Talk:Democracy sausage

Capitalised title?

Should "Sausage" be capitalised in the article title? - David Gerard (talk) 10:59, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

Probably. Kerry (talk) 11:08, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

Sorry, I was saying it probably shouldn't, which I assumed was the thrust of your question. I figured you didn't go around asking about capitalisations that you agreed with. Kerry (talk) 05:54, 10 August 2018 (UTC)

Based on? - David Gerard (talk) 12:10, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

I think the correct answer is probably not, based on Wikipedia:Naming conventions (capitalization). HiLo48 (talk) 00:37, 10 August 2018 (UTC)

It depends on whether the term is considered to be a "proper name", which is not obvious for something that is a colloquial term in the first place. If we were voting I would lean towards keeping the caps, but not committed to it.--Gronk Oz (talk) 01:08, 10 August 2018 (UTC)

It's a weird area of Wikipedia, where practice here seriously contradicts everything I was taught in my English classes at school. I was taught to capitalise everything but the minor words (and, in, of, etc) in any heading I ever wrote. Wikipedia policy is different. I'm not comfortable with it, but I can cope with it. HiLo48 (talk) 01:26, 10 August 2018 (UTC)

Ditto. Hence my "probably" meaning "yes, in policy, but I'm unlikely to do exert myself to do anything about it in practice". I don't think we can run with the argument that it's a proper name when it's written in lower case in the article itself; indeed I wrote it in lower case myself in the photo caption for the Kenmore BBQ so I am on very thin moral ground :-) Kerry (talk) 05:53, 10 August 2018 (UTC)

I'm gonna move it to lower-case then. If anyone deeply objects, I'm sure that will bring them here :-) - David Gerard (talk) 11:51, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

First sentence needs to be clearer

Is a "democracy sausage" an individual event (I attended the D~ S~) or is it the sausage itself (we ate four D~ S~s that day)? Or both? Equinox ◑ 15:05, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

It's a sausage which is cooked and sold (and usually eaten) at a polling booth on election day. Kerry (talk) 20:07, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

I don't think this is clear.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:22, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

You're right. I've had a go at clarifying. Further improvement welcome. HiLo48 (talk) 09:28, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

Cost of sausage

Is the sausage free? If it's just a fundraiser then it's not very notable if it's not government subsidized 132.234.228.29 (talk) 02:25, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Often the sausage-on-bread can be bought for as little as AUD2.50, in my experience.

It’s not just a fundraiser, but a widespread cultural phenomenon. Thousands of separate fundraisers held simultaneously around the (state or) country on election day.

It’s notable because it has garnered significant coverage in reliable news media.

Pelagic (talk) 04:27, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Origin of term?

The practise of holding sausage sizzles at polling places is long-standing, but I get the impression that the phrase "democracy sausage" is more recent. Can anybody supply a history or origin of the term? Pelagic (talk) 04:20, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

May 2019 media coverage

Perfect autumn weather today in Western Sydney for walking down to the polling booth and buying a democracy sausage!

There's bound to be a fair bit of media coverage and user interest because of the election. So can we collect relevant articles in this thread, please? It could help other editors to enhance the article if they have some sources handy. No need to indent if you're just adding to the list rather than commenting/replying.

• Zappavigna, Adrianna (2019-05-18). "Voters can't stop tweeting about Democracy Sausages". News Corp. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  • Aside from crowdsourcing a bunch of tweets, the article also mentions Bill Shorten's improved sausage-eating technique and sausage sizzles being held at overseas consulates.
• Whiteman, Hilary (2019-05-18). "Federal election 2019: What spruiked Australia's democracy sausage obsession?". 7 News. CNN. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  • Attributes an early use of #democracysausage hashtag to Kimberley Seats in 2013.

Pelagic (talk) 05:57, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Studio 10 is broadcasting an election special right now with guests taking turns on the BBQ. Spotted Sam Dastyari, Hugh Riminton, and Christopher Pyne tending the snags, with captions along the lines of "Christopher on the tongs!". Pelagic (talk) 06:14, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

• "Shorten's mood for change on election day", previously titled "Bill Shorten chomps on 'democracy' sausage", Matt Coughlan, AAP, 2018-05-18. (Run earlier today under the prev. title on 9 News website, with the by-line "By AAP", but I'm having trouble re-finding it now. I have a screenshot of the original title.) Web search returns hits for Seven News, Australian Community Media under various mastheads ([1] [2] [3]), and SBS, but re-titled (note the 7 News URL is unchanged at time of writing). (The regional papers are all by Australian Community Media, having exactly the same typography and layout with different URLs and masthead logos.)
  • Quote: "Bill Shorten took one bite of his sausage and declared it tasted like a 'mood for change' after casting his vote.

