The government’s stalemate in voting reform gives parties complete control

Then the Western Australian Parliament voted to abandon mass voting, leaving Victoria the only jurisdiction in which small parties could easily manipulate the system. The system has spurred small, single-issue parties to compete in next month’s elections with the number of registered parties on track to surpass the previous record of 21, set in 2014.

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This is not an argument against new parties and cross-border MPs who would still have the ability to be elected to the Senate after any voting reform, as was the case in the May federal elections where mass voting was abolished in 2016.

Indeed, in the last elections, it was not the main parties, but the Green Party, that were most negatively affected by this undemocratic voting system. In 2018, the party received 9.5 percent of the vote but only had one senator.

In 2018, Rod Barton of the Transportation Matters Party won a seat in the Senate despite the Greens receiving more than 13 times the number of votes. Clifford Hayes of Sustainable Australia was elected for the Southern Capital Region, defeating the Green Party candidate who received 10 times the number of votes.

This does not call into question the abilities or work ethic of either Hayes or Barton, but whether they had sufficient support from the Victorians to make decisions on behalf of the state.

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Last year, the Greens tried to do something about mass vote tickets by submitting a motion to the Victorian Senate to abolish the Labour, Liberal and cross-seat voting system.

Labor’s inaction on the collective vote was largely driven by relief. During most of their time in office, the government was able to muster together the support of like-minded people to pass legislation.

Any attempt to reform the voting system would have damaged Labor’s relationship with some MPs who needed it to pass controversial legislation. The word from the government is that it does not intend to cancel the mass voting cards if re-elected.

But its inaction could backfire next month. As of Thursday, 20 parties had successfully registered to run in the election, with nine applications still awaiting approval. A whisper of competitive preferences began with Glenn Drewry’s famous release of “Preference Whisper” denials on behalf of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Transport Matters and the Liberal Democrats.

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There has been an increase in the number of so-called “liberty” parties working together to elect state senators with a rival “preference blocker”, Aidan McClendon, who strategized preferential deals for a few more conservative parties, which are unlikely to support the work.

Ironically, if the Labor Party finds itself in a position to rely more on the common table after the election, it will be unlikely to reform the system.

Meanwhile, Victorians who want to have a greater say in who gets to the Senate should consider a one-to-five vote below the line to gain more control over the state’s future.

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Originally published at Melbourne News Vine