Electoral reform sounds boring, which is probably why the government hoped to squeeze a substantial change to the way Australian politics works in amongst some positive-sounding modifications late last year, without too many people noticing. After independents raised the alarm, this legislation was delayed, and is now likely to be presented in the new year.
The main impetus for these changes is the collapsing primary vote (and membership) for the two major parties. Labor is being affected by negative campaigns from the likes of Clive Palmer, and the Liberals are haemorrhaging votes in wealthy areas to the teals. Donation caps have been proposed to deal with these upstarts, with both big parties likely to support any changes that entrench their own dwindling power.
This idea is among a raft of electoral reforms proposed by The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which was asked by Special Minister of State Don Farrell to report on all aspects of the conduct of the 2022 federal election.
After three public hearings, the result was 15 recommendations, including much-needed things like increasing Indigenous enrolment, introducing real time disclosure requirements for political donations, and establishing truth in political advertising rules, such as currently exist in South Australia.
Donation caps
The controversial recommendations of the JSCEM relate to reforming election campaign financing, as the Labor government in Victoria has done, with strict caps on political donations received in advance of elections, and increased funding from the public purse received after elections.
For an independent running in a single seat, or a loose affiliation like the teals, running in a small group of seats, this creates a playing field which massively advantages the major parties, who can use money garnered from across the country to campaign in the marginal seats which actually decide elections, confident of a return to justify their expenditure afterwards.
The result in Victoria has been the complete loss of independents in that state’s lower house.
The proposed federal recommendations do nothing to stop the loopholes which allow the major parties to raise millions outside the formal donations process, including via unions and businesses.
Labor figures, including SA Senator Karen Grogan, have said the changes are about protecting Australia’s democracy. Others have made references to babies and bathwater.
WA teal Kate Chaney said in parliament , ‘No one wants to see a billionaire swaying the outcome of an election. That has broad community support [but] the 99.6 per cent of Australians who are not a member of a major political party don’t want to see a reform that locks in the two-party system.’
Tasmanians weigh in
Senator Tammy Tyrrell, the Jacqui Lambie Network Whip (whose boss got into parliament originally because of Clive Palmer’s money), described the JSCEM recommendations as ‘just another stitch-up’ from the big parties. As she points out, ‘a lot of the money funnelled to major parties isn’t through direct donations; it’s through fundraisers and membership fees…
‘That means the Liberal and Labor parties could still hold a fish and chip dinner fundraiser that cost 10 grand a ticket and it would be totally within the rules. Funny how that works!
‘The major parties are trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes. This isn’t genuine reform to make things better; it’s just a way to make sure that the two big parties are there to stay, while independents and minor parties get squeezed out,’ said Senator Tyrrell.
‘People are seeing the value of independent voices and they’re moving away from voting for major parties. But put this in place and we won’t stand a chance. We need more transparency around political donations, no question, but, as long as the major parties are the ones in charge of doing it, it will never, ever be a fair fight.’
With the Coalition reportedly happy to put in place donation caps, but uneasy about the more progressive aspects of the JSCEM recommendations, and the next election approaching, the Albanese Government will very soon have to decide whether it wants to work with the Greens and crossbench or Peter Dutton in implementing its electoral reforms. This will reveal what kind of government they really are.
As Kate Chaney put it, ‘Communities will be watching very closely to see whether the purpose of any reform package is to embed the two-party system, or reflect community concerns about transparency and truth and restoring trust in our electoral system by allowing political choice.’
Let’s see what 2024 holds!
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
Long ago, he did work experience in Parliament House with Mungo MacCallum.
Lab and LibNat, at successive elections just keep on bleeding votes to the others. And they wonder why and where it all gone wrong for them.
On primary votes it is roughly 1/3rd Lab, 1/3 LibNat and 1/3rd others.
Lab and LibNat are desperate to stave off their existential crisis. Maybe they should think about delivering some decent governing, that just might change their sliding electoral outlook.
