Western Australia's flat white, long black, latte and hot chocolate set have maintained their strong support for the Liberal Party, delivering an espresso shot in the arm for the government the day before the election.
Western Australia's flat white, long black, latte and hot chocolate set have maintained their strong support for the Liberal Party, delivering an espresso shot in the arm for the government the day before the election.
The latest results from the Miss Maud's Coffee Bean poll put the Liberal Party in front, increasing its vote to 42 per cent, well ahead of Labor which fell a little to 36 per cent.
More than 33,000 people cast a vote in the poll by putting a coffee bean in a beaker indicating their preference for the Liberal Party, Australian Labor Party, Nationals, The Greens, Australian Democrats and other parties at one of 16 'polling booths' set up in Miss Maud's coffee houses and restaurants across the metropolitan area.
The Greens were steady on 10.6 per cent, while the Nationals rose 0.2 percentage points, while the Democrats moved 0.1 percentage points, up to 2.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively.
The full text of the Miss Maud's announcement is pasted below
As the Australian community gears up to hit the polling booths tomorrow and the pundits make their final predictions on who will take the cake in tomorrow's Federal Election, the now legendary Miss Maud, first across the line Coffee Bean Poll has seen the Coalition the winner.
In a huge slice of community opinion, more than 33,000 customers have cast their caffeine-inspired votes over the last 20 days in 16 of the Miss Maud coffee houses and restaurants in the Perth metropolitan area and today President of the Morning Tea Party of WA (MTPWA), Maud Edmiston - aka Miss Maud - spilled the beans on the poll results to reveal a lead for the Liberal Party that suggests that Western Australian votes will play a crucial role in the final election outcome.
- Democrats 3.4%
- Greens 10.6%
- Labor 36.0%
- Liberal 42.0%
- National 2.8%
- Others 5.2%
But while the Miss Maud Coffee Bean Poll has yielded some uncannily accurate results in the past, Ms. Edmiston emphasised that the poll is all about encouraging stimulating and considered conversation and letting people have their say in a relaxed way and in WA where more than 70 languages are now spoken, it is a simple, visual way to communicate with ease and encourage everyone to have their say.
"These days coffee houses are often seen as the modern living room where opinions can easily percolate and people regularly discuss the issues of the day," Ms. Edmiston said.
"The Miss Maud Coffee Bean Poll is really an extension of that thinking, and we savour the opportunity to encourage easy and enjoyable exchanges across a cup of coffee recognising that every opinion matters and every bean counts. Many major decisions of international significance have been made over a cup of coffee, including the creation of Lloyds of London.
"The beans truly monitor a large scale community conversation as they percolate into votes to show the flavour of public taste."
The final bean count was announced at Morning Tea Party campaign headquarters (aka Miss Maud Swedish Restaurant) this morning, with chartered accountants WHK Horwath, on hand to ensure there would be no cooking of the books.
The Anglican Dean of Perth, the Very Revd Dr John Shepherd joined business and community leaders to bless the beans and share his views on the value of 'beanspeak'
At this year's party guests were not only discussing the final bean voting trends and joining into the fun and conversation but also took part in a special Miss Maud bean challenge -a 'Snap Bean Poll'.
After a delightful caffeine hit, (the only reason devotees get up in the morning) be it a short black, café latte, cappuccino, mocha, moccacino, latte macchiato, café crème, coffee frappe, coffee milkshake or coffee slush or many other combinations guests will be given two beans each and asked to vote on the issues that matter most to them in this election.
Based on community conversations during the Coffee Bean Poll these issues were:
- Health and medicine
- Education
- Climate change/environment
- The economy
- Workplace agreements/industrial relations
- Iraq and Australia's role in defence
- Housing affordability.
It is well known that politicians and their teams keep a daily check on the bean poll and Miss Maud has said once the election winner is known she will send them the results.
The results will be presented on a giant chocolate torte created by the Miss Maud bakehouse team, with the massive 400-piece cake then donated to St Barts Centre for the homeless in East Perth. St Barts have invited the local community to a tea party to continue the community conversation over a cuppa and a piece of cake. Some of the cake will also go to the Parkerville Children's Home.
