Prediction of Moribund Senate for 100 Years Following Voting Reform 

‘Lock-out’ electoral reforms proposed by the Prime Minister today will likely see the Senate reduced to four parties for the next 100 years.

Sex Party leader Fiona Patten said that at a time when many European democracies were displaying the most variety in their parliaments that they had ever had, Australia was racing toward a US system and style of government, that only accommodated two parties and was increasingly presidential in outlook.

“It’s hard to see any new minor party getting into the Senate again under these new changes - unless they are 'Palmer-like' and backed by big business”, she said. “We are witnessing the end of small parties in Australia and the irony of it all is that two small parties – the Greens and Nick Xenophon – are the real enablers of this situation”.

She said that the Greens and Nick Xenophon were like political wolves in sheep’s clothing. “They have become parties of machine politics with a lust for power and privilege every bit as great as the two major parties” she said. “They were elected on percentages of under 3% in their early days and now that they have made a home in the castle, they have decided to pull up the drawbridge so no one else gets in. This will do nothing for diversity in the parliament and they should all hang their heads in shame.”

The Sex Party’s Senate Candidate in Victoria, Dr Meredith Doig, said that under these changes, minor parties could be all but shut down, a major loss to Australia’s democratic system. With 30% of people voting for a minor party at the last Senate election, the changes represent a major disincentive and a completely undemocratic hurdle, which discriminates against supporters of minor parties. “An increasing number of people have been voting for minor parties over the last 20 years due to their disappointment with the major parties and this is the way that the government deals with the situation – instead of appealing to these voters they just lock other parties out with an electoral gerrymander that will cause Australia to become ever more like the United States and much less like European parliaments” she said.  

“By allowing one vote above the line, Malcolm Turnbull, Richard Di Natali and Nick Xenophon have effectively determined that a small party will need a full quota to win a seat which is almost impossible”, she said.  “In previous elections when people voted ‘one’ above the line, the Group Voting Ticket came into force so those votes were still alive through the vote count. Now, a large percentage of the population won’t have their full voting intentions reflected in the Senate.”

"With a Liberal Party that's no longer liberal, a Labor Party that's shown itself incapable of reform, and the Greens an ideologues' haven, where can people go if the reform is passed? This is a sad day for democracy."

Ms Patten said that if the government believed in true optional preferential voting it would insist that voters go one to six above the line or in the case of a double dissolution, one to 12. "These are the same parties who will expect our support for lower house seats", she said. "This may even force more smaller parties to run a greater number of lower house candidates, to try and attract votes onto their Senate tickets. The effect of that would be that lower house preferences suddenly become a lot more important than they currently are." 

Jorian Gardner for Fiona Patten: 0466 694 197

Meredith Doig: 0403 246 544