Joachim old son you are on one of your vexatious rants again, please repeat after me, “the Australian Labor Party is in MAJORITY Govt, it is there because Aussie voters who vote for minor parties realize that those minor parties cannot ever get into Majority Govt all they are capable of doing is influencing the MAJOR parties. And the vast majority of those voters also realise that the ALP is the most reliable of those MAJOR parties to actually enact the right policies that are vital for the wellbeing of the country and direct their second preference vote accordingly”. This is why the ALP can get elected to MAJORITY Govt with their primary vote in the low thirties; and thank God the Coalition can not unless they virtually get to 40%.
Yes Keith, your ALP just managed to flop over the line at 2022 Fed Election to form government and that was with the once in generation gift that was ex-PM Morrison.
The ‘Morrison gift’ won’t be there for you in 2025 and with the polls not looking too flash for your ALP anymore another bleeding out of primary votes come Election 2025 is awaiting – how much lower than 32.6% primary vote will your ALP go?
Enjoy what is left of your current ALP ‘majority’ government, it likely to be the last you’ll see for a long time.
Yes Joachim you are a very sad excuse for a progressive voter, just as I said, you are nothing more than a vexatious shit stirrer, how could you possibly be happy to see the shocking Conservatives back in power?, shame on you.
Labor is not losing any votes to Clive Palmer. They are haemorrhaging vote to those inner-city, latte sipping watermelon Greens – there is more than a few up these parts as well, unfortunately
People forget that the parties we recognise in our Parliaments today were the outcome of the free for all that was democracy in mid-nineteenth century colonial Australia. Representation was restricted to the rich, votes on the floor were bought and sold for a bridge or a length of railway track to nowhere. The working man was never going to get a look into the system, and the vote for women was an unintended consequence, not the success of a considered policy, in this dysfunctional system of patronage and the power of money.
Yes, an independent voice and a commitment to truth are laudable goals in public life, but a parliament comprised of shifting factions looking for the instant gratification of their volatile constituency is not an alternative to the fine mess we’re in now. Reforming election campaign financing is no guaranteegoing of principled parliamentary representation.
You do know the labor party was started by unions in Queensland at the end of the 19thncentury and has been continuous whilst the Tories have had several manifestations over time.
Constant renew versus stagnation. Time for the Protectionist Party to make a come back.
Yep, that would be renewal!
While it may be convenient for the LNP, ALP and Murdoch press to label independent candidates as “teals” I think it’s better that if we have lost faith in the major parties desire to represent us, in favour of money and lobbyists, we should always refer to them as independents, not “teals”. The Echo can help to further this cause.
They were quite happy to colour coordinate and reap the benefits of a united front.
That’s generally how Color Revolutions work. I’m guessing China is the sponsor.
Wow straight off the internet conspiracy theory corner or maybe one nation fantasy.
I find the whinging of the independents, micro-parties, etc., a laugh. The statement that the big parties are trying to squeeze out everyone else is trotted out whenever there is a redistribution and change of boundaries.
Most of the micro-parties preference those who preference a major party. It is of no consequence that we have micro-parties, it is a method to addle the punter and get votes for a specific major party. We are not all that dumb, thanks.
No thought has been given to the adverse effects a redistribution and boundary change could have a either Labor/Greens or Liberal/National parties.
The changes are usually made based on the number of enrolled voters in an area. 2024 is another election year for Federal, some State, and Local Governments.
Instead of a donkey vote or informal vote, make your vote count fill out your forms correctly. Yes, we are required to vote and we should be so proud we get to have a vote. This is your opportunity to put one party in the driving seat of our great country.
Please don’t equate lib/nats with labor/ greens. One is a coalition, never independent of each other over the history of these parties but there is not a labor/ greens coalition governing this country, two very separate parties and policies.