Pelagic (talk) 08:03, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Earlier articles

• "Shorten has another go at a democracy snag", Benjamin Ansell, 2018-11-24. [4] [5].
• A more academic item: Zappavigna, Michele (2018). "Enjoy your snags Australia … oh and the voting thing too #ausvotes #auspol: Iconisation and affiliation in electoral microblogging". Global Media Journal - Australian Edition. 12 (1). ISSN 1835-2340. [6] (this URL comes with a certificate warning).
  • Quotes: "A salient icon in this corpus [of tweets] is the 'sausage sizzle' (a form of outdoor barbeque), employed as a humorous symbol of camaraderie in the context of communal complaints about the voting experience." "An icon is formed when the everyday meaning of an activity or an object recedes and instead members of a community focus on its emotional importance as something that unifies them (Martin, 2004). In other words, the activity or object (e.g. eating an election day sausage) functions as a 'bonding icon' (Martin, 2007)."

Pelagic (talk) 08:20, 18 May 2019 (UTC) Pelagic (talk) 08:34, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Dowding

I have removed this:

In 1989, Peter Dowding, then Premier of Western Australia, was forced to deny accusations the Labor Party was bribing voters with free sausages and drinks before the state election that year. Police investigated whether a "free family sausage sizzle" held a week before the election breached the Electoral Act. The incident continued when Dowding accused state Liberal Party leader, Barry MacKinnon, of being photographed during the campaign wearing a barbecue hat and apron, therefore "being involved in the dissemination of sausages".

This is not really about "democracy sausages". It is just an election-related incident that involves sausages.--Jack Upland (talk) 00:03, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

References

Cakes

I don't think the cakes belong in this article. Or any article really...--Jack Upland (talk) 00:06, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

Sweets paragraph - questions

"Some cake stalls sell themed sweets which are named as a play on politicians' names such as Alba-Cheesy Cakes (Anthony Albanese), Malcolm Turnovers, Malcolm Turnballs (Malcolm Turnbull), Plebislice (referring to a plebiscite), Jacqui Lambingtons (Jacqui Lambie), Tanya Plibiscuits (Tanya Plibersek), and Richard Di Nutella Fudge (Richard Di Natale).[14]"

As a non-Australian I have several questions:

What are turnballs, and what are lice in terms of food? Is lambington based on something recognisable, a known food item with a similar sounding name, or is it completely newly invented from the family name?

And more important: Does that mean that those sellers are not only providing food to voters, plus by this collecting money for their own club/ organization etc., but are effectively doing (and are allowed to do) campaigning for certain political parties (as those politicians whose names they use will belong to parties usually)/ for certain politicians, on voting day, directly in front of the booths??

(In my country this is not allowed (there is a certain radius around the polling places where on voting day there mustn't be any campaign posters etc. which would advertise a certain party or person/ take any side), that's why I am so surprised and why am asking here.)

OK. I'll have a go at some bits of this. The seeming mentions of some politicians isn't necessarily supporting them. They are more in the category of satire. One criticism of Malcolm Turnbull when he was in positions of authority was that he rapidly changed his position at times to please the populace. Hence turnballs. A popular sweet treat in Australia (especially at Christmas) is a rum ball, chocolatey, and with a dash (or more) of rum. I think you saw lice in Plebislice. The key word there is slice, not lice (I think). The word slice is used in Australia to describe a sweet treat made in a flat tray, and sliced up once it's cooked or set. As for lambington, a popular Australian cake is a lamington. As you can see, Wikipedia even has an article on lamingtons! Briefly, it's squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. I hope this helps. HiLo48 (talk) 00:05, 16 June 2024 (UTC)

But what's it got to do with sausages?--Jack Upland (talk) 04:47, 16 June 2024 (UTC)