Senator Andrew Bartlett
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
 
Electoral Systems under review

Now that the protection provided by the Senate has been diminished, Australia’s electoral system faces the potential of all sorts of tampering from a Coalition government who will be tempted to tilt the system further to its advantage. Attempts to disenfranchise people by closing the roles early will almost certainly be tried again, and mutterings about abolishing compulsory voting can always be heard just below the surface. Bolder changes like tampering with the voting system for the Senate to benefit the major parties are always a possibility too.

In that context, it is interesting that experienced British Minister, Geoff Hoon, has floated the idea of introducing compulsory voting in the UK. I doubt a change to compulsory voting will be made over there, but I think it would be a beneficial move. Having a ‘none of the above’ option would add an extra twist – I wonder if that would mean a ‘no result’ if that option got a majority? If not voting is interpreted as opting for none of the above, then this option would have won the latest election, because as I mentioned in this post, more people didn’t vote than voted for the winning Labour Party.

This highlights the real problem with Britain’s electoral system (and why we must always be vigilant to governments tampering with our voting system for their own gain). It’s their stone age voting system that really needs reform. It doesn’t matter much whether voting is voluntary or compulsory if the actual voting system is fundamentally undemocratic.

For people interested in electoral matters, the Parliamentary Committee covering this issue is currently conducting its regular review. The Committee is holding public hearings in Brisbane tomorrow (Wednesday) and on the Gold Coast on Thursday.

I have served on this Committee in the past. It has usually (although not always) operated in a fairly non-partisan way and I found it very interesting to be part of. The Committee’s website has a range of fascinating (and not so fascinating) submissions (164 received at time of writing) and the transcripts from its public hearings. One of the wider concerns being explored – just as significant as ensuring as fair a system as possible – is whether administrative failings of the Electoral Commission are becoming serious. Allegations about stuff-ups with distribution of postal votes and other matters need to be addressed before they affect public confidence. The Australian Electoral Commission has always had a very high reputation (deservedly so in my view). We have enough other problems to deal with in how our democracy operates. We could really do without US style debacles in how elections are run.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Tuesday, July 05, 2005 Permalink
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