Any measures that help prevent the independents gaining any electoral ground is necessary and vital to maintaining future stable government. They are mostly self serving wealthy white professional women that take up valuable space in our parliament, can someone tell us what they have contributed to our country?. The major parties are the only option like it or no. The greens will only destroy our standard of living more than Albo has already managed to date, so please be careful what you wish for.
spoken like a true tyrant — above 50 I suppose . .
So am I (over 50 that is) and I posted a long list of these women’s careers and accomplishments which the moderators must have thought was too much. I’d suggest people Google them (if they know who they are).
I think they’d find that all of them have contributed more to the world in a week of their working lives than many a career Tory has in their lifetime.
Take Monique Ryan for instance, a paediatric neurologist who was director of neurology at the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital.
The faithful also need to look at the reasons behind the success of these “Teals”. Could have something to do with the once proud Liberal Party being in grips of religious fanatics and NP scorched earthers.
Teal – a mixture of Liberal blue and Green green?
The Guardian reported post election: “Other than their policies, the teal successes had several things in common. First, they were focused on inner-urban, prosperous seats, held mainly by Liberals on the moderate wing of the party. The campaigns ruthlessly highlighted the moderates’ inability to influence the direction of the Liberal party – and even more so its National party coalition partner – on climate action. Second, they were the product of months if not years of grassroots organisation, which worked to select credible, professional candidates and provide a small army of committed volunteers. And third, almost all those candidates were women, who effectively channelled anger at the perception Scott Morrison’s government had ignored or belittled them.”
Why do they have any less right to a seat in parliament than the many self-serving professional white men who have made up the bulk of members over more than a century. What have they contributed? (From Wikipedia and parliament websites)
Zali Steggall:
Olympic Bronze Medalist, Slalom (Winter Olympic Games, Nagano), 1998.
World Champion Gold Medalist, Slalom (World Alpine Ski Championships, Vail), 1999.
Appointed a Member of the Sports Australia Hall of Fame, 2004.
Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, 26.1.2007.
Accountability Round Table’s Alan Missen Award for Integrity, 5.9.2022.
Finally rid us of the Abbott
Zoe Daniel
Foreign correspondent
While working in Africa she reported on the regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone civil war, the Darfur genocide and South Sudan.
In 2009, she moved to Phnom Penh where she reported on the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
From 2010 until 2013, Daniel took up a posting in Bangkok as the ABC’s Southeast Asian correspondent.[8] At the time, Daniel’s posting while a mother of young children was unprecedented for ABC correspondents.[9] During her time there she reported on the 2010 Thai political protests and interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi.
After 27 years with ABC News, Daniel decided to finish her career with the organisation, leaving in July 2020.
Allegra Spender:
Spender started her career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company before working as a policy analyst in the UK Treasury. She later volunteered as a consultant in Kenya for Technoserve and as Change Leader at London’s King’s College Hospital.Spender has worked as managing director for her mother’s fashion label Carla Zampatti.She was the Chair of the Sydney Renewable Power Company, and the CEO of the Australian Business & Community Network (ABCN), a social mobility charity that links students from low socio-economic schools and mentors from business.
Kylea Tink:
Tink is a former managing director of Edelman Australia, the largest public relations firm in the world by revenue.
She worked pro bono as a PR consultant for the McGrath Foundation, after being invited to assist the growing organisation following the death of Jane McGrath.[8] In 2008 she took up the role of CEO of the foundation, a role she held from until 2014.Tink was one of the people who helped bring about the Pink Test, a cricketing fundraiser that raises awareness and money for the foundation, including significant grants from the government. They also managed to gain partnerships beyond cricket, including a partnership with St. George Illawarra Dragons in 2013. During her time as CEO the number of breast care nurses in Australia went up from four in 2008 to over 61 in 2011,and over 100 by the time she left the charity in 2014.
Tink was appointed CEO of Camp Quality in 2016, starting in the role in 2017.Under her leadership, the charity saw changes in their structure, including starting a Kids Impacted by a Carers Cancer (KICC) Camp, for children of parents diagnosed with cancer.
Sophie Scamps:
(MBBS) (University of Sydney).
