Pixelated Semantics

Commendation for a bad system

There is a renewed effort to introduce voluntary voting in Australia now the Government has control of the Senate. One Liberal senator 'hopes' that the government 'will seek a mandate at the next election to be able to introduce voluntary voting'. On previous record though, the definition of 'mandate' is not exactly consistent for the conservatives: a constitutional mandate is where 66% of voters agree with a proposition, whereas the last couple of elections have been won by the conservatives with less than 50% of the primary vote, and yet the label of 'mandate' is freely applied. Running a policy by the electorate during a campaign is not the same as seeking a mandate by referendum on a precise issue: it is populist politics with a frequently authoritarian flavour.

Senator Minchin in talking up the 'opportunity' manages to completely undermine his own argument in fine style. He enters the debate with the observation that 'New Zealand has yet again successfully conducted an election with voluntary voting [...] and I commend New Zealand on that', before responding to further questions with the summation 'I think New Zealand has lumbered itself with a really bad electoral system'. A bad system to be admired and emulated? Wrapping the debate in notions of 'rights' and 'democracy' is typically hollow rhetoric from a government that simply cannot provide proper arguments for changes that will disenfranchise voters.

Item posted by AutoEditor at 10:42 am ::