of four weather observers working at a weather station which acts as an early-warning centre for developing cyclones.
Willis Island is too remote to receive regular mail deliveries and too small to have a polling booth.
In Antarctica, the electoral commission selects one person to act as an electoral officer and they distribute the ballot papers and return results to the mainland via satellite.
However, the commission believes that because there are only four people on Willis Island, there is great risk the electoral officer would know who everyone voted for.
Mr Blobel’s voting papers were accompanied by a note directing that the bottle be sent to the Victorian Electoral Commissioner and Williamstown MP Wade Noonan.
The bottle bobbed in the sea until the currents carried it to Sunken Reef Bay on Hinchinbrook Island, about 240 kilometres south of Cairns. It was found by picnickers Rob and Kelly Schmidt, who immediately followed Mr Blobel’s instructions.
Despite Mr Blobel’s vote not counting, it was warmly received by Mr Noonan.
“This demonstrates how far some people will go to exercise their democratic right to vote,” he said.
“The casting of a vote by bottle is probably one of the more unusual stories I’ve seen during my time in politics. I don’t think I’ll be calling for a recount, but I’m humbled by Mr Blobel’s support.”