(MPH) (University of New South Wales).
(MHScT(Hons)) (University of Oxford).
(DipTropMed(Hons)) (College of Surgeons, Dublin).
Professional Athlete (Middle Distance Runner).
Hospital and Emergency Medicine Doctor from 1995 to 2000.
General Practitioner from 2010 to 2021.
Health Promotion in the Southwest Sydney Local Health District from 2011.
Monique Ryan:
Ryan graduated in medicine at the University of Melbourne in 1991. Ryan then completed her paediatric training in Sydney and a neurology residency at the Children’s Hospital Boston, in Boston. Ryan also completed a neurophysiology fellowship at the Lahey Clinic in Boston.In 2014, Ryan became director of neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne.
Ryan has over 150 peer-reviewed publications and has been a principal investigator on a number of clinical trials. Ryan’s publications have over 10,000 citations, and she has an H-index of 50, which is a measure of the impact of her research.She was joint editor of Neuromuscular Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence: A clinician’s approach, published in 2014.
Nothing much really.
Kate Chaney MP:
(LLB) (University of Western Australia).
(MBA) (Australian Graduate School of Management).
Lawyer at Blake Dawson Waldron from 1998 to 2001.
Strategy Consultant for Boston Consulting Group from 2003 to 2005.
General Manager for Business Development at Perth Airport, 2007.
Aboriginal Affairs Manager at Wesfarmers Ltd. from 2009 to 2011.
General Manager of Emerging Ventures for Wesfarmers Ltd. from 2012 to 2013.
Sustainability Manager at Wesfarmers Ltd. from 2013 to 2015.
Director of Innovation & Strategy at Anglicare WA from 2017 to 2022.
So, never actually produced anything? Rule by Paper Pushers.
The comments disparaging these brilliant accomplished women, by the LNP spin machine, ( including JH calling them “groupies”) – then the predictable chorus from the faithful uninformed – must be surely one of the greatest illustrations of how ridiculous are so many punters.
God help democracy!
One group of greasy pole climbers was dismissive to another group of greasy pole climbers. It’s unprecedented! It’s the end of democracy!
I’m talking about the mindless chorusing of party spin – not the contest. Do read what’s there!
” increasing Indigenous enrolment” ??! it’s the LAW , even for those of an indigenous persuasion.
But on a serious note, the three consistent aims, across the spectrum of ‘Parties’…( a corruption of the democratic process to control the ability of the electors to vote freely ) are,
– firstly, Criminalise to discourage any form of collective action that would redress the balance of power existing between an individual and the ‘system’, [the Government bodies, Police, and the Armed Forces ] such as Unions or organised demonstrations against illegal or immoral government actions (such as illegally invading other countries or selling out the future of our youth, to fossil fuel companies or the American Government )
-Secondly, there must NOT be any process allowing politicians to be held accountable for their crimes in office, ( such as fraud, the taking of bribes or pork-barreling with public money ), and when caught red-handed committing crimes a simple demotion, or in extreme cases a resignation will suffice, until it all blows over and is quickly forgotten, hey, Gladys , Mr Barilaro and the arch villains Howard and Turnbull ?
-LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, any form of REAL democracy must be nipped in the bud, while extolling the virtues of this perverted pretence guaranteed to prevent any outcome except a ‘meeny miny’ choice between factions of essentially the same ‘ol school tie’ group of parasites.
Here we go again, Happy New Year,… G”)
Sounds like a system of authoritarian rule here Ken, not very democratic on your first point. We can all thank Clive Palmer and his millions spent trying to corrupt our system of government and legal system for this situation. Does anyone have a solution?
De-federate. The more corrupt a state got, the more people would leave it, impoverishing its corrupt leaders. The federation redistributed the wealth and allowed the most egregious laws to be continent wide. The ‘Nation Cabinet’ and ‘National Laws’ (where the States agree to put identical laws in every State at the state level), seems to be a prelude to some devolution plan they’ve cooked up. This ‘confederation’ was on display during Covid.
