Norman Moore, West Australian Minister for Mining and Fisheries, has declared that he would not be contesting the next election. Moore, who is from the Liberal Party, said that he would retire after having put in 35 years as a parliamentarian. Election next year is scheduled in March 2013. The term of the current Legislative Council ends on 21st May2013 the day Mr Moore also retires. According to Moore he would continue with his role as minister with the purpose of completing all his unfinished work before the next election.

Moore became a parliamentarian in 1977 and has been the longest serving at that. According to Moore another win in the next election would mean that by the conclusion of that term he would be 72 years of age. As he was wishful of other pursuits in life other than being a member of parliament he feels that this is the right time to hang in his boots. According to him though his passion for his work as Minister has not diminished he would like to move on to pursue other things which he would not be able to do otherwise. He promises that, till then he would work extremely hard and see to it that the Barnett government gets re-elected in the next election before he retired.

Sometimes, even if elections don't promote an issue, steps can still be taken to advance toward a certain goal. For example, for many years, the environment has been one of the issues at stake in elections in many countries. As time marches on, how to address the environment is still an issue at stake-in fact, more than ever. Whatever the outcome at the polls, initiatives to improve our handling of the environment can often be taken up regardless of election outcomes. Take recycling, for instance. Programs for all kinds of recycling are coming up all the time. An example would be carpet recycling. Big companies in the U.S., such as Empire Today, which a lot of people know as Empire Carpet, participate in such a programs. Many schools also take more and more initiatives to promote recycling and raise awareness of the issue. Many businesses are doing more to streamline and increase their recycling efforts. Communities and neighborhoods are also making greater efforts. While so much is determined by the outcome of elections in terms of policy, regulations, law and, of course, funding, there is often-depending on the issue-still a lot that can be done to make strides. Recycling, as a venture, also creates new businesses and enhances our job market.

According to recent election polling in Canada, Jack Layton and his rising New Democrats (NDP) are on track to increase their seats in the House of Commons by 24 in the upcoming May 2 elections.

The EKOS poll showed that 24.7% of the population intends to vote for the NDP, which is the same percentage as for the Liberal Party. The Tories are at 34.4%, while the Green Party is at 7.8%, and the Bloc at 6.5%. Based on opinion polling, if the election were to happen right now, the Conservatives would win a diminished minority as the NDP rises to power. EKOS notes that the public is not willing to give Prime Minister Stephen Harper a Conservative majority. In addition to the EKOS poll, an Ipsos Reid poll also puts the NDP ahead of the Liberals for the first time in a few decades.