Reforming the Senate !

Casting a valid vote for the Senate baffled many people.  For a start, the voting paper was as big as a table cloth and the voter had the option of voting above or below " the line " !  That was a choice of selecting just one of the myriad political parties and having your vote distributed according to the horse trading arrangements in place worked out by the politicians standing for office - or voting for each and every individual politician listed below the line - in descending order of preference.  Make a single numerical number error of sequence - and your vote was invalid !

Of course the great majority of voters opted for the " above the line " option and the majority of Senate seats was distributed between the main parties - Liberal - Labor and the Greens, but the " quota "  system applicable to the Senate resulted in a number of individuals representing sometimes weirdly named parties gaining a seat.   In the present Senate, just eight Senators hold the balance of power.

This delivers great power and we have seen individuals virtually "blackmail " whoever holds government office into distributing millions in bribe money to that holder's state in exchange for their vote on essential legislation.   It is obvious that the election of these Senators is not the will of the people because they achieve office with a minuscule share of the vote.   Ricky Muir of the Motoring Party won office with just 479 votes cast in his favour.

We are seeing just how damaging this balance of power situation can be when the business of parliament is held to ransom by a handful of people seeking personal gain.  Vital legislation remains blocked indefinitely and the business of the nation grinds to a halt.  It seems that the combination of votes by the government and the Greens will be sufficient to reform the Senate voting process to remove this anomaly.

The sticking point was the distribution of preferences.  When a voter ticked a box above the line for one of the small independent parties the distribution of preferences that came into play once that quota had been achieved depended on the arrangements that the minor parties had decided amongst themselves - and that was an intricate game of Chess that had nothing to do with voter intentions. Computer algorithms directed the flow to achieve a measured result to frustrate the major parties.

The voter had to tick just one box above the line, and having done that the preferences that came into play delivered the result we have seen.  Now it will be required that the voter select six boxes above the line - in order of choice and therefore any party receiving scant support will be quickly eliminated and their vote distributed to the next preference that the voter has nominated.

There was a very real chance that the Australian parliament could have become similar to that of several European countries which for years have dissolved into an unworkable tribe of warring minor parties.  As a consequence, the popular vote scuppered any chance of vital tax measures being enacted and the financial affairs deteriorated until those countries became "basket cases " on the world scene.   The nightly news vividly depicts the misery their populations endue as the world imposes financial reforms that their governments failed to enact.

We are facing an election and this preference rort is long overdue for correction !