I think quite the opposite. It was when there was an attempt at cohesive action against an unknown pathogen, but ultimately the states showed how much power they have to tell the federal government where to get off. They closed borders and schools as they saw fit and the Libs spat chips. This included Josh Frydenberg who was voted out for his troubles! 🥳
The Federal government could have had several premieres arrested. The states were doing the dirty work, as the feds were restrained by the constitution. Fed govt has gone out of its way to get in the way of its civil servants being brought to justice for the laws violated. Misfeasance and misprison were rife.
🪢
While democracy remains a numbers game there will be united action to achieve particular priorities. The first loose associations in Australia formed around the competing camps of free trade and protectionism.
The oldest continuous party in Australia, the ALP, formed from the great shearers’ strike in Qld and NSW. Though incredibly well organised and supported, the strike was defeated by anti strike laws with the leaders locked up. It was obvious that to achieve the power for decent working conditions and rights for working people, political/legislative power was required. The original manifesto included one man one vote, free education, a state bank,
“While democracy remains a numbers game”………Ah, hello is anybody home ?
The whole rationale supporting the ideal of democracy is that it is entirely “a numbers game”….. and nothing else. That is, majority rule.
Of course, the Labor Party was formed in 1891, but if you think there is any similarity of policy, practice or ideals with what passes for Labor under Tony Albanese you are delusional. The real Labor Party Died with the Dismissal of the properly elected Prime Minister by the English Royal Family, in collusion with the Americans,{ on the 11/11/1975- ‘Remembrance Day’ } all because Gough had the temerity to believe that Australians had a right to know what the American bases here, were For.
48 years later, we still don’t know what goes on in the many more and much larger frontline facilities that Tony ( And this so-called Labor Party ) has secretly agreed to in their fawning, subservient efforts to appease those same Poms and the Yanks who killed the tradition of Labor ideals of
” one man one vote, free education, a state bank” and any pride in our own political aspirations.
In the meantime ” those inner-city, latte sipping watermelon Greens” are the best hope we have of any real policy outcomes that might benefit this country.
Cheers, G”)
Well hello – yes there’s somebody home, ‘cause surprisingly enough that’s exactly what I was getting at. And it’s not just the numbers voting in an election it’s the numbers voting on the floor of parliament.
Gough was done in for a number of things that government did to upset the Establishment. Being tossed out just three years (by a landslide democratic vote) after 20+ yeats of Tory rule gave everybody a lesson in the political realities of the Australian electoral scene – only exacerbated by the rise and rise of News Corp.
Those who insist Labor ignore these realities and simultaneously promote the fantasy that the Greens’ influence will extend much beyond the latte sipping suburbs any time soon, are just ensuring we’ll get a Dutton/Littleproud led government very soon and the Tories for likely another decade or more. Enjoy them
And sorry, but I’m afraid I see the watermelons more like those ones that are yellow in the centre.
And there’s LOTS of similarity. Do some reading
…then vote One Nation.
I was referring to the original and contemporary goals of Labor. Do read what’s there!
And sorry, I could never vote for anyone who murders vowels quite so badly!
A bunch of rascists who have shown to be more interested in gaining electoral money from the government than anything else. To name the party after one person describes how the party is run.
Whoops – continued:
…state bank, a statutory eight hour day, the abolition of conspiracy laws relating to industrial disputes and state construction and ownership of all railways.
The Greens Party formed for environmental action. The Country Party/Nationals supposedly look to the interests of a rural constituency. The “Liberal” Party stands for …? Even the so called independent Teals attracted funding for a platform united around a few key issues. A party in the making?
While some independents in the mix make for a healthy parliament, would we really want 151 disparate reps in the lower house – each demanding their four aides and advisors plus electoral staff? It’s great to be able to vote for a likeable member who’s seen at every envelope opening, but it’s also encouraging to be able to envisage the sorts of policy outcomes that might flow from your